Has my OH been sacked

oldwitter

Would like some help for my OH that’s having difficult at work, been off sick for months waiting for employer to make adjustments and off with sick as a result of working without adjustments. He was called into work a couple of weeks ago to see the manager about his absences. He has a pass for entrance to work ie swipe card. He still got this, as far as he is concern he is still employed and sending HR medical certificates.

His salary for first two months was on reduced pay and now it has stopped completely. Compared to other staff that does the same job and has been off work with back problems and got full paid for a year. My partner had been off 3 months so far and has a disability and his first 2 months off was on half pay third month not paid at all. He is entitled to full pay for a certain length due to the length of service at work. Pay is discretionary and manager has a say regarding who get full paid or not. :mad::mad:

He is concern now as his manager told him to sign is as a visitor and when he met other staff when he called into the meeting for absences he was surprised that other staff though the he had left work.
Has he been sacked and not been told about it. :eek:

withabix

oldwitter wrote: »

Has he been sacked and not been told about it. :eek:

I doubt it.

How long has he worked there?

What does his Contract actually say about sick pay?

SarEl

You can't be sacked and not told about it. And if they were having a meeting about his absences then he can't have been dismissed since they couldn't discuss absences with someone who doesn't work for them.

But other than that it is difficult to comment on the situation because there isn't any detail. Why is he off sick, what adjustements are being waited for, what has happened, what discussions have been held about this and are OH involved?

custardy

oldwitter wrote: »

Would like some help for my OH that’s having difficult at work, been off sick for months waiting for employer to make adjustments and off with sick as a result of working without adjustments. He was called into work a couple of weeks ago to see the manager about his absences. He has a pass for entrance to work ie swipe card. He still got this, as far as he is concern he is still employed and sending HR medical certificates.

His salary for first two months was on reduced pay and now it has stopped completely. Compared to other staff that does the same job and has been off work with back problems and got full paid for a year. My partner had been off 3 months so far and has a disability and his first 2 months off was on half pay third month not paid at all. He is entitled to full pay for a certain length due to the length of service at work. Pay is discretionary and manager has a say regarding who get full paid or not. :mad::mad:

He is concern now as his manager told him to sign is as a visitor and when he met other staff when he called into the meeting for absences he was surprised that other staff though the he had left work.
Has he been sacked and not been told about it. :eek:

has he been off previously long term?
many employers pay full pay for says 6 months,then half pay for 6 monmths. however thats within a X year period
so if you had some long term sickness in the previous year,it can use up your entitlement

jobbingmusician

How long has he been with this employer? If he's been there for more than a year, and has been dismissed without telling him, you have a great tribunal case! You need to look at his contract to see what sick pay he is entitled to - I don't understand how contractual sick pay can be at a manager's discretion, really. Or I sort of do, but the firm will need good policies to demonstrate that they are not discriminating against people with disabilities, even unintentionally.

Your OH needs to write to the HR department to find out what is happening. You say he is entitled to full pay for a period of sickness - why hasn't he challenged the half pay already?

oldwitter

Many thanks for responses, he has worked there for 10 years and he should have gotten full pay, but instead his employer reduced it to half pay and now no pay at all. The adjustments are for suitable seating and this was confirmed by A2W as well. Been to OH 5 years ago and they confirmed that they he has a disability. Work has not complied though and he has been struggling with them for such a long time. It seems that they want him to go away. They do not want to invest in specialist equipment and my partner thinks this would create a precedent and would cost them a lot of bother with other staff as it a big organisation.

At the meeting he did challenge his pay at meeting and was told that they got advice before doing it. But they will try and reinstate it.

LittleVoice

If the contract says that sick pay is discretionary, then it is just that.

Is the disability connected with seating requirement?

Being asked to sign in as a visitor may be because the employer is concerned that someone on sickness absence is not covered by their employers liability insurance and therefore they need to cover this by public liability insurance while he is on their premises. Some insurance policies can be read in that way, I understand.

SarEl

oldwitter wrote: »

Many thanks for responses, he has worked there for 10 years and he should have gotten full pay, but instead his employer reduced it to half pay and now no pay at all. You need to be clear about what you are saying. If sick pay is discretionary then there is no reason to say that he "should have gotten full pay". He is either entitled to sick pay and that is an absolute - or his sick pay is discretionary and it therefore is up to the employer whether they pay or not.

The adjustments are for suitable seating and this was confirmed by A2W as well. This doesn't really tell us much. What has been recommended, why, and when? Has the employer given, or been asked for, an explanation of why this hasn't happened? Guessing at motives isn't going to help you - you need to establish facts.

Been to OH 5 years ago and they confirmed that they he has a disability. OH are not in a position to say whether somebody has a disability or not. They can advise that within the legal definition someone may be considered to have a disability, but with only one or two exceptions (like cancer) is the law that definite that they could do anything other than advise. An employer may be foolish to disregard their advise, but they are not bound by it.

Work has not complied though and he has been struggling with them for such a long time. What does this mean?

It seems that they want him to go away. They do not want to invest in specialist equipment and my partner thinks this would create a precedent and would cost them a lot of bother with other staff as it a big organisation. And this is what is no use to you - guessing why they are acting in this way. You need to estbalish facts. Have you asked for explanations of the delay, have you submitted grievances - what have you done to establish facts? Because without these you will struggle to go forward, and you will certainly weaken any legal position you have.

At the meeting he did challenge his pay at meeting and was told that they got advice before doing it. But they will try and reinstate it.

I know that this is a difficult situation, but if this were to go to law, then he would need to be able to evidence that discrimination may be taking place before the burden of proof shifts to the employer. Without such evidence you will fail - that is why discrimination cases frequently do not succeed. Guesswork and "someone else was treated better" doesn't cut the mark - a tribunal cannot view speculation as evidence; and they can only look into what has happened in your specific situation, not what happened to somebody else.

heretolearn_2

In any case - company sick pay may be discretionary but why wasn't he receiving SSP instead? That's a legal requirement. Did he ask about this?