Sick pay during notice period

Ladyanna89

Ok so to give you a bit of background - I've had a new (and quite frankly, terrible) manager since December. Since then, my working life has gone to the dogs and I've been struggling to manage a ridiculous workload with zero support whilst she is persistently condescending and patronising. I've found that since then, i've been regularly falling ill due to stress - something which i have discussed with manager but nothing has been done about it.
I've since found a new job (my DREAM job too) and i've handed in my letter of resignation. I've asked if we can negotiate my 2 month notice period down to 1 month (no decision has been made yet) Since handing in my notice, my working life has only got worse - it was clearly visible to the entire team how upset and stressed i have been this week. I came home last night and went straight to bed, only to wake up this morning sick. I know that this is stress related sickness.
I emailed my manager this morning to say that i would not be in the office because I will ill however due to the volume of work i was happy to manage my priorities from home. She called me to say that if i was well enough to work from home that i was well enough to come into the office to work and she expected me to stay late to make my hours. My alternative was to stay home unpaid - she noted that because I was working my notice period, I was no longer entitled to paid sick absence.

Now, i'm feeling seriously peeved off. I'm not surely legally if they can deduct my wages because I'm sick whilst on my notice period? And it's not like i've caught some fluke cold or flu . . . it's my treatment in work which has made me ill.
At the end of the day, I also don't want to burn any bridges before i move to my new employer but if it's making me genuinely sick & stressed, where do I stand?

jobbingmusician

Check your contract. It's a new one to me, the concept of not having sick leave because you have handed in your notice, and I suspect she is making it up. She is clearly making up the concept that someone not well enough to come to work is not well enough to do ANY work.....

Ladyanna89

Thanks for the response. I've checked my contract and it states that I'm entitled to SMP only throughout all of my employment however that hasn't been the case and i've always been paid for sick days.
I don't really know where i stand or how to reply.
I'm tempted to go to my dr today just to cover myself.

Kayalana99

Ladyanna89 wrote: »

Thanks for the response. I've checked my contract and it states that I'm entitled to SMP only throughout all of my employment however that hasn't been the case and i've always been paid for sick days.
I don't really know where i stand or how to reply.
I'm tempted to go to my dr today just to cover myself.

"You can get £89.35 per week Statutory Sick Pay ( SSP ) if you're too ill to work. It's paid by your employer for up to 28 weeks. You need to qualify for SSP and have been off work sick for 4 or more days in a row (including non-working days). You can't get less than the statutory amount."

I understand from this that you are only entitled to sick pay by law if you are off for four or more days in a row, if your contract doesn't say otherwise and you have been paid for sick days in the past - I'd be wondering if legally they don't have to, but have done so as a good will gesture?

Also;

https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/sick-pay-rights

"Your employer can choose to make an exception and pay you sick pay even if you don't qualify under the company rules. Also, some sick pay schemes say that payments are 'at the employer's discretion', which means your employer can refuse payment if they think the absence is unjustified.

However, in doing so they must ensure that their decision is free from discrimination (that is, they're not favouring one category of employee over another when they're required not to).

Introduction to discrimination
If your employer has chosen to pay discretionary sick pay in the past this does not automatically mean they have to in the future. However, it is sometimes possible for a discretionary arrangement to become a part of your contract through 'custom and practice'."

Kayalana99

I think you need to bare in mind here that sick pay is not a right (unless the basic SSP), but a benefit from your employer - so unless you have it in writing to say otherwise....

sangie595

Refusing to pay anything other than SSP during notice periods is not uncommon now, due to the number of people who end up being sick the minute they hand in their notice. I'm not saying you are faking it - but a lot of people do, and as a result, employers have tightened up on such things. This could be a "devil you do or devil you don't" situation. Because if you complain that you've always been paid when sick previously, and your contract states clearly that you get SSP only, then the employer can turn around and say that was an error and reclaim all the money! Or you could complain and get paid. My money would be on the former rather than the latter though.

getmore4less

Depending on how long you have worked there and the contractual notice periods for the employer they may need to pay FULL pay in the last week even if off sick.

sangie595

getmore4less wrote: »

Depending on how long you have worked there and the contractual notice periods for the employer they may need to pay FULL pay in the last week even if off sick.

The OP has resigned. That would only apply if the employer dismissed. They didn't.

getmore4less

getmore4less wrote: »

Depending on how long you have worked there and the contractual notice periods for the employer they may need to pay FULL pay in the last week even if off sick.

sangie595 wrote: »

The OP has resigned. That would only apply if the employer dismissed. They didn't.

missed this error.

applies to statutory notice on resignation if the conditions are met...

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/18/section/87