At work I have been told if I am off sick again (i've been off one day with illness) I can be put on a discplinery and after that a written warning then I can be dissmissed. Is this legal? I work for a supermarket in one of their fresh food depts and I have the flu, sore throat, temp, headache and dizzyness, but I've been told I can't gop off sick without getting out on disciplinery. Surely this isnt right?
2007-08-20 01:29:51 · 20 answers · asked by Stitch 4 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
It depends, what is probably happing here is you have not provided a DR. note when you have been sick. In addition, it could be that you are still new to the company and in your probationary period. (Usually the first 3 months). If that is the case, they can let you go for most anything. If you have already missed, at least 2 days in your probationary period they can tell you if you miss any more work that would be grounds for dismissal. They are looking for employs that want to work and that they can count on being there. I am not saying they cannot count on you, but they have to go by what they are seeing. Of course, if you went to the DR. and he provided you with a note saying you have a contagious illness, and should not work until you are not contagious any more then there would be nothing they could do.
2007-08-20 02:28:43 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
They could only do that if they had good reason to believe either your were not actually ill, or you had a track record of illness.
If you are suffering a lot speak to your doctor, a doctors note and proof of appointments would help.
I had a lot of time off one year due to sore throats etc, then I ended up with full blown glandular fever, my employers just noted in my review that I needed to try and improve my health, but they would not have been able to take any other action as it was all perfectly legitimate.
2007-08-20 08:35:05 · answer #2 · answered by bigman2ab 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
The supermarket i work for has the following procedure. You must call in sick as soon as asap. On your return to work you will have a return to work interview with a manager before beginning your shift. You will only get a disciplinary if you have frequent sickies which are not supported by a doctors certificate.
2007-08-20 08:46:05 · answer #3 · answered by Maggs 5 · 3⤊ 1⤋
If you have missed a lot of work, then they can start to question whether or not you are actually sick, or are just lazy.
Depending on how long you have worked at your job, your attendance record, whether you come in on time or not, how well you do your job, and how many times you have called in sick - they can decide that they don't have time to mess around with you.
2007-08-20 08:35:57 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
all depends on the store's policies.
when i was a retail manager i followed the policy very loosely and tried to work with people. if they rarely missed and then had a string of bad luck, that's fine...i didn't say much. if they missed ALL THE TIME, then i nailed them.
if they were crappy workers and i wanted a reason to fire them, then poor attendance was a very easy way to do this.
you said you only missed one day until now...what about your work performance??
if you aren't good at your job, then they may be nailing you b/c you aren't good at your job and they can.
just review the policy and if they say the policy is "x", then simply ask to see the policy they are referring to.
take care.
2007-08-20 08:35:52 · answer #5 · answered by joey322 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
mmmmmmm, check out your rights on dti or acas websites, employers can discipline you but dismissal due to one days sick leave is unfair, I don't think your employer is considering sacking you, more like just trying to get the sickness levels down somehow by making you worry.
They can give you a warning based on lots of sickness occasions or long term sick. forget al your symptoms, it depends on how much sickness you have, and how long you have been there. I would suspect you havent been there long.
2007-08-20 08:36:14 · answer #6 · answered by My name's MUD 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋
YES YOU CAN. Unless you get documentation from a physician, you are just out of luck. Go to a doctor. If you aren't sick enough to go see a doctor, then you aren't sick enough to miss work.
2007-08-20 09:22:07 · answer #7 · answered by cyanne2ak 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Check your contract of employment. How long you worked there, under a year, they can do what they like. Seek specialist advice from the citizens advice bureau, most have employment specialists there, take your contract, and they are free.
2007-08-20 17:58:22 · answer #8 · answered by daria 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Actually they cannot say jack schitt to you if you produce a doctors note.
If you take excessive sickies then they can... its a fine dividing line between taking sick leave and taking the p*ss.
Employers on the other hand are on the look out for any excuse to offload excess workforce and one of the things that they look at is "Sick Leave"
This happened to my dad who was in and out of hospital for a year and then his employer sacked him and weeks later he was diagnosed with cancer.
He took them to court and they paid....
ADDITIONAL:
All your employer has to know is when you intend to return to work, you don't actually need to tell them why your off just that you will be returning to work, the law is very specific if you look it up or go to a solicitor that deals with employment law. Like I have said, employers are always looking for easy reasons to offload excess staff and they use employees lack of knowledge to their advantage.
2007-08-20 08:39:39 · answer #9 · answered by cheek_of_it_all 5 · 0⤊ 3⤋
I cant believe you should get a disciplinary for having just one day off. Have a look at your contract, surely you get paid for sick leave. Most companies allow between 3 and 6 months paid sick leave a year. I think you should take it up with the union person if they have one!
2007-08-20 08:34:29 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 4⤋