Statutory sick pay.. Contract says employer won't pay first 6 months employment.. any options?

Torry_Quine

I really hope that it's not cancer. I've never heard of being off ill due to cancer meant being treated more favourably.

My husband was off work with cancer and just got SSP. After 4 months they told him they were going to end his contract. He worked for a charity.

TELLIT01

eamon said:

Cancer is a protected illness/disabilty under the Equalities Act 2010. An employer needs to tread carefully to avoid discrimination. I'm not qualified/knowledgeable enough to pass judgement.

Go back to your employer and get clarifaction re SSP and if you want to be pushy mention the Equalities Act.

With their current rules, assuming SSP only, they are not discriminating if they say that is the situation for all employees.  Therefore the Equalities Act does not come into it.

Dr_Crypto

Any additional pay would be coming out of the partner’s drawings so I can’t see them sticking their hands in their pockets like that. 

Marcon

Dr_Crypto said:

Any additional pay would be coming out of the partner’s drawings so I can’t see them sticking their hands in their pockets like that. 

SSP is also at the expense of the employer...the days when small firms could reclaim have long gone.

Undervalued

TELLIT01 said:

eamon said:

Cancer is a protected illness/disabilty under the Equalities Act 2010. An employer needs to tread carefully to avoid discrimination. I'm not qualified/knowledgeable enough to pass judgement.

Go back to your employer and get clarifaction re SSP and if you want to be pushy mention the Equalities Act.

With their current rules, assuming SSP only, they are not discriminating if they say that is the situation for all employees.  Therefore the Equalities Act does not come into it.

Indeed.

They are of course obliged to make "reasonable adjustments" to help a disabled employee (as anyone with a cancer diagnosis automatically is) but that would not normally extend to paying sick pay when it would not otherwise be payable.

74jax

Jillanddy said:

krusty101 said:

I would still talk to your employer and ask if they would offer you any enhancement. For Cancer particularly (sorry I hope it isn’t) a lot of places will pay more and for longer. 

Really? I have never heard of a single place that will do that, because the minute an employer makes exceptions to their contractual terms, they face potential claims of unfairness and discrimination. Why treat cancer patients better than people with MS, or heart disease? I'd be interested to know if you could list these "lot of places" because I have never come across a single one of them, and I'm sure we'd all like to look out for jobs with these amazing employers.

My old company was one as was the fire service I worked at.
We also had paid time off for cancer treatment (but other appointments were either holiday or unpaid). 

t0rt0ise

74jax said:

Jillanddy said:

krusty101 said:

I would still talk to your employer and ask if they would offer you any enhancement. For Cancer particularly (sorry I hope it isn’t) a lot of places will pay more and for longer. 

Really? I have never heard of a single place that will do that, because the minute an employer makes exceptions to their contractual terms, they face potential claims of unfairness and discrimination. Why treat cancer patients better than people with MS, or heart disease? I'd be interested to know if you could list these "lot of places" because I have never come across a single one of them, and I'm sure we'd all like to look out for jobs with these amazing employers.

My old company was one as was the fire service I worked at.
We also had paid time off for cancer treatment (but other appointments were either holiday or unpaid). 

You probably got paid time off for appointments where the condition was covered by the Equality Act. The most common one people see is cancer then they assume it's only cancer.

Jillanddy

t0rt0ise said:

74jax said:

Jillanddy said:

krusty101 said:

I would still talk to your employer and ask if they would offer you any enhancement. For Cancer particularly (sorry I hope it isn’t) a lot of places will pay more and for longer. 

Really? I have never heard of a single place that will do that, because the minute an employer makes exceptions to their contractual terms, they face potential claims of unfairness and discrimination. Why treat cancer patients better than people with MS, or heart disease? I'd be interested to know if you could list these "lot of places" because I have never come across a single one of them, and I'm sure we'd all like to look out for jobs with these amazing employers.

My old company was one as was the fire service I worked at.
We also had paid time off for cancer treatment (but other appointments were either holiday or unpaid). 

You probably got paid time off for appointments where the condition was covered by the Equality Act. The most common one people see is cancer then they assume it's only cancer.

I agree. My employer - and most public sector employers - allow paid time off for treatments where a disability is concerned. That is a far cry from giving more sick pay than someone is entitled to, or paying sick pay for longer than that paid for others. Which is what krusty101 was suggesting many employers do. A reasonable adjustment that allows someone with a long term condition that is a disability and likely to involve more regular treatments may be fair. As might be allowing some extra days sickness before triggering sickness absence policies. But those are adjustments - not wholesale rewriting of contractual terms that allow someone with cancer to have more sick pay, for longer periods, than everyone else.

krusty101

Jillanddy said:

krusty101 said:

I would still talk to your employer and ask if they would offer you any enhancement. For Cancer particularly (sorry I hope it isn’t) a lot of places will pay more and for longer. 

Really? I have never heard of a single place that will do that, because the minute an employer makes exceptions to their contractual terms, they face potential claims of unfairness and discrimination. Why treat cancer patients better than people with MS, or heart disease? I'd be interested to know if you could list these "lot of places" because I have never come across a single one of them, and I'm sure we'd all like to look out for jobs with these amazing employers.

I don’t actually need to list anything for you, but as you’re asking, I’ve worked in HR for 16 years for a massive contract caterer/outsourcing business and in independent healthcare and for the big part they’ve paid people full pay and for longer for cancer. Because a lot of managers have discretion to pay what they like, and they do. Happy now?! 

Jillanddy

krusty101 said:

Jillanddy said:

krusty101 said:

I would still talk to your employer and ask if they would offer you any enhancement. For Cancer particularly (sorry I hope it isn’t) a lot of places will pay more and for longer. 

Really? I have never heard of a single place that will do that, because the minute an employer makes exceptions to their contractual terms, they face potential claims of unfairness and discrimination. Why treat cancer patients better than people with MS, or heart disease? I'd be interested to know if you could list these "lot of places" because I have never come across a single one of them, and I'm sure we'd all like to look out for jobs with these amazing employers.

I don’t actually need to list anything for you, but as you’re asking, I’ve worked in HR for 16 years for a massive contract caterer/outsourcing business and in independent healthcare and for the big part they’ve paid people full pay and for longer for cancer. Because a lot of managers have discretion to pay what they like, and they do. Happy now?! 

Of course you have.  And of course you don't have to provide any evidence.  And of course managers can pay anything they like regardless of the law or the risk to their employers of them doing so.  But hey,  catering/ hospitality and private healthcare are just renowned for their fantastically generous terms of employment. So your completely unsupported claim is really believable. 

But you just confirmed my opinion of HR.