can i be sacked while on a sick note?

denla

I know someone who called in sick, and later handed in a doctor's note. Signed off sick for a week due to car crash. He was spotted shopping. Perfectly healthy looking so the employer gave him a written warning. Now he's planning to make a complaint, still not realising the employer could have sacked him for any reason or without reason since he's been employed for less than two years...

SarEl

denla wrote: »

I know someone who called in sick, and later handed in a doctor's note. Signed off sick for a week due to car crash. He was spotted shopping. Perfectly healthy looking so the employer gave him a written warning. Now he's planning to make a complaint, still not realising the employer could have sacked him for any reason or without reason since he's been employed for less than two years...

The last sentence may be perfectly true. But what has it got to do with anything? Are sick people incapable of shopping? Is there a rule that says they can't go shopping? And on what basis do you or the employer dispute a qualified doctors medical opinion?

As someone who was once in a car crash and unable to work for two weeks, you might have also found me "perfectly healthy looking" to the qualified eye. That would be because the drugs for the severe whiplash I suffered made me incapable of stringing together an argument about what we should have for tea, never mind a court case. But you wouldn't have known that by looking at me.

It might be fair in law to dismiss someone, but that does not make it right.

LittleVoice

dawnybabes wrote: »

Also you need to earn over about £102 for the previous 8 weeks iirc you don't qualify for SSP if you haven't

It's £107 but it is an average - averaged over the previous 8 weeks of work or, if not employed for that long, averaged over the actual number of weeks worked.