Team Leader right to tell my friend that he would be sacked if took anymore sick ?

hilda1

My friend is agency staff and works for a major bank. He has been there for over a year and has had his contract extended until December.

He is not a healthy chap (Note : He is not disabled) and has had quite a few days off sick due to his health. He is also an excellent worker.

His Team Leader has advised him that he will be sacked if he takes any further days off sick. This has stressed him out, which has also effected his health.

I have advised him to speak to HR to confirm what his Team Leader has advised him and to get a response in writing if HR disagree with his TL.

Could someone please advise me if there is anything else that he should do.

Many thanks

ILW

What is wrong with him?
How much time has he taken off?

dawyldthing

anyone can be sacked for nothing within 2 years of employment, so i suppose he was trying to give him a heads up of what possibly the bosses higher up were saying

Prothet_of_Doom

He works for the Agency Not the bank.
The Team Leader who works for the bank, can ask the agency, for a different worker.
He should be discussing this with the Agency, who should be discussing the issues that his none attendence is causing with Both the Team Leader and HR.
To me, it's clear that a reasonable client, would balance the good work with known medical issues and attempt to work around them.
Especially as the bank won't be paying a dime when he's off, so it's not costing them, other than the fact that they have to make alternative arrangements to get the work done. (Or wait until his return)

Soleil_lune

hilda1 wrote: »

My friend is agency staff and works for a major bank. He has been there for over a year and has had his contract extended until December.

He is not a healthy chap (Note : He is not disabled) and has had quite a few days off sick due to his health. He is also an excellent worker.

His Team Leader has advised him that he will be sacked if he takes any further days off sick. This has stressed him out, which has also effected his health.

I have advised him to speak to HR to confirm what his Team Leader has advised him and to get a response in writing if HR disagree with his TL.

Could someone please advise me if there is anything else that he should do.

Many thanks

Poor chap

Can he not get something from his GP? To back up that his time off is legit? I know that employers rely on their workers, but this kind of behaviour is not going to make any employee get or feel better any time soon. When will employers learn?! They're not going to get the best out of their workers if they treat them like poo

scheming_gypsy

A lot of companies have a sickness policy in place, where you can only have x sickness instances within a set time period so it's nothing new. They can't just let somebody take more time off because they're agency.
If the bank has taken on agency staff then it's because they have the workload that needs extra manpower.,.. somebody who's off sick all the time isn't productive and will often be replaced by somebody who they can rely on.

contractors where I am have a pretty easy ride. The only ones who have had their contract ended are because of excessive sickness, except one who didn't get his extended because he's a sniveling little oik with absolutely no idea of what was going on around him.

LittleVoice

Soleil_lune wrote: »

Poor chap

Can he not get something from his GP? To back up that his time off is legit? (It's not about legitimacy: it's about time off. ) I know that employers rely on their workers, but this kind of behaviour is not going to make any employee (the OP's friend is not an employee of the organisation which has said the contract would be ended) get or feel better any time soon. When will employers learn?! They're not going to get the best out of their workers if they treat them like poo

....................

LittleVoice

Prothet_of_Doom wrote: »

He works for the Agency Not the bank.
The Team Leader who works for the bank, can ask the agency, for a different worker.
He should be discussing this with the Agency, who should be discussing the issues that his none attendence is causing with Both the Team Leader and HR.
To me, it's clear that a reasonable client, would balance the good work with known medical issues and attempt to work around them.
Especially as the bank won't be paying a dime when he's off, so it's not costing them, other than the fact that they have to make alternative arrangements to get the work done. (Or wait until his return)

The agency should be concerned about this. His non-attendance means they are losing income.

He should be concerned that the agency also may see him as unreliable and have second thoughts about placing him in another assignment if they have a more consistent attender available, however good the OP's friend may be at their job.

unlikelyheroine

You can be really good at your job the days that you are there, but if you're not there to do it on a regular basis and someone else has to cover for you then the question arises, are you really that good? Sorry, I know that's harsh, but that is how it will be to an employer who doesn't get their work done, or has to get someone else to do it, and has to deal with an employee they are paying to be there, not being there. This is the case even if there is an underlying medical condition not amounting to a disability, and they are entitled to take instances of sickness into account when determining whether to keep someone on.

What is causing him to be off so much? Is there any possibility of cutting down the sickness absences or are they inevitable? If the latter, it may be decided that he is just not right for the role. Can this be avoided? I don't mean to be unhelpful but a lot of examples of people losing their job for being off sick that I have seen have been avoidable.

ValHaller

hilda1 wrote: »

His Team Leader has advised him that he will be sacked if he takes any further days off sick. This has stressed him out, which has also effected his health.

I have advised him to speak to HR to confirm what his Team Leader has advised him and to get a response in writing if HR disagree with his TL.

Could someone please advise me if there is anything else that he should do.

I think your advice, unfortunately, is only likely to make things worse. HR are highly unlikely to say anything different to what the team leader has said. If you friend has taken your advice, he has now waved a big flag over his situation and HR are more likely than ever to be on his case and after his tail.

And consider too that there is one thing worse than the team leader threatening the sack - which is the team leader not threatening and doing it anyway.

unlikelyheroine

ValHaller wrote: »

I think your advice, unfortunately, is only likely to make things worse. HR are highly unlikely to say anything different to what the team leader has said. If you friend has taken your advice, he has now waved a big flag over his situation and HR are more likely than ever to be on his case and after his tail.

And consider too that there is one thing worse than the team leader threatening the sack - which is the team leader not threatening and doing it anyway.

Yes - I can't see HR overruling the Team Leader on a matter at his discretion, although there is a possibility they may do so if the TL is not acting in accordance with company policy. He probably is, though, just following procedures as to sickness absences.