Can my employer do this?

Question

i have a long term illness, which i outlined to my employer when applying for the job.i missed two shifts and culd not call in as i was in hospital. When returning one manager started demanding why i did not bother to call in ,i explained to her and she said i should have just took medicine. Offended by this i walked out. My other manager asked me back in, i done 2 weeks of ten hour shifts then i became ill again. The manager who i dislike demanded down the phone that i must come in tomorrow, if not if i dont get a sick line she will fire me in a week but i cant get a doc appointment. However, the other manager told me to get some rest.Who is in the right?

Answer 1

the nice manager!
You outlined this when you applied, so you have all the bases covered.
Rest well and deal with it later.
there isn't a damn thing they can do to you so don't worry,

Answer 2

Hmm, it's a bit difficult to answer.

Most employment contracts are typically "at-will" arrangements. That is, just as you are allowed to quit whenever you want, your employer can terminate you whenever they want. Naturally, there are numerous laws that give you and your employer various rights so that people arent just hired and fired constantly though.

There is a law on the books called the Family and Medical Leave Act which basically says that an employee is entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid sick leave per year if necessary. States have various laws related to sick leave too.

There are three things that I definitely suggest. First, contact your state Dept of Labor and put the question directly to them. They will be able to tell you whether your employer has the right to do what they are doing. Second, you should ask yourself if this is the right environment for you to work in. If an employer is chastising you for taking sick leave when you have a genuine illness, is this the sort of company you want to work for? Also, you should start to log all the incidents in a journal or something so if you needed to contact a lawyer about a wrongful termination suit or whatever, you have the facts.

One thing I would avoid doing for now is approaching your HR dept. HR will do what they need to do to protect the company and might not be in your best interest. If the company thought they had a potential "troublemaker" at the firm, they might look for a "legitimate" reason to dismiss you to avoid any trouble down the road.

Answer 3

As an HR manager, hopefully I can give you a couple of ideas without bearing all bad news. First, is the state you work in an "at-will-employment" state? If you don't know you can look it up online or it will be in your employee handbook. If you are working for an at-will-employer, unfortunately they can fire you for any reason other than by discrimination based upon religion, age, nationality and sex. If you are not living in an "at-will-employment" state, then it all depends on the employee handbook for your workplace. If they have a rule where after say two days of missed work without a phone call, they have a legal basis to let you go. I understand you told them about your illness, they should have to make reasonable accommodations while you are on the job, not while you're absent. I would suggest you look into the FMLA act, this would allow you to take time off of work due to an illness that qualifies under the act. Be sure to double check your employee handbook first, to see if you are being disciplined differently than the handbook states, if so, you have a great case in court and hopefully your employer will listen to your argument before it gets that far. Good-Luck

Answer 4

If you were absolutely honest with them from the start explaining how often you were likely to be off, and whether contact with them was not possible in the event of you being taken into hospital then you are in the right, and hopefully you will have given them a written statement in which they agreed to these terms - however it seems unlikely that you could not get a message to them explaining your absence (even by asking a friend to contact them) as for not getting a sick note contact your GP by phone and explain the situation if your GP knows your illness they will give you a cover note.
take a long hard look at your life and how it should pan out in the future, ask to have a meeting with your boss to discuss all the issues you have brought up on here, if your manager is fair and understanding you should both come to an amicable agreement , you would both be happier and you could start enjoying your job - good luck.

Answer 5

The manager that has more authority is the one that can do anything. If they both have the same amount of authority then whoever is above them is the one that would be able to do something about it. Since you explained your condition when you were hired they knew prior to your employment that things can happen. You shouldn't be critized about being put into the hospital there is nothing you could have done for that if you were in the hospital then medicines wouldn't have helped. I think you should contact the human resources department where you work, and describe what is going on and tell them about how you are being treated by the "mean" manager. Let them deal with the problem. Don't worry, since you told them about your condition when you were hired they can't do anything about it now.

Answer 6

If you're in the UK, both managers are in the right as a self-cert only lasts a limited amount of time and you're legally obliged to serve on your employer within the specified time limit a proper certificate from your GP.

If you do so, no employer can touch you, hassle you, demand you return to work or fire you for being absent from work for reason of ill-health.

And to increase the amount of 'fun' you're having with nasty manager, you might want to study carefully the Company Grievance Procedure that is a written part of your terms and conditions of employment (AKA the contract), with a view to formally putting their bad attitude to an end - once AND for all concerned.

If you do wish to formally initiate the Procedure, please do so to the letter and, if possible, seek free advice and/or representation from your Union, a local advice agency such the Citizens Advice Bureau or a Workers' Unemployed and Community Resource Centre - but make sure they are experienced (because our local CAB was infamous for dishing out wrong advice that always back-up the employer - and I had to sort it out time and time again).

Follow the Rules per your contract and you should be fine.

All the best, and Happy New Year when it comes.

Answer 7

You & both managers need to have a group discussion. Your 'bad' manager may not understand the situation or may just be a jerk. Either way, you all need to work this out if you want to keep working there.

You really should arrange some kind of back-up method of calling in due to illness. Maybe ask a friend or family member to do it if you can't - I assume someone takes you to the hospital. If not, develop some kind of back-up plan.

It's less about who is right or wrong and how the issue is going to be fixed. Arrange a meeting with both, at the same time.

Answer 8

You ask a serious quesiton of a bunch of Yahoo's.

Sounds like you may have a case, but you do need to call in when your not coming in. If you can't, then someone else must. A judge may not allow no call in when you're not going to be there as mutual respect is required in any professional relationship. How do you expect them to run a company when they don't know if you're going ot be there or not?

I suggest if you're going to play this with your employer that you get yourself an attorney to guide you in the game. Otherwise you may find yourself without a job and no compensation.

Answer 9

You need to get a sick line. Phone your doc before 9am and you will get same day appointment. Demand the appointment. If your on long term illness you qualify for a phone appointment. Go back to human resources person who hired you and explain the situation. He/She will be horrified by whats going on, company is wide open to unfair dismissal claim.

Answer 10

If you informed your employer about your long-term illness and how it may affect your ability to work from time-to-time at the outset, then you may have some protection and remedy to the circumstances outlined under the "Disability Discrimination Act".

To find out more and whether the Act pertains to you, Google: "Disability Rights Commission"

Good luck and Happy New Year.

Answer 11

The one who told you to get some rest.

If you outlined at the beginning of your employmeny you had an ongoing illness, then they really can't do much about it.

Personally, if you are working ten hour shiftsand they ar making your illness worse, then I would find a suitable 9 - 5 job.