Sick whilst under investigation

eeeeen

Hi
I would appreciate some advice, defending a friend in a case that is bulling and leading to constructive dismissal.
To avoid putting the full story on as there is far to much to explain, just need to understand where the employee stands as my friend has completely cracked up and is under the doctor. believe me he is in a bad way as this investigation has been going on for four weeks now, my friend has been attending and doing everything the company has asked. We were to attend a meeting some weeks ago but not enough time was given for my friend to attend so we asked to postpone for twenty four hours whilst we looked at all the evidence and we asked them to supply more info but to date nothing. Any way the company cancelled the meeting but said the guy holding the didaplinary meeting can't make the following day due to him going on holiday and not back for 10 days. We put a complaint in saying 10 days is far to long can someone else not hold it as the employee is very ill with all this plus we asked for more info, they got back and said no one can do it so it will have to wait. Now the time limit as gone and we have heard nothing, but it might be because the friend has been to the doctors and a sick note has been put in but the doctor has said on the sick note he can't attend any work related meetings.
So the question is what should their next move be as this is completely wrecking my friend. we need to get to a resolution quickly.

marybelle01

The doctor has said that your friend cannot attend any work related meetings - like disciplinary meetings. So I do not understand why you are complaining that they aren't holding the disciplinary meeting? You asked for a postponement, which was within your rights, but the person was then on holiday, and you don't have a right to another disciplinary panel. So basically it would appear that at this stage you are at an impasse. At least for now the employer will wait until you produce a note saying you are fit to attend the hearing. If this does not happen, at some stage they will probably go ahead and give your friend the option of adjustments, such as submitting a written defence. This is not as satisfactory as attending in person (for your friend) as you miss out on what is said in the hearing, but it is quite legal.

eeeeen

Just to clarify , I requested that someone else complete the disciplinary due to the fact our friend had to wait another 10 days to have the meeting bearing in mind this has been going on for some time now. We felt this was unacceptable, I could see this was getting to our friend. Sure enough Three days after the due date for the meeting this is when the doctors note cam, not before, he just wanted to get it over.

ohreally

What stage are proceedings at as you refer to both investigation and disciplinary?

Has your friend been accused of bulling or has he made an allegation?

marybelle01

eeeeen wrote: »

Just to clarify , I requested that someone else complete the disciplinary due to the fact our friend had to wait another 10 days to have the meeting bearing in mind this has been going on for some time now. We felt this was unacceptable, I could see this was getting to our friend. Sure enough Three days after the due date for the meeting this is when the doctors note cam, not before, he just wanted to get it over.

Sorry but that really isn't relevant. Four weeks is hardly any time at all - some people wait months for a disciplinary. You might think that 10 days was unacceptable but you do not set the timetable. You asked for a postponement and you got it. What happened after that doesn't matter to this fact. The employer will now be waiting for a fit note that says that they can proceed, and if that takes too long then they may decide to go ahead with adjustments - or they may simply choose to sit back and wait for his sick pay to run out. You will never convince any employment tribunal in the land that any of this was unfair - the employer has done exactly what they are required to do so far, and you don't have anything that you can complain about. There is nothing in what you have said so far to support a claim of unfairness or constructive dismissal - and you have little chance of ever winning a case of constructive dismissal with less than 3% of such cases winning. With tribunals now costing £1200 your friend would need a hell of a lot more than any of this to justify risking that amount of his money.

eeeeen

ohreally wrote: »

What stage are proceedings at as you refer to both investigation and disciplinary?

Has your friend been accused of bulling or has he made an allegation?

Hi oh really, thanks for the reply the next meeting is the disciplinary meeting.
Friend is being bullied but not made an allegation as this is my opinion on being involved at a late stage, studying, reading and dealing with all the evidence.

eeeeen

marybelle01 wrote: »

Sorry but that really isn't relevant. Four weeks is hardly any time at all - some people wait months for a disciplinary. You might think that 10 days was unacceptable but you do not set the timetable. You asked for a postponement and you got it. What happened after that doesn't matter to this fact. The employer will now be waiting for a fit note that says that they can proceed, and if that takes too long then they may decide to go ahead with adjustments - or they may simply choose to sit back and wait for his sick pay to run out. You will never convince any employment tribunal in the land that any of this was unfair - the employer has done exactly what they are required to do so far, and you don't have anything that you can complain about. There is nothing in what you have said so far to support a claim of unfairness or constructive dismissal - and you have little chance of ever winning a case of constructive dismissal with less than 3% of such cases winning. With tribunals now costing £1200 your friend would need a hell of a lot more than any of this to justify risking that amount of his money.

Hi marybelle01
Thanks for your input and you have now answered what I wanted to know about adjustment.