Can an employer not let you have just 1 day off?

[Dirty Frank]

My neighbour is ill with a bad back, he has spent the day at the hospital having X-rays and scans. He had to call in sick, the doctor sent him straight up to the hospital.

He has been given pain killers and is wanting to get back to work tomorrow (probably to avoid his a-hole of a wife)but work have told him they dont allow people to take 1 day off to put people off pulling sickies.

He doesnt get paid for time off and doesnt earn much so needs to be back at work. Can they force him to stay home?

Seems a bit mental to me.

[Jasandjules]

Well, has the doctor signed him off work? Is he safe to attend work?

If he is sick then he doesn't go to work and gets SSP......

[Dirty Frank]

He;s ok to go back and is wanting to. He was given pain killers and told he was fit for work, he didnt challange it as he doesnt get paid when he isnt in.

[Red Devil]

Dirty Frank said:

My neighbour is ill with a bad back, he has spent the day at the hospital having X-rays and scans. He had to call in sick, the doctor sent him straight up to the hospital.

He has been given pain killers and is wanting to get back to work tomorrow (probably to avoid his a-hole of a wife)but work have told him they dont allow people to take 1 day off to put people off pulling sickies.

He doesnt get paid for time off and doesnt earn much so needs to be back at work. Can they force him to stay home?

Seems a bit mental to me.

They don't have to pay him if his T&C's so state. He needs to check his copy. As usual, where companies feel it necessary to have such policy, it is the genuine people who are penalised due to the actions of the feckless.

However there is another possible issue. Where someone has been 'signed off' by a hospital doctor or a GP they should abide by that advice. I believe the company would be within its rights to refuse to allow them back on their premises on Duty of Care/Health and Safety grounds.

Quite a few employers (supermarket chains seem to be top of the pile here) won't pay staff for up to 3 days (corresponding to the waiting days for SSP) precisely to discourage those who pull sickies. Where I used to work there was one individual who flagrantly abused the company's generous sickness/absence policy. Always Fridays and/or Mondays. Turned out they had a weekend job and were actually working the other days as well when they were allegedly 'sick'!

I don't object to those who want to work their socks off but what this individual was doing was a breach of both trust and contract. I found it particularly obnoxious and despicable as our mutual employer was an educational charity. The salary they were stealing (up to 40% of their monthly pay!) diminished the funds available for putting on training courses. Their deception was discovered and disciplinary action followed. Subsequent developments led to a fairly swift departure. The even had the gall to start an unfair dismissal claim. That soon got withdrawn after they received some advice.

Edited by Red Devil on Tuesday 18th October 19:29

[218g]

Red Devil said:

They don't have to pay him if his T&C's so state.

Of course the answer is to look in the Ts & Cs, but if they say, in effect "if you are fit to work, you may only work if yesterday was not a one-day long period off sick" do you think that would be legal?

[Red Devil]

218g said:

Red Devil said:

They don't have to pay him if his T&C's so state.

Of course the answer is to look in the Ts & Cs, but if they say, in effect "if you are fit to work, you may only work if yesterday was not a one-day long period off sick" do you think that would be legal?

No idea, but I doubt that any T&Cs would have such a clause as it makes no sense. Why would an employer want to prevent anyone returning to work unless, as I have said, they had been signed off? He has taken a day off for which they won't pay him. That much is clear from the OP. However I wonder if some words were omitted and the actual conversation was this:

Dirty Frank said:

work have told him they dont allow people to take 1 day off with pay to put people off pulling sickies.

The issue is pay for the day he was in hospital; nothing to do with going back to work.

[Cyberprog]

218g said:

Of course the answer is to look in the Ts & Cs, but if they say, in effect "if you are fit to work, you may only work if yesterday was not a one-day long period off sick" do you think that would be legal?

I'd imagine it would easily be considered an unreasonable contract term.

[72EuropaTC]

Red Devil said:

Where someone has been 'signed off' by a hospital doctor or a GP they should abide by that advice. I believe the company would be within its rights to refuse to allow them back on their premises on Duty of Care/Health and Safety grounds.

^^^ This.

I think a doctor's note will be for a min of 3 days, so the company is basically saying that you can't get sick leave unless you're actually signed-off sick by a doctor - and then when you are signed-off do as your doctor says.

Also any sick pay (SSP) to be paid would be covered through the doctor's note. Go back to work earlier than the note advises and that might invalidate the doctor's note for SSP purposes???

[Dirty Frank]

I meant day off without pay, he accepts he wont get paid but wants to get back to work. He has gone in today expecting them to turn him away.