My Rights At Work Long Term Sickness

RachRubyD

Thanks for the advice, I've removed the original post for various privacy reasons.
Just wanted to know the facts and understand more my rights. Seems I have been looking at the goverment and nhs rules incorrectly. More applies to if your in a permanent. Migraines may class as long term sickness, however I am not going to argue this point. All I can do now is see what advice and information I am given and move forward from there. Sorry this seems a bit vague but I feel like I cannot share any more information online on this matter. I would remove this thread but can't and so am just offering an explanation. However once again thanks for the advice I at least now know where I stand and to look for another job.

sangie595

According to which government? Because it isn't one in this country! You get no special treatment for having been off long term sick - and two months out of six months total employment is a lot. You are thinking of disability - and long term sickness of two months, with tonsillitis once and migraines for the rest, isn't disability by any definition. Migraine MIGHT get to be one - but you are a long way off that now, so there is nothing there for you to depend on. As far as things stand now you have the right to attend work and do your job - sorry, but that is all. And the employer is within their rights to consider that someone who has been off sick for one third of their contract as not being suitable for permanent (or any other) contracts. To be honest, if you had a "permanent contract" you'd probably in the same place now anyway - sickness absence is sickness absence, no matter what good reason there is, and two months out of six wouldn't be likely to do you any favours with most employers.

So yes, the employer is entitled to refuse to consider supporting any further application from you. And they certainly don't have to apply for you. I would suggest that instead of telling HR what you think that should have done that they didn't (and there is no mileage in that - there is nothing that can be done to force them to do anything more - the "rules" are pretty sketchy) then concentrate on what you have done to turn this situation around and what you can offer in terms of improved attendance.

And just so you know that I am not being harsh on this - my employer would have had you in a disciplinary for sickness absence at nine weeks, at least a review of one year for reduced sickness - and that is a good employer, and for employees with two years service. At six months service it would take one very good argument for them not to dismiss someone who has been off sick a third of that time. This sort of thing is really the norm these days and employers simply don't hang around when it comes to sickness any more.

Crazy_Jamie

Sangie is mostly correct, but there are some further points that need to be clarified.

First of all, you have read up on steps that an employer must take when seeking to fairly dismiss an employee on the grounds of capability. In such circumstances there are numerous hoops that an employer must take before they can fairly dismiss on the grounds of capability. Unfortunately these do not apply to you for two reasons.

The first is that you are on a six month fixed term contract, and your employer would have the right to not renew that contract at the end of that period irrespective of your level of sickness absence or the steps that they took on your return to work. The second is that an employer only needs a 'fair reason' to dismiss an employee after two years of service. Before that time an employer can dismiss for any reason that is not automatically unfair (for example, pregnancy), and whilst ending a fixed term contract early may leave an employer open to a claim of wrongful dismissal (whereby you claim for your wages for the remainder of the fixed term), that is not the case here. Ultimately the steps that you have read about simply do not apply to the employer's decision as to who to interview for permanent positions.

The situation may be different if you suffered from a disability, as claims arising out of disability discrimination can be brought irrespective of length of service. Migraines can potentially be classed as a disability under the Equality Act 2010, but the likelihood of that depends on the facts of the individual case, and such a determination would turn on the frequency of the migraines as well as the level of impairment suffered as a result. You've been suffering with migraines since you were younger, so they could class a disability as they are long term, but it would depend on frequency on the effect that they have on you, and you haven't provided information in relation to that so it's difficult to make any sort of assessment. It is perhaps unlikely in these circumstances, though not necessarily impossible.

The long and short of it is that you're in a weak position as regards the law, and unfortunately you have misinterpreted the information that you have read as to the protection that the law offers you. Your only real avenue of protection is if your migraines class as a disability, which seems unlikely but I can give you a better idea of your chances in that regard with the information that I've noted above.

Savvy_Sue

RachRubyD wrote: »

No one has came and checked if am sitting in the correct position or if my screen etc is right, which they said they would do. I asked my manager and she gave me a self help sheet about it.

Can I just ask if you've worked through the self help sheet? And if that flags up problems, have you raised these with your manager?

I do tell all my colleagues that if they have problems adjusting their office chair, or they need a wrist rest, a monitor stand or a foot rest, they have only to ask. But I cannot MAKE them sit correctly!