Sick leave

patgc

My sister has been working part time for one of the large Supermarkets for about 18 months. She works 2 shifts a week, contracted for 12 hours. Last week she had to take one of those shifts off as she was really poorly with a heavy cold and chest infection.. With this Supermarket chain, if you are off sick, you have to have a return to work interview when you come back and fill in forms etc. She has also been informed that should she be off sick again in the next 6 months, she will receive a written disciplinary warning on her personel record. Surely these employers cannot do that ?. She had to sign to say that she understood this. She told her Manager that she didn't agree with this policy and he said that he didn't either but that is the policy. She doesn't get paid when she is sick and has had very little, if any other time off sick.

Uncertain

patgc wrote: »

Surely these employers cannot do that ?.

I'm afraid the short answer is yes they can.

denla

She's won't be getting a warning for getting sick. It's for poor attendance. What she should have done is let the manager know the night before she isn't feeling well and wants to swap shifts with someone else for tomorrow. Then she wouldn't have had any off sick records.

poet123

This kind of policy is quite normal. We have a three strikes in 12 month policy and then you start to be monitored.

LittleVoice

patgc wrote: »

My sister has been working part time for one of the large Supermarkets for about 18 months. She works 2 shifts a week, contracted for 12 hours. Last week she had to take one of those shifts off as she was really poorly with a heavy cold and chest infection.. With this Supermarket chain, if you are off sick, you have to have a return to work interview when you come back and fill in forms etc. She has also been informed that should she be off sick again in the next 6 months, she will receive a written disciplinary warning on her personel record. Surely these employers cannot do that ?. She had to sign to say that she understood this. She told her Manager that she didn't agree with this policy and he said that he didn't either but that is the policy. She doesn't get paid when she is sick and has had very little, if any other time off sick.

Is her pay at least £8.92/hour or does she normally actually work more than her contracted hours so that her pay is at least £107/week? If she does earn £107 or more a week, she would be entitled to statutory sick pay if she were ever sick for 4 days in a row (and that includes non-working days).

patgc

denla, yes she phoned her manager the afternoon before to say she was sick. Nothing was mentioned about looking for a swap.
littlevoice, No, she doesnt earn that much an hour ( she should be so lucky), she normally does some extra hours every couple of weeks. Would you work that out over a year or is it a week to week thing ?

shocky_2

What is this "written disciplinary record"? It might just be a marker noting that your daughter has had a lot of sick days, rather than something indicating bad conduct.

denla

patgc wrote: »

denla, yes she phoned her manager the afternoon before to say she was sick. Nothing was mentioned about looking for a swap.

She should have asked a colleague who's able to swap shifts with her, and then informed her manager about it. Can't expect the manager to go phoning workers and making he arrangements for her.

patgc

youngsolicitor,
no it would be a written letter telling her she has been disciplined ( brought before her Manager and warned) and I guess what the consequences are to her if she does it again. Obviously kept on her file for future reference.

SarEl

youngsolicitor wrote: »

What is this "written disciplinary record"? It might just be a marker noting that your daughter has had a lot of sick days, rather than something indicating bad conduct.

Many employers commonly use the discipinary process as part of the capability process, and provided it is clear what they are doing, that is fine for them to do. She hasn't actually recieved a warning anyway - she has been told that another period of sickness will trigger that stage.

patgc

I really don't think that that is an option when you are in bed ill. She works in a small dept. where I think about 6 personel cover the hours, usually only 1 on a shift, she doesn't know the phone numbers of the others. I couldn't count the number of times she has had calls from her manager asking her to come in to work as someone hasn't turned up or is sick. Yes, arrange to swap shifts if you are going somewhere or have an appointment as its in the future but if you are ill, its just not feasible.