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Been fired for being sick

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  • Surely its all irrelevant though if the OP is on a zero hour contract....

    Also and I think that if they just gave statutory notice then whilst they would be in breach of contract which you could goto court for you couldn't do anything via a tribunal....However, I am not sure on this so someone would need to correct me if I am wrong
    The Googlewhacker referance is to Dave Gorman and not to my opinion of the search engine!

    If I give you advice it is only a view and always always take professional advice before acting!!!

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  • KiKi
    KiKi Posts: 5,381 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts
    my contract states it is 4 weeks notice on their part and a week on mine,the four weeks will take me into the 12 month period by three days...!

    Aha! Well, this just turned into a whole different ball game.

    With 12 months' service (notice included) they are obliged to follow correct dismissal procedures - and cannot dismiss you for a reason that isn't fair. You may want to write to them to clarify your last date of employment, just so you have it writing - without giving anything away, of course.

    Your time off may mean that you are still dismissed (for capability), but now they have to follow procedure, carry out an investigation and do it properly according to their own disciplinary and sickness procedures - not have a telephone conversation with you. And you can take them to ET for unfair dismissal if they don't.

    Just to be clear, though - you need to make a call on whether or not this is worth bothering with. On a zero hours contract the reality is that you prob won't want your job back - because they just won't give you work. However, you may decide on principle that they need to do this properly and remind them that the notice period means you've been there for a year - and appeal the decision. If they continue regardless then you might want to go to ET, but on a ZHC you may not get loss of earnings (don't know enough about ETs to advise), so not sure what that would get you.

    What I'm saying is that you now have rights - but they may not be rights worth fighting for. Perhaps someone like LazyDaisy or Jarndyce can advise on the legal bits (or correct me if I'm wrong!).


    HTH :)
    KiKi
    ' <-- See that? It's called an apostrophe. It does not mean "hey, look out, here comes an S".
  • bevanuk
    bevanuk Posts: 451 Forumite
    Have they actually sacked you? Have you got a P45? Or have they just not given you any shifts?
    Zero hour contract - they can just not give you any hours...
  • bevanuk wrote: »
    Have they actually sacked you? Have you got a P45? Or have they just not given you any shifts?
    Zero hour contract - they can just not give you any hours...

    I had several shifts booked in, I have been taken off them and told not to bother coming back. I have no p45 as yet. I am aware that they do not have to give me hours, but I know there are shifts going that need covering as I have been told this.
    ;)
  • Judith_W
    Judith_W Posts: 754 Forumite
    As has been said before, if they are not in breach of giving you 0 hours contract correctly, they don't need to actually sack you, just refuse to give you any more shifts...
  • ok, i have spoken to someone from the ACAS helpline, because my fixed contract was changed to a zero hour contract which had a covering letter implying its a temporary arrangement and that I can go back to my normal contract once im well enough and they were fully aware of my illness. Basically as well I have been told that because the correct procedures were not followed as to giving me any kind of warnings on either contracts for periods of absense - I had followed the correct protocol for absence and each one was supported by a doctors note- yet they had failed to give me any warnings or give me notice as stated in my contract.
    ;)
  • Pink_Fairy_2
    Pink_Fairy_2 Posts: 1,065 Forumite
    edited 9 February 2012 at 9:59PM
    I understood that you could not be dismissed whilst off sick as long as the absence was supported by a doctor's note. It certainly sounds as though you are being treated very unfairly, and they also have to be aware that they can't dismiss you on the grounds of illness as they would end up with huge issues under discrimination legislation. It sounds like ACAS is on the case, so best of luck.
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  • Pink_Fairy wrote: »
    I understood that you could not be dismissed whilst off sick as long as the absence was supported by a doctor's note. It certainly sounds as though you are being treated very unfairly, and they also have to be aware that they can't dismiss you on the grounds of illness as they would end up with huge issues under discrimination legislation. It sounds like ACAS is on the case, so best of luck.


    Wrong I'm afraid.

    You can be dismissed whilst ill and whilst on doctors notes but they have to go through a procedure that can take a couple of months and go through capabilities. If there is a disability involved they can still dismiss but have to be a bit more careful and make sure they have done everything reasonable that is possible.
    The Googlewhacker referance is to Dave Gorman and not to my opinion of the search engine!

    If I give you advice it is only a view and always always take professional advice before acting!!!

    4 people on the ignore list....Bliss!
  • teajug
    teajug Posts: 488 Forumite
    Where did the OP say she was disabled?

    OP, if you are on a zero hour contract then I would say there is little you can do because you may still be employed by them but they have no need to give you any hours as your contract states 0.

    Acas may help but remember they are just reading from a script, the only place you will get good proper advice is a face to face meeting with an employment solicitor.

    The OP said that she spent several days in hospital and peopole are not normally taken into hosptial for no reason she must have been disabled for the several days and probably days after that.

    Maybe her employer was of the opinion that she should not have been in hospital and at work instead......

    I do not know much about 0 hours contracts.
  • cepheus
    cepheus Posts: 20,053 Forumite
    edited 10 February 2012 at 9:03AM
    thanks for the replies. No,i am not disabled, I have a problem which requires surgery to fix it,but the waiting list is never-ending. I am looking for new jobs already, so hopefully something good will come out of something bad.

    Make sure you don't fall into this category. This site is for employers as you can gather!

    Obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995

    Note also, that the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 makes it unlawful for employers with fifteen or more employees to discriminate against current or prospective employees with disabilities.

    Don’t be caught out – the definition of ‘disability’ is wide and covers many people with illnesses which wouldn’t usually be thought of in society as a “disability”. The definition is: "a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on (a person's) ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities".

    Under the 1995 Act, an employer who dismisses a disabled person, or gives them compulsory early retirement, for a reason relating to the disability, would need to be able to justify this with a substantial and relevant reason.

    An employer cannot justify such treatment if the reason could be removed or made less than substantial, by a reasonable adjustment. For some employers and employees, reasonable adjustments might include part-time working, some additional sick leave, redeployment to other duties, or the transfer of minor duties to another employee.
    http://www.netlawman.co.uk/info/connection-illness.php
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