Can you resign whilst on sick notice...if you get a new job?

vulcan558

Quick question...and this is definitely for a mate, and not me - he's asked me but I know nothing about employment law sadly!!

He is on short term sick notice at present, and has just been signed off for a longer period (a few weeks), but has just secured a new job whilst on that sick notice as his present employer is the reason why he's gone off.

Question is can he resign from his current job (which he wants to do) whilst on that sick notice, and not have to work the sick notice through (he'd get the sick notice reversed) before starting at the new employer?

That make sense? No, it didn't to me either, and that's why I'm on here asking the question for him!

Anyone? :think:

Uncertain

Yes.

Providing the sick note runs for longer than the notice he is obliged to give he won't have to go back.

Even if it doesn't I imagine the firm would be happy to come to some compromise as there is little to be gained by making him go back for a few days.

He continues to accrue holiday whilst off sick and the firm will have to pay him for whatever holiday is due after he leaves.

Mistral001

Not an expert on this but the employer might be a little peeved that he was able to find work while off sick. They might even have been more than a little peeved if they were topping up his Satuary Sick Pay as well.

If he attended an interview while sick, that might be difficult to explain to employer and/or Statuary Sick Pay people.

Mudd14

He is only sick at that employer so may be no reflection to finding another job....

As long as he gives thre correct notice as detailed in his contract then it makes no different to whether he works his notice or is off sick.

ferrett100

That's what I'm doing at the moment. My previous place was causing stress/anxiety so doc signed me off for four weeks. I was lucky enough that someone else approached me with a job offer so I resigned and gave my last day of work as the last day of my sick note. Nothing they can do! I suppose it depends on your contractual agreements (I never had one so I think 3 weeks notice was fair after 3 years work) and I wrote a nice resignation letter with the usual BS thanking them for the opportunity blah blah blah (dont want to commit career suicide!) - the alternative would have been constructive dismissal as they had caused my health problems.
I spoke to ACAS who also said I could resign on a sick note but any outstanding pay could be deducted if the correct amount of notice is not given. In the absence of a contract, its usually one week per year of service but its always good practice to give two weeks if that is less.
If your friend is on a sick note due to the work/company/employers and for no other reason - best thing I ever did was to get out and darn the consequences anyway......lifes too short to spend it working with such people/places.

Uncertain

ferrett100 wrote: »

I spoke to ACAS who also said I could resign on a sick note but any outstanding pay could be deducted if the correct amount of notice is not given. In the absence of a contract, its usually one week per year of service but its always good practice to give two weeks if that is less.

Well it seems ACAS are wrong yet again! The call centre is becoming something of a joke.

In the absence of a written contract the employee is only obliged to give one week's notice. The one week per year formula only applies to the employer.

Also, they cannot lawfully deduct deduct outstanding pay if he fails to give notice. They could (in theory at least) sue for any provable losses this causes them so they may be able to get away with deducting some pay - but that doesn't make it legal!

Hezzawithkids

I am an employer and one of my employees did this to me. They were off sick due to whiplash after an RTA (nothing to do with me). They didn't keep in contact with me except for posting their sick notes every couple of weeks. I was just about to start disciplinary action when I got their resignation ... via text.

A week later I was asked to provide a reference for their new employer. "Peeved" hardly begins to describe how I felt...:cool:

Sambucus_Nigra

Hezzawithkids wrote: »

I am an employer and one of my employees did this to me. They were off sick due to whiplash after an RTA (nothing to do with me). They didn't keep in contact with me except for posting their sick notes every couple of weeks. I was just about to start disciplinary action when I got their resignation ... via text.

A week later I was asked to provide a reference for their new employer. "Peeved" hardly begins to describe how I felt...:cool:

And how did you respond? With people like this, I usually think 'phew'.

Mistral001

ferrett100 wrote: »

but its always good practice to give two weeks if that is less.
If your friend is on a sick note due to the work/company/employers and for no other reason - best thing I ever did was to get out and darn the consequences anyway......lifes too short to spend it working with such people/places.

I thought "sick" meant "sick" as in illness. A doctor can and should give a sick note if a patient is diagnosed with depression or some other form of mental illness. But if the condition is such that a simple change of jobs can cure it then it is hardly an illness and they hardly can be called "sick"

Jarndyce

Mistral001 wrote: »

I thought "sick" meant "sick" as in illness. A doctor can and should give a sick note if a patient is diagnosed with depression or some other form of mental illness. But if the condition is such that a simple change of jobs can cure it then it is hardly an illness and they hardly can be called "sick"

Er, yes it is and yes it can.

I have dealt with many workers who are ill with stress or depression because they have been bullied, over-worked, mistreated or discriminated against by a particular employer. Remove the employer that treats them in that way and they can begin the recovery process.

Trouble is, by definition people in that position are among those least likely to be able to find alternative work. People not recognising their condition as an illness is not going to help either.

Hezzawithkids

Sambucus_Nigra wrote: »

And how did you respond? With people like this, I usually think 'phew'.

In this case partly - but while they were signed off (about 10 weeks in total from memory) I couldn't hire a temporary replacement and pay them as well (there was a 2 week training course involved in their job before anyone became effective anyway, plus because they didn't answer my letters or calls I had no idea how long I had to plan for them to be away). So we had a big gap in our operation that had a knock-on effect on sales revenue. I just wish they'd been honest with us up front and talked to us rather than just sending in sick notes in an envelope with no comments.

Needless to say, after taking legal advice that was f-all I could do as an employer because the law is always on the employee's side.:cool: