I'm worried!!!!!!!!!!!

lukemed1

Hi everyone,

feeling very worried about my work situation, this is the story, am on my final notification of concern about my attendance at work, this was issued on 15/03/06, basically, i have to go a whole year without having time off or i face the possibility of being dismissed from the company, was doing well-managed to go 9 months without a day off up untill friday morning when i woke up being sick and feeling dizzy

i still got ready for work and went in but as i clocked in, i felt all dizzy so i went into the office, said to the manager, i'm very sorry but i don't feel well and i'll have to go home, he just said o.k, see you then. my brother who also works for the company informed me today that he was also off yesterday with the same thing, we all attended a party for 1 of his kids on thursday night so i'm guessing we all caught it there,

am just really worried about the outcome of this and will have to do some major good talking to keep my job, i hope they will understand that i'm doing my best to turn my situation around! don't want to loose my job as i got debts and a mortgage to pay!

any advice?

Luke:beer:

bellsbells

There are so many bugs around at the moment - my son has had the same thing! Hopefully the fact that you turned up at work will go in your favour - you actually clocked on and then had to go home. The manager will have seen how ill you were, so there will be no doubt that it is genuine! Hopefully this will make a difference. Also you have done 9 months without a day off, so they will be able to see you have been trying hard. Make sure you mention your brother being off as well. I would probably be proactive, and go straight to them monday morning to discuss things. Could you offer to do unpaid overtime to make up the hours you missed on Friday so that you will have still done a full year in terms of hours? Are they open this weekend? Could you offer to go in tomorrow to catch up?

Hope you feel better soon and good luck,

bellsbells

yung

if you are genuinely sick they could not dismiss you, I know how you feel, because where I used to work we have procedure in place to get people back to work, the best thing to do is to speak to your union rep if you have any concern. good luck

jet77

I think you should take legal advice if they did try to do anything about it because it would be most unfair.

Let us know how you get on.

Luv Jxx

jellyang

as an employer I have to say it is very annoying when you know people are taking days off for reasons other than illness, or constantly being late etc.

However your employer can not sack you for being sick & you would be able to take him to a tribunal for unfair dismissal if he did.

Many years ago i took my employer to tribunal for unfair dismissal, I won the case

20 years later with my own business I had employee do it to me but I won that case as I could prove that he had stolen from me, but thats another story!

Its good that you are making such an effort to clean up your attendence but you can not help being ill.
Many of the employment laws now are well stacked in favour of the employee.

Emmzi

Erm, actually. you *can* be dismissed for being genuinely ill. The important thing is to find out if your company has an ATTENDANCE PROCEDURE POLICY or similar and read it carefully.

The employer is a business, not a charity or there to replace incapacity benefit. It has to ask 'is this person capable of fulfilling the terms of their contract with me?'

That said, 9 months clear attendace is pretty good so I would be surprised if it were taken further for one day. But get your copy policy!

sanfrancisco

Why don't you totally cover yourself and go to your GP and get a sick note. You may even be able to do it over the phone, if you only need a note for 1 day.

lukemed1

yes, have informed them everyday i've been ill, also, i thought you had to be off for 7 days before you can get a doctors note..?

cheers

Luke

Ali-OK

lukemed1 wrote:

yes, have informed them everyday i've been ill, also, i thought you had to be off for 7 days before you can get a doctors note..?

cheers

Luke

You'd be wise to get a Docs cert - you are likely to have to pay for it for sickness lasting less than 7 days, however it would go in your favour as proof you were genuinely ill to your employer. This would also show you are serious in your endeavours to reduce to your sickness absence.

Employers do have the ability to terminate employment if an employee is "unable to attend work on a regular basis" ie. lots of sick time off, however, given you've not been sick for 9 months, I'd be surprised if they took this any further. I suspect they started down this process with the conversation they had with you about not having sickness for 12 months.

In reality and my opinion, they were using their HR processes as a way to get you to improve your attendance..which clearly you have done.

I would certainly approach your boss on your return, with a cert and have a chat with them.

cazziebo

Be careful folks! There are a lot of misconceptions around this.

Emmzi is right. You can be dismissed if you fall foul of a company's attendance policy. The critical issue is not whether you were "genuinely ill" or not - but whether you attend work. Therefore the doctor's note is irrelevant. Outwith the DDA if you are absent from work for any reason that exceeds the stated standards then you can be dismissed - if the correct disciplinary procedure has been followed and it sounds as if it has in this case.

however, I think the company would be acting unreasonably (if legally) if they were to dismiss you, Lukemed. You have managed 9 months with no absence, and did attend work. I'd be proactive as Bellsbells says - address the issue immediately on your return to work - don't wait to be called in to speak to someone.

Good luck and hope you're feeling better

Cx

Touche

You can self certify for upto 7 days, more than that and you can get a note from your GP for free. If your employer wants a note for under 7 days you can get a private note from your GP but it'll usually cost (the practice I'm working for at the moment charges £10). If they want the note (which you don't legally need), they should be prepared to pay for it, so your GP practice will give you a reciept