Sacked for being sick abroad?

socialjeebus

Hi, I'm a new member, regretting that this is my first post but I really would like some advice.

I work in the public sector for an organisation with reasonably generous benefits/conditions. However in the last 18 months, the said organisation has announced 1800 job losses (no co-incidence!). I must say that very few people have actually been made redundant and most job losses have come through not filling vacancies and that horrible term "natural wastage."

My issue is, I recently went abroad to visit my future father-in-law, who is terminally ill. As his condition has recently deteriorated and that I've never met him previously the need/desire to meet him became significantly more urgent. I borrowed money from the organisation (stating that as my reason) and duly went. However whilst abroad I was involved in an accident which resulted in ongoing hospital treatment. I attempted to notify my employers of the situation before my holiday was over (although they dispute this) however my parents relayed the situation to my employers within a week.


My employers requested info regarding my injuries, which I supplied (whiplash, bruised spine, bruised ribs) however they disputed my fitness to fly home. Not realising this was in the t & c's of my contract and under the assumption that effectively the doctor abroad had signed me off. I didn't get a letter stating I was unfit to fly, my work stopped my pay straight away and as I didn't have insurance I couldn't pay for another doctors appointment. (Couldn't get insurance due to pre-existing heart and back conditions). My manager sought advice from the company occupational health dept. (who are unbelievably incompetent) and neglected to inform them of my pre-existing injuries (which they had fulll knowledge of). As a result OH adivsed my manager that "flying would have no negative impact on my condition."

About a month later I returned to blighty via Moscow (in order to break up my flight). When I returned, I'd been evicted from my flat (non-payment of rent due to my pay being stopped) and my manager invited me to a fact-finding interview where I relayed the facts to him.

Following the interview I went to see my GP about my back, he signed me off from work. At this point my employer suspended me and referred me to a disciplinary panel. They also decided to reinstate my pay whilst witholding my backpay.

When they suspended me I was given no reason nor provided any minutes from the fact-finding interview until after I sent a letter via special delivery (which my manager himself signed for) more than a month later.

Following the letter I was required to attend a discplinary interview where I'll almost certainly be sacked. My issue is, where would I stand legally regarding my location whilst sick/injured?

Whilst I was sick abroad, I provided contact details for the clinic but my employer decided not contact them and I was signed off from work 2 months after the accident when I returned to the UK and saw my GP.

Any advice would be appreciated.

socialjeebus

PS: I should add my employer doesn't dispute the word of my GP. They reinstated my pay from the date of the sick note he gave me.

zzzLazyDaisy

The first question has to be 'how long have you been employed by this company?'

There isn't really any point in reading through your post until this has been clarified.

Daisy

socialjeebus

Sorry forgot to mention that, over 4 years.

maninthestreet

How long were you off-work and still abroad due to the injuries caused by the accident? If you were fit enough to fly to see your sick (yet to be) FIL, then I don't see how your pre-exisitng conditions could prevent you from flying home. As you haven't yet attended a disciplinary hearing, and have not been formally sacked, your employer may not have had grounds to stop paying you.

Strider590

Strikes me as another situation where in order to stop the real p1sstakers, they have to come down hard on the innocent too.
It's "Tick box Britain" and no matter the circumstances, if there ain't a box for it, then it doesn't count.

Sambucus_Nigra

Could you confirm whether you ever spoke to anyone at work whilst you were abroad after the accident - you say

I attempted to notify my employers of the situation before my holiday was over (although they dispute this)

What does this mean?

Also, it might be advisable to give a step by step time based construction of this tale.....

zzzLazyDaisy

You need to check your contract and employment hand-book, as any information given here can only be general, as we don't have access to those documents.

However...

It is very likely that it is a condition of the sick pay scheme that you contact the employer on the first day of sickness, and that after the first week (when you self-certify) you must produce a fit note from your GP confirming you are unfit for work, and you must also ensure that you continue to submit fit notes regularly and on time for the whole duration of your sick leave.

If you did not do this - which seems likely, since you were abroad, then you would not meet the requirements of the sick pay scheme, and your employer would not normally continue paying your wages in that case.

As far as the disciplinary procedure is concerned, it will almost certainly state that in cases of potential gross misconduct the employer may suspend you from work pending an investigation and disciplinary proceedings. In those circumstances this must be a paid suspension, so that may be why they have now restored your pay. Alternatively if you are still off sick, but now submitting sick notes from your GP, you will now be meeting the criteria for payment of sick pay under the sick pay scheme, and so this may be the reason they are now paying you.

Either way you should bear in mind that an employer is under no legal obligation to pay full pay when an employee is off sick, and many employers pay SSP only. If an employer does have a company sick pay scheme paying more than the statutory minimum, they are entitled to set down and enforce the conditions for payment under the scheme.

As to whether what you did amounts to GM sufficient to dismiss you, that will depend on what the investigations reveal and whether the person holding the disciplinary believes you. However you should be aware that the employer does not have to prove the facts beyond reasonable doubt. They simply have to carry out a thorough investigation, including giving you a fair opportunity to explain things from your point of view, and then to come to an honest and reasonable decision based on the facts available to them.

You will need to check the disciplinary procedures for examples of what constitutes gross misconduct, but failing or refusing to comply with a reasonable management instruction (eg to contact the company during your absence and keep them informed) may be one example.

Just because you are facing a disciplinary, it doesn't necessarily follow that you will lose your job. But you need to focus on getting back on track with your employer, showing remorse and an acceptance that you could have done things differently, and assuring them that nothing like this will ever happen again.

Of course if you already have any formal warnings under the disciplinary procedure which are still live, these may be taken into account and this may affect the outcome.

Sorry for the long post, but I hope this helps you to understand things better.

Jowo_2

socialjeebus wrote: »

...When I returned, I'd been evicted from my flat (non-payment of rent due to my pay being stopped) .

How many months rent did you owe? Were you a tenant or a lodger (sharing the property with a live in landlord)?

A tenant can't be summarily evicted, even with rent arrears, without a court order and sometimes this can take a few months to get. If you were a tenant, did the landlord gain a possession order through the courts? Were you served notice? How was this handled?

A lodger has limited rights and no security of tenure, though (advice applies to England).

pinkshoes

socialjeebus wrote: »

When I returned, I'd been evicted from my flat (non-payment of rent due to my pay being stopped)

As LazyDaisy answered your main question so well, I thought I'd just point out that what your landlord has done is illegal, and he can't just evict you without issuing the relevant paperwork, either evicting you under an S21 (if you're on a rolling contract) giving you 2 months notice, or I think it's an S8 if you're 2 months in rent arrears. He CANNOT just evict you, so you if he has done this, you should pursue it through the court. Any decent LL will know that he is in VERY hot water for doing this, so send him a "letter before action"!

andy.m_2

OP was sick abroad for 2 months before returning home.