We're aware that some users are experiencing technical issues which the team are working to resolve. See the Community Noticeboard for more info. Thank you for your patience.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

Made redundant after coming back from sick leave

Options
Hi,
A friend of mine has been made redundant after coming back from sick leave. They were off for 2 weeks.
They live with two chronic illnesses and this is the second time in the last year they've been off on the sick.
Their company says they are making them redundant due to COVID-19, but nobody else has been told their job is also at risk. 
Is there anything dodgy about this? I have advised them to contact citizens advice as it seems very fishy to me. 
Any advice would be much appreciated.

Comments

  • sharpe106
    sharpe106 Posts: 3,558 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker

    They can’t just make them redundant for returning from sick leave, they would need to go down medical efficiency route if that was the reason.

     

    But as the company says it is COVID reasons, that potentially can be a realistic reason.  But they can’t just say you have a bad sick record so it is you without telling other people that redundancies are being made.  

     

    The process has to be fair, does your friend just do a standalone job or are the others doing a similar job?   


  • sharpe106 said:

    They can’t just make them redundant for returning from sick leave, they would need to go down medical efficiency route if that was the reason.

     

    But as the company says it is COVID reasons, that potentially can be a realistic reason.  But they can’t just say you have a bad sick record so it is you without telling other people that redundancies are being made.  

     

    The process has to be fair, does your friend just do a standalone job or are the others doing a similar job?   


    It's a standalone job. 
  • sharpe106
    sharpe106 Posts: 3,558 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    How long have they worked there for?
    Would the illness be recognised under the disability act?
  • sharpe106 said:
    How long have they worked there for?
    Would the illness be recognised under the disability act?
    They've worked there for 11 months.
    Yes, one of their conditions would be recognised under the disability act. 
  • sharpe106
    sharpe106 Posts: 3,558 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker

    So basically to recap they were working a standalone job, they had been working there for 11 months and had been off sick at least twice. They also have a condition that is recognised under the disability act.

    A person that is disabled can still be made redundant that just can’t be the reason. They need to be treated equally.

     When a person gets made redundant it is actually the job not the person who gets made redundant, it is just the unlucky job holder that goes with the job. When jobs are made redundant and there is group of people doing the job or similar job then they need to have a process of who gets chosen, could be last in first out, could be performance but it has to be fair.

     The problem becomes when it is a standalone job that gets stopped. There is only one job going and one person doing it. So proving unfair dismissal is a lot harder. So is the job completely dissimilar to others?  , has the job actually gone or have they redeployed the work? Or have they puts somebody else into the position.


  • TBagpuss
    TBagpuss Posts: 11,236 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    It sounds as though she was in a 'pool' of one, which would explain why no-one else was told that their job was at risk. 
    In addition, as she has only worked for 11 months they can dismiss her for any non-discriminatory reason. So they can't dismiss her as a result of her disability, but they can legally dismiss her because there is less work due to Covid so they need to make savings.
    I think she would find it very hard to prove that it was related to her disability or to her sickness absence. 
     
    All posts are my personal opinion, not formal advice Always get proper, professional advice (particularly about anything legal!)
  • Masomnia
    Masomnia Posts: 19,506 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    TBagpuss said:
    I think she would find it very hard to prove that it was related to her disability or to her sickness absence. 
     
    What makes you say that?
    “I could see that, if not actually disgruntled, he was far from being gruntled.” - P.G. Wodehouse
  • sharpe106
    sharpe106 Posts: 3,558 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Being a stand alone job probably. It depends how much of a stand alone job it is.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 350.9K Banking & Borrowing
  • 253.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 453.5K Spending & Discounts
  • 243.9K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 598.8K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 176.9K Life & Family
  • 257.2K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.6K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.