Sick leave and holidays

looby75

My best mates mum has recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer and she also lost her dad to cancer not that long ago, understandably everything has got on top of her and she had a bit of a break down last week. She tried struggling on in work but just couldn't do it so went to see the gp today and has been given 4 weeks sick notes because of stress and depression.

She has a holiday booked for 3 weeks time and when she went to see her manager today to give her the sick note, her manager told her that if she is on the sick she can't go on holiday (it's a caravan break in the uk) and if she does she will be sacked.

Is this true, can they stop someone who is signed off work from taking a holiday that was booked long before they were signed off work?

A fight with work is the last thing that my mate needs at the moment, she is already talking about handing her notice in because she can't face anymore hassle.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Jarvisma

My advice would be for her to visit her Doctor and ask if he / she can write her a simple letter stating that due to the nature of her condition (i.e. stress / depression / grieving) a break would be beneficial to her health and it is therefore under her doctors advice that she should continue to take this holiday.

Most doctors would be pleased to do this and any employer would be hard pressed to argue with it.

looby75

thanks, thats a good idea. The main reason she is desperate to go on this holiday is because if her mum is feeling up to it she is going with them. It will be the last holiday she will ever get with her mum.

lisyloo

The manager seems to be trying to cover themselves from employees swinging the lead however this is extremely short sighted.

I can think of many illnesses where a holiday would be benficial and working can be really difficult (when I get a migraine I really can't stand looking at a computer athough I can carry out other physical tasks).

Is there an HR person that you can talk to and explain that you are not swinging the lead and that a break may be highly beneficial to getting you back to work and after all you will be "re-cuperating" on your own time.

looby75

Lisyloo, the manager knows that my friend is really ill, she has been struggling for weeks now, and last week had to be sent home from work as she broke down in floods of tears and wasn't able to do her job. (she is a supervisor in a supermarket) I suppose she could contact HR but as I said she's not really in any fit state to deal with any extra worries or pressure atm. I've spoken to her again about 20 mins ago and she is seriously considering handing her notice in.

Thats the depression talking not her, she has been doing that job for 7 years now and I know she would regret it when she starts to feel better.

Jarvisma

Just get the Doctor to write her a short statement. That way she doesn't need to speak to anyone if she doesn't want to she can just send it in.

I have been involved in a very similar situation and the employee concerned was requesting time off to go to medical appointments on a regular basis. Her manager was obviously reluctant to allow this just on her say so, so her doctor wrote her a short letter saying it was important for her ongoing treatment to attend the appointments and the matter was resolved. No employer is going to risk arguing with medical evidence.

flashnazia

Lots of ppl go on holiday when they are off sick and get away with it. If she is dismissed she may have an unfair dismissal claim (provided she has a years service).

How will the employer know if she has gone or not?

But, to play it safe and avoid hassle she could come off sick before her hols and go on the holiday as planned and agreed by employer.

They can only cancel a holiday request that was agreed (I'm assuming it was) if they give at least the amount of notice as the amount of leave that was requested.

brazilianwax

As others have said, you can't stop someone on sick leave from going away.

In a lot of cases it will ease the person's illness. As long as there is a med cert, there's nothing the employer can do.

dawnydee73

looby75 wrote: »

She has a holiday booked for 3 weeks time and when she went to see her manager today to give her the sick note, her manager told her that if she is on the sick she can't go on holiday (it's a caravan break in the uk) and if she does she will be sacked.

That is really harsh, surely the manager can use their discretion (sp?) Its not as if she is going off sick just to have an extra holiday like some peole I know have done

lisyloo

I would have actually thought this was in the employers interest.
Not only will the holiday speed probably speed up the recovery but also they are re-cuperating on THEIR OWN time and not on company time.

This is incredibly short sighted and very bad management clearly adding to the stress.

Gemmzie

Looby, I have a similar dilemma, being signed off and needing a holiday. Am speaking to a solicitor ASAP (I also work in retail), so I'll PM you when I know.