6 months and now sick

Nicky321

My daughter has been employed for 6 months in one job and works between 8 and 24 hours per week, she has been employed on a temporary contract with a 2nd job for 2 months and works 6 1/4 hours per week in this job. In her main job, she has had 2 bad panic attacks in 8 days, something which she hasn't suffered from for 3 years, but has ended up being sent home from work. She turned up for her shift the day after being sent home from work due to the latest panic attack and was told by her employer to take time off till she feels better. She has been to the doctors and has been told panic attacks can happen and there isn't always a cause, and been given advice on how to deal with these if they do happen again. Her main job employer had given her roughly 20 hours this week but has now changed the rota and put her down as sick. She is able and willing to work, and will be working her other job of 6 1/4 hours. Is her employer able to do this? put her down as sick without a sick note? even if she is willing and able to work? She cannot afford to live off her 2nd jobs wage.

any advice gratefully appreciated.

zzzLazyDaisy

What does her contract say about hours? If it is a zero hours contract, the employer is not under any obligation to provide her with work so they can basically do as they like.

If she is contracted to work a certain number of hours a week, and her GP says she is fit for work, then the employer's refusal to allow her to attend for work when she is willing and able, is a 'medical suspension' and she is entitled to be paid for these hours.

BUT she should also be aware that in her first two years of employment, the employer can dismiss her for any reason or no reason at all (provided the reason does not breach the anti-discrimination legislation). What this means in plain English is that in complaining she may be writing her own P45.

She would have a claim if the employer dismissed her for seeking to rely on her statutory right to be paid, but it is much more likely that she'd be marked down as a trouble maker and 'let go' for the first (unrelated) problem that crops up.

Sorry if this sounds cynical, but I am old enough to remember what used to happen the last time the service requirement was two years.

VfM4meplse

Nicky321 wrote: »

Is her employer able to do this? put her down as sick without a sick note? even if she is willing and able to work?

The employer can terminate your DD's employment at any time for the next 18 months without a reason, unless there is clear discrimination on prescribed grounds.

She may be sick, but the issue is the lack of reliability - the employer needs to be able to meet the needs of his business with the staff he has, and legally owes your daughter nothing. It's up to her to get herself fully fit for work again and able to prove that she is a reliable member of the team.

Nicky321

Thankyou for the replies,

In regards to the contract, she has never received one, but over the last 8 weeks has worked an average of 17.5hrs/week, with the main employer.

She is a reliable member of the team, she has worked for them for 6 months, without a problem, but out of the blue suffered 2 panic attacks in the last 8 days. Even after the last attack on Friday, she turned in for work on the Saturday, and was told to go home, as they had cover for her. Then her employer put her down on the rota to work Wed 5hrs, Thur 4hrs, Sat 6hrs and Sun 6hrs. Only today have them hours been taken off her.

tpl

I'm not sure the GP is right when he says panic attacks don't always have a cause...its an heightened state of anxiety, so there will be something causing it, even if she is not aware of what it is. I would want to get a bit more help than the GP has offered if it continues.
re: her job...if she doesn't have a written contract, what were the terms she accepted the job under - she has a contract with the employer regardless if it is written down or not. She can't be told not work if she is well, if she is contracted to work. Is she well enough to work at the moment, if not, can she get a sick note. She really does need to find out what the terms of her employment are.

Daedalus

Surely this is straying into discrimination on mental health grounds.

zzzLazyDaisy

Daedalus wrote: »

Surely this is straying into discrimination on mental health grounds.

Occasional panic attacks, on their own, are not going to meet the definition of 'disability' for unlawful discrimination - unless there is some other underlying mental health problem that we don't know about?

Nicky321

Again thanks for the replies, Like I say, she feels well enough to work, and has done on each of the occasions before the attacks. The attacks have come on so quick she has been unable to control them at the time. The doctor has recommended therapy but this can be a wait of several weeks, and given her a leaflet to help her recognize and control them. She doesnt want to be off sick from either job, and will be working her 2nd job as she is hoping there is a possibility of it becoming a permanent contract. She also wont be able to work this 2nd job if she gets a sick note from the doctors, and she really is wanting to continue working in both jobs. She may not have another panic attack for several days, weeks, months or years even, and there again she may have one within the next day. She has suffered from anxiety and depression when she lost 2 grandparents 4 years ago and 12 months ago, but this latest episode, she cannot seem to figure out what triggered it..

zzzLazyDaisy

If she wishes to deal with this formally, she needs to start a grievance with her employer. By law she should be given a copy of her written terms and conditions of employment, together with copies of the grievance and disciplinary procedures, within 8 weeks of commencing employment. Unfortunately there is no effective avenue for enforcing this.

I would suggest that she gets a letter from her GP confirming that she is fit to return to work. This would be a private letter and she would probably have to pay for it. This would be difficult for the employer to argue with, but if she has another panic attack at work, the employer may still respond in the same way (the worry about this could actually make further attacks a self-fulfilling prophecy). There is no easy answer when the employee has no/little employment rights and can be dismissed on a whim anyway. It may well be that this is not the right environment for her, and she needs to be looking for another p/t job to supplement the income from her other job.