can an employee be disciplined whilst on sick leave?

far2812

i have been asked to ask the question to you clever people.


scenario;


lady has worked for company for 1 year in a month rolling contract


it appears that some figures have been fudged, budget overspent and things put in place by management tomcarry out disciplinary meeting


employee goes off sick before disciplinary meeting.


has been off sick for 8 weeks. only sent in a photo of sick note with Dr information missing ie sick note incomplete.


there have been a lot of issues and basically the question is can she be disciplined whilst on sick leave? can she be dismissed whilst on sick leave?


thanks for any advice

WestonDave

If she's only been there one year then on the face of it she can be dismissed without bothering with the disciplinary as she would have no employment rights beyond protection from discrimination (disability would only be relevant here if her "illness" is disability related rather than "stress"). She would need to have been there 2 years for protection from unfair dismissal.

far2812

thanks so much westondave. she is stating kidney infection as the sickness. 8 weeks seems an awful long time. so in effect she can be dismissed now?

WestonDave

On the facts provided my opinion would be that she can be dismissed - you may want to double check with ACAS who have a free helpline or to really cover yourself get legal advice. (I'm not legally qualified!)

Southend1

Yes, disciplinaries can continue while an employee is sick. It may be reasonable for the employer to consider a postponement however it is common for people to think they can get away with something or buy time by going off sick prior to a disciplinary.

Her union rep will be able to advise and represent her.

ohreally

A disciplinary hearing can be convened in her absence.

I would suggest that HR functions are not carried by way of internet support .

Tiddlywinks

far2812 wrote: »

i
lady has worked for company for 1 year in a month rolling contract

it appears that some figures have been fudged, budget overspent and things put in place by management tomcarry out disciplinary meeting

employee goes off sick before disciplinary meeting.

has been off sick for 8 weeks. only sent in a photo of sick note with Dr information missing ie sick note incomplete.

there have been a lot of issues and basically the question is can she be disciplined whilst on sick leave? can she be dismissed whilst on sick leave?

thanks for any advice

Your post is a bit hard to follow. The short answer to your final question is 'yes'.

You seem to have an awful lot of information about this lady's predicament. Are you a colleague? Employer? Friend?

The lady in question should ask for a copy of the relevant company policies.

She should also ensure that her fit note from the doctor is completed correctly... are you alleging this has been altered in some way? That in itself is likely to (at the very least) fall into unacceptable conduct.

Who altered the accounts etc - the employer or the employee?

far2812

many thanks all. its someone who works for my partner and I am trying to help him. he is the manager not the owner.


the employee was given a budget and overspent by 100% in the first 2 months of the financial year.


she sent a picture from her phone of a sick note only covering her for 2 weeks off but the picture only shows half od the sick note. she said she has sent "several copies" in the post!! but they have never received them.


my partner has just had a phone call from the police stating that they are looking for her as it is alleged that she has cleared her ex partners bank account. although this is not linked, it is clear she has problems.


they just want her out now.


I'm so grateful for advice

Tiddlywinks

far2812 wrote: »

many thanks all. its someone who works for my partner and I am trying to help him. he is the manager not the owner.

the employee was given a budget and overspent by 100% in the first 2 months of the financial year.

she sent a picture from her phone of a sick note only covering her for 2 weeks off but the picture only shows half od the sick note. she said she has sent "several copies" in the post!! but they have never received them.

my partner has just had a phone call from the police stating that they are looking for her as it is alleged that she has cleared her ex partners bank account. although this is not linked, it is clear she has problems.

they just want her out now.

I'm so grateful for advice

So, your partner is the manager and this is his member of staff?

Your partner has acted completely unprofessionally.

1. As a manager he should KNOW the company policies or at least know how to access them. He shouldn't need to rely on you asking random strangers on the internet.

2. Your partner shared confidential medical information (details of her illness) with you and then you have published them on here.

3. Even worse, he shared details of a police investigation with you and then you've passed on the gossip on a public forum.

I really hope that the lady in question isn't an MSE regular or you'll have tipped her off about the investigation and her manager's indiscretions.

jobbingmusician

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

So, your partner is the manager and this is his member of staff?

Your partner has acted completely unprofessionally.

1. As a manager he should KNOW the company policies or at least know how to access them. He shouldn't need to rely on you asking random strangers on the internet.

2. Your partner shared confidential medical information (details of her illness) with you and then you have published them on here.

3. Even worse, he shared details of a police investigation with you and then you've passed on the gossip on a public forum.

I really hope that the lady in question isn't an MSE regular or you'll have tipped her off about the investigation and her manager's indiscretions.

While I agree with point 1, points 2 and 3 seem ridiculous to me. We cannot tell how much the information has been anonymised, and in any case it is not possible to identify anyone from the information posted on here!

The long and short of it is that no employee has rights to continuous employment until they have worked for their employer for 2 years. They have protection from discrimination on the basis of protected characteristics, but nothing more. I would suggest that getting a legible copy of the sick note is a good first step............

Tiddlywinks

jobbingmusician wrote: »

While I agree with point 1, points 2 and 3 seem ridiculous to me. We cannot tell how much the information has been anonymised, and in any case it is not possible to identify anyone from the information posted on here!

The long and short of it is that no employee has rights to continuous employment until they have worked for their employer for 2 years. They have protection from discrimination on the basis of protected characteristics, but nothing more. I would suggest that getting a legible copy of the sick note is a good first step............

How many women working for a small business in the Nottingham area will have been off sick for 8 weeks with a kidney infection, have submitted their fit note via photo, are being disciplined for going over budget after only 2 months and has emptied her ex BF's account?

Not many I'd guess.

As a board guide you should know how many millions of members MSE has... You should be encouraging people not to share such details surely.