3 absences from work in a year - can OH be disciplined for this?

meds12_2

Hi guys, yet again I need your help.

My OH has just found out that he will be having a disciplinary meeting about his absences from work - his company are trying to reduce sickness which is understandable, and implement an automatic meeting after 3 absences within 12 months. However, although my partner has been off 3 times, only one of these was for his personal sickness.

The first absence lasted 1 day and was to look after our daughter (4 yrs old at the time) when she was ill and couldn't go to school - the absence was unpaid.

The most recent time was 3 days up until yesterday, when our 11 month old son was rushed to hospital, critically ill and almost died from breathing difficulties resulting from a viral infection + severe croup. He was classified as "impending respiratory failure" and spent hours in resus, theatre and the following 2 days on a high dependency ward. My partner followed company procedure and informed the company, as soon as he could - i.e. the day before each absence (late Fri night for the Sat, Sat afternoon for the Sunday, Sunday afternoon for the Monday). Yet he has come back to work today to be told he will face disciplinary action for this.

Is this right? We have private healthcare through his company so they can easily check that our son has been in hospital.

Thanks in advance

meds12_2

Just to add, his personal sickness absence was for 2 days.

VfM4meplse

Your OH obviously doesn't work for the public sector, where swinging the lead is rife!!

I would suggest that your OH checks his company's HR policies, it may be that 3 absences in 12 months are an automatic trigger and this meeting is just procedural. I would have thought that the third occasion would have been acceptable to sympathetic employer, and there would have been a negotiation to reclaim the time lost. However there is a reasonable expectation that employees are reliable and will have child-care arrangements in place to cover emergencies, such as the first occasion you describe. If there are issues, this will be a good opportunity to raise them. In my experience being over-flexible with staff just leads to people make more and more unreasonable demands.

meds12_2

Thanks, he has been given a company policy booklet about absences, which only mentions personal sickness - he told his boss that 2/3 absences were child sickness and was told that it was still sickness.

Soubrette

VfM4meplse wrote: »

Your OH obviously doesn't work for the publuc sector, where swinging the lead is rife!!

I would suggest that your OH checks his company's HR policies, it may be that 3 absences in 12 months are an automatic trigger and this meeting is just procedural. I would have thought that the third occasion would have been acceptable to sympathetic employer, and there would have been a negotiation to reclaim the time lost. However there is a reasonable expectation that employees are reliable and will have child-care arrangements in place to cover emergencies, such as the first occasion you describe. If there are issues, this will be a good opportunity to raise them. In my experience being over-flexible with staff just leads to people make more and more unreasonable demands.

I used to work in the public sector - if we had more than 2 episodes of sickness in one rolling year then it was an automatic stage one disciplinary, if you were off sick again in the next 12 months then it was stage 2, one more time then automatic suspension and possible sacking.

meds12_2

I didn't realise that you shouldn't take time off if your young child is too ill to go to school - we do have a childminder and have alternative childcare arrangements in place in case she cannot work, but have always thought that parents were allowed unpaid leave to look after poorly children, especially since no official childcare provider would ever take on a vomiting child for the day

SarEl

VfM4meplse wrote: »

Your OH obviously doesn't work for the publuc sector, where swinging the lead is rife!!

And neither do you work in the public sector - where almost all employers have strict managing sickness absence procedures and three absences in 12 months would trigger stage one of capability process.

saintjammyswine

VfM4meplse wrote: »

Your OH obviously doesn't work for the publuc sector, where swinging the lead is rife!!
....

I assume you mean public sector which has in my experience far more stringent rules about attendance than the private sector. Automatically triggering disciplinary procedings on 3 absences in 12 months.

smileylondongal

Does your company have a compassionate leave policy? I know you can take time off for parental leave but what you're describing (I'm so sorry you went through this) sounds like emergency leave. It's a tough one as some companies do count this in with personal sickness.
It's worth finding out what they say before anyone panics - it could just be a formality. However, whilst there OH should ask what the general 'rule' is now, ie. what length of time does he now have to be in work before another episode of illness, personal or otherwise, would trigger something more serious.

meds12_2

smileylondongal wrote: »

Does your company have a compassionate leave policy? I know you can take time off for parental leave but what you're describing (I'm so sorry you went through this) sounds like emergency leave. It's a tough one as some companies do count this in with personal sickness.
It's worth finding out what they say before anyone panics - it could just be a formality. However, whilst there OH should ask what the general 'rule' is now, ie. what length of time does he now have to be in work before another episode of illness, personal or otherwise, would trigger something more serious.

Thank you for your replies. I will ask him to ask. I'm wondering if that can class it as sickness leave if company sick pay is full pay, yet he was / will be docked all his pay for the leave he had for child sickness.

Brodiebobs

In my workplace the third absence is just an informal well being meeting where we just ask if theres anything they need help with/underlying issues and give information of support lines the company has for councelling etc if required. Its not a formal telling off could this be the case?

I'd definately get him to read the works handbook and this may show the absence procedure and also if theres any emergency leave procedure, also if he has a union an informal chat with them may help.

i hope your daughter is ok now.