My company over rides the Bradford scale

renegadefm

Hi.
I need some sound advice. I havent been absent from work for nearly 14 months.
I was put on stage 2 of the bradford scale on the 20th September 2017. But my score should have returned to zero on the 20th September 2018.
I did have the flu this weekend and had 3 straight days off. But I had a letter from HR today asking me to attend an unsatisfacory attendance meeting. But why do they need to see me.when my score went to nil which is now only 3 assuming 3 days sick is 3 points.
The company I work for seems to over ride the Bradford scale is this legal?

General_Grant

renegadefm wrote: »

Hi.
I need some sound advice. I havent been absent from work for nearly 14 months.
I was put on stage 2 of the bradford scale on the 20th September 2017. But my score should have returned to zero on the 20th September 2018.
I did have the flu this weekend and had 3 straight days off. But I had a letter from HR today asking me to attend an unsatisfacory attendance meeting. But why do they need to see me.when my score went to nil which is now only 3 assuming 3 days sick is 3 points.
The company I work for seems to over ride the Bradford scale is this legal?

Unless your contract says they use the Bradford formula and re-set the clock after a year, then they can do what they like. Manage attendance using a Bradford score or simply consider a half-day off for sickness as something to investigate.

Comms69

Yes.

The Bradford scale is not law

TELLIT01

It does seem a bit excessive for a single absence in 14 months but how absence / sickness policy is handled is entirely down to the company as long as they follow legal requirements. Bradford formula isn't a legal requirement.

sangie595

Anyone who has had flu knows it doesn't last three days.

Even with the Bradford Score strictly implemented, there's some discretion - and in many places that would kick in if you had immediately had three days illness the second your score might have dropped down. Especially if that's over a weekend. The employer might find that convenient timing, true or not.

renegadefm

Well the thing is when they put me on stage 2 last year, they said I need to go at least a year with no absence to show a sustained improvment, which I did do. But then I had really bad flu at the weekend and was absent 3 days. Which should mean my score is only 3. But nil just before that due to completing a year with no absence as they requested I should try and do. So why do they need to see me again now? It seems harsh to me.

renegadefm

The thing is I am only human how can anyone go longer than a year without catching something? I thought I did really well for me to go 14 months with no absence. My point is why use the Bradford scale if employers can still use their own rules on top of it?

marliepanda

renegadefm wrote: »

The thing is I am only human how can anyone go longer than a year without catching something? I thought I did really well for me to go 14 months with no absence. My point is why use the Bradford scale if employers can still use their own rules on top of it?

It’s not really normal to be off sick every year. I’ve been working 11 years, and not counting totally skiving sickness as a student I’ve had 2 periods of sickness in 8 years. One lot of norovirus and one ear infection where I couldn’t drive.

There are of course people with worse sickness than you, but 14months without sickness isn’t necessarily ‘good’

renegadefm

Well they said after a year of no absence my score would go back to zero. Which I achieved.

But I had 3 days off straight this weekend which I assume is a point for each day which is 3.

Yet they want to see my about my unsatisfatory attendance. This seems a bit over the top to me.

To go a year with no illness or longer seems a big ask to me especially as I work night shifts.

renegadefm

Well I dont know what to say. Lots of people I know catch things all year round. Upset stomachs, flu are the most common. How can you go to work with those? Besides I work 12 hour nights so how can you do that not feeling well.

[Deleted User]

End of the day you should check exactly what the absence policy says. Regardless what you think, they can ask you to attend a meeting if they are unhappy. End of.