Employee constantly keeps on complaining about back pain

marybelle01

dori2o wrote: »

re ther playing football thing, excercise is actually the best thing for bad backs. Also, you need to stop listening to the rumour mill and start looking for genuine medical advice.

Work is also exercise. It just happens to be exercise that also pays the bils, which football does not. If you are fit enough for football you are fit enough for work.

If the OP is a small business then they may not have the re4sources for OH and so on - and nor do they need to. They say thay have a sickness policy, which presumably includes sanctions for too much time off work. If it doesn't, then it needs to be changed. Then use it.

jacques_chirac

Orville wrote: »

Firstyly and i am surprised no-one has asked this.

How long has he been there?. I am pretty sure that unless it is sexual discrimination you can terminate a persons employment within the first year or two for anything. (Would like clarifaction from other posters on that one though).

Secondly. Is he entitled to sick pay within the terms of his contract?. If not, don't pay it if you think he is pulling a fast one.

The employee also has protection from disability discrimination (and other protected characteristics) from day one, hence my suggestion that an opinion from OH is sought.

jacques_chirac

marybelle01 wrote: »

If the OP is a small business then they may not have the re4sources for OH and so on - and nor do they need to.

An OH referral will cost a few hundred pounds, which would be money well spent when compared to the cost of long term absence or a tribunal claim.

elsien

What does your absence policy say about trigger points for further action? Ours says we can call people in for a formal absence review meeting if there is a pattern to the absences, such as Fri pm or Mon morning, as well as the usual x number of days in x months, or whatever yours says. So if someone is taking regular days off, it doesn't matter if they haven't hit the other triggers.
If it's that big an issue, if he's taking the !!!! you manage it via the absence procedure, if he's genuine you look at OH (if feasbible) and if you have to, look at capability. (Depending on length of service, as above.)
And I agree you need to stop listening to the rumour mill - it's unproveable as a rule, possibly exaggerated or someone with an axe to grind, and whatever the reason you need to deal with it professionally and as per your procedures.

Orville

jacques_chirac wrote: »

The employee also has protection from disability discrimination (and other protected characteristics) from day one, hence my suggestion that an opinion from OH is sought.

Does a bad back come under that..? if what has been said about him playing football, he could hardly be considered disabled.

jacques_chirac

Orville wrote: »

Does a bad back come under that..? if what has been said about him playing football, he could hardly be considered disabled.

Impossible to say without a) further information, and b) a degree in medicine! It does sound to me like the employee is taking advantage, but none of us have the required knowledge to know for sure, and it would be a pretty stupid employer to act without taking specialist advice.

dori2o

Orville wrote: »

Firstyly and i am surprised no-one has asked this.

How long has he been there?. I am pretty sure that unless it is sexual discrimination you can terminate a persons employment within the first year or two for anything. (Would like clarifaction from other posters on that one though).

Secondly. Is he entitled to sick pay within the terms of his contract?. If not, don't pay it if you think he is pulling a fast one.

it's not just sexual discrimination, it is any form of discrimination, and if the condition is longstanding and is having a profound effect on the persons day to day life, then in the eyes of the courts it could be classed as a disability under the Equality Act 2010.

OP if you were to just let the person go without properly looking into the matter, or by just listening to the rumours, believing that because he's worked there for less than 2 years you can do as you please, it could very well come back to bite you on the bum if the employee takes you to tribunal with a claim for disability discrimination, and the court accept that the back condition is covered as a disability under the Equality Act.

kelpie35

Rather than listening to your other employees, why do you not have a face to face conversation with the person you have a problem with.

If you feel he is taking the mickey then you have to address that.

I would not be happy if my employer was listening to gossips rather than speak to me about a problem they have with me.

hawk30

jacques_chirac wrote: »

The employee also has protection from disability discrimination (and other protected characteristics) from day one, hence my suggestion that an opinion from OH is sought.

There are also some non- "Equality Act discrimination" things that you don't need two years' service for, although likely not relevant here.

(Just adding clarification for previous poster, not aimed at you Jacques)

dori2o

marybelle01 wrote: »

Work is also exercise. It just happens to be exercise that also pays the bils, which football does not. If you are fit enough for football you are fit enough for work.

If the OP is a small business then they may not have the re4sources for OH and so on - and nor do they need to. They say thay have a sickness policy, which presumably includes sanctions for too much time off work. If it doesn't, then it needs to be changed. Then use it.

I never said anything to the contrary. I simply said that excercise is recognised as the best thing to ease a bad back.

The OP has said there has been 'a week or 2 absence now and again'. Does that mean that this employee should never be able to play football again because he's had a week or 2 off?

Do we know if the employee played during the weeks he was off work? More to the point does the employer know if this is the case?

This is the sort of informtion the EMPLOYER is responsible for finding out from the EMPLOYEE, not from idle tittle tattle in the workplace.

Would those who believe this person is swinging the lead think the same thing if this was any other condition other than a 'Bad Back'?