No compassion - working for government

WelshGlyndwr

I work in the

elsien

I am sorry for your bereavements. 

The employer  will be following their sickness absence policy. Have you had a copy of that, as if not, you need to get hold of one.

It’s not about whether we think they should be compassionate or not; It’s about whether they are sticking to the policy. It may be that they have to go through the process, but then no formal disciplinary action will be taken  at the end of it, or they may look to support you more effectively.

I think it likely that your employer is using the Bradford scoring system, which can be penalise people who try get to get back to work more quickly, so if you’ve had several small periods off as opposed to one longer one that will flag up. 
Just in case you want to check where this is coming from. 

Are you in a union?

TELLIT01

Managers have no choice in how the disciplinary process is run.  What they can,do is then consider all the factors affecting the absence.  In my experience they do take all that into account, as any decent manager should.  If you are in the union speak to your rep and have them with you during any disciplinary meetings.

lisyloo

I was flagged up as I had something like 4 half days off within a certain period (migraines).
A 3rd party company called me to discuss whether the employer could do anything to help (such as working from home). It was a lot better discussing medical matters with a 3rd party IMO.
I explained the measures I was taking (trialling different medications) and they were quite happy that I was trying to deal with it.
My manager was never bothered.

So just saying that sometimes it's just following a policy.

Hoenir

What reason(s) did you give for the absences. Were they self certified. 

Compassion is shown in the form of bereavement leave. Likewise requests for annual leave/unpaid leave at short notice are considered kindly. 

Undervalued

WelshGlyndwr said:

I work in the civil service and my father in law was in a coma for 5 months and passed away. My grandfather passed away and my father had a major health scare. I have had maybe 4 weeks off as sickness in the past year, this includes leadjng up to funerals and the stress of so many bereavements. My employer has moved me to a formal disciplinary process for sickness. Should they show more compassion? 

I'm sorry for your situation. However....

Legally or morally?

Legally - probably not. People are often surprised to learn that the is no specific legal entitlement to compassionate leave. It would be a rare employer that didn't give any and most large organisations will have laid down policies for such situations.

Your doctor has taken the view that you were medically unfit to work and signed you off. That is his medical judgement. Most employers have policies setting out how they will respond to varying amounts of sick leave. That may well vary depending on how many years the employee has worked. If your employer is following their normal policies you have little room to argue.

Morally - Difficult one. How would you expect a small employer to respond to a similar situation? Should the civil service (i.e taxpayers money) be more generous. Opinions on that will vary.

lincroft1710

The CS allows you up to 5 days paid special leave to attend to bereavement matters of a family member (which includes grandparents and parents in law). So you could have had up to 10 days paid special leave. 

Brie

As someone has said - likely this has been flagged due to too many periods off within a relatively short period.  

As for compassion - well it would be nice but some people are just not made that way.  There should be something in your staff handbook (likely online these days) that states the rules for bereavement leave.  It may be that your FiL and your grandfather aren't considered to be close enough relatives for you to qualify.  Or it could be that they just want proof that there actually were 3 deaths in such quick succession. 

I had one staff member who had 3 grandmothers die one year....when questioned there was a heck of a lot of back pedaling.   I also worked for a very large organisation where the leave differed from one department to another, despite the staff handbook.  1 chap was allowed 1 day only for his grandfather's funeral despite it being a couple hundred miles away.  Another colleague wasn't allowed anything when her step brother died because he wasn't a blood relative - a huge kick given that she'd been raised with him and he'd died after a long battle with cancer.  I on the other hand was allowed 3 weeks for my dad's memorial service with the excuse given that it was overseas.  Actually it was because the manager liked me and knew I was about to be made redundant.

Sorry for your losses and hope the meeting goes well for you.

elsien

That 5 days compares quite well to my one day, just for information and as a point of comparison with some non-governmental organisations. 

TELLIT01

I was working for the Civil Service when my brother died, very suddenly and totally unexpectedly. Our parents were long dead and we have no other family. It was up to me to do everything.  I was given 5 days compassionate/bereavement leave but was unable to return to work after that.  My managers were supportive but I still had to get a medical certificate (yes, they were called that still at that time) for the additional time.  When I returned to work, the formal sickness process was initiated but took all of 2 minutes.  The reasons were fully understood and accepted, but the managers would have laid themselves open for disciplinary action if they hadn't followed 'the rules'.  It's a tough situation all round, but not one that should be taken personally.

LinLui

@Brie   "As for compassion - well it would be nice but some people are just not made that way."

It has absolutely nothing to do with people not being made that way.  Quite the reverse. Employers always know who is taking the proverbial, and who isn't. Once upon a time they were allowed to make decisions based on "compassion". But we all know that some employees have several dead grandparents, get sick every other Friday... etc., etc. In the old days,  malingerers got fired,  and others got compassion. Generally. There is no benefit to an employer in getting rid of good employees.

Then some people took dismissals to tribunals, saying it wasn't "fair" that they got sacked for time off sick when others with the same or more sickness didn't. The law agreed. So employers are forced,  whether or not they like it,  to have fixed policies which are blunt instruments. Too much time off sick,  and that having a fixed measurement, means the employer must move towards dismissal,  no matter how they feel about it. And they must follow a proscribed process which treats everyone the same - malingerer or honest person struggling with life. 

Whether you think it's "fair" or not,  it's the law.