Dismissal for sickness
Discussion
My sister has just been sacked due to illness.
A little background, she was diagnosed with breast cancer early last year and has been off work battling it since. She works in education.
She will be talking to her union about it but has described her previous contact with them as 'pretty useless'.
I appreciate every case is unique, but to me it seems somewhat heavy handed and unfair.
Her employment record prior to this was exemplary.
Any easy answers or advice please?
Thanks in advance.
A little background, she was diagnosed with breast cancer early last year and has been off work battling it since. She works in education.
She will be talking to her union about it but has described her previous contact with them as 'pretty useless'.
I appreciate every case is unique, but to me it seems somewhat heavy handed and unfair.
Her employment record prior to this was exemplary.
Any easy answers or advice please?
Thanks in advance.
Whilst it does appear harsh, look at it from an employer's point of view. They can't replace her whilst she is on sick leave. Hiring in a temp is expensive. Whilst colleagues may cover for a while, they too will have their lives to get on with.
I have experience of this as I had an employee who had a heart condition and whilst I and his colleagues had sympathy for him. Work still needed to be covered.
I have experience of this as I had an employee who had a heart condition and whilst I and his colleagues had sympathy for him. Work still needed to be covered.
There are a few things which an employer "must" do in order for a termination on this ground to be lawful.
I would hope your Union will be aware of the process however it may be they are not.
If you want an off the record chat PM me your mobile and I can give you a few pointers to raise with the Union. Also bear in mind the Time limits for bringing a Tribunal claim.
I would hope your Union will be aware of the process however it may be they are not.
If you want an off the record chat PM me your mobile and I can give you a few pointers to raise with the Union. Also bear in mind the Time limits for bringing a Tribunal claim.
Had employer had regular contact and set out reasonable expectations of a return date or a plan for phased return? At what point did sick pay stop? What notice was she given? Had they/her considered early retirement due to ill health? What does she want now - her job back or compensation?
Presumably if in education the employer is a fair size so should know how to handle long term sickness properly. This is relevant if you consider going to tribunal as they treat larger employers different to smaller.
Presumably if in education the employer is a fair size so should know how to handle long term sickness properly. This is relevant if you consider going to tribunal as they treat larger employers different to smaller.
Jasandjules said:
There are a few things which an employer "must" do in order for a termination on this ground to be lawful.
I would hope your Union will be aware of the process however it may be they are not.
If you want an off the record chat PM me your mobile and I can give you a few pointers to raise with the Union. Also bear in mind the Time limits for bringing a Tribunal claim.
OP fo this Jas is an employment lawyer. Nice chap too.I would hope your Union will be aware of the process however it may be they are not.
If you want an off the record chat PM me your mobile and I can give you a few pointers to raise with the Union. Also bear in mind the Time limits for bringing a Tribunal claim.
Thank you everyone for the replies so far, I'll answer as well as I'm able to.
It's an LEA school, I have no idea on the furlough, as far as I've understood the situation she hasn't received any sort of plan for returning from the school, I believe she was on full pay for the first 3 months, half pay for the following 6 and has been receiving a statutory sickness payment since then. I'm unfamiliar with the actual terms used for the payments though!
Jasandjules, thank you for the very kind offer, I'll speak to her tomorrow and find out what precisely she needs to know.
Also thanks for the advice from the employers point of view, it's not something I'd even given a second thought to and I can now understand the difficulty of the situation a little better.
It's an LEA school, I have no idea on the furlough, as far as I've understood the situation she hasn't received any sort of plan for returning from the school, I believe she was on full pay for the first 3 months, half pay for the following 6 and has been receiving a statutory sickness payment since then. I'm unfamiliar with the actual terms used for the payments though!
Jasandjules, thank you for the very kind offer, I'll speak to her tomorrow and find out what precisely she needs to know.
Also thanks for the advice from the employers point of view, it's not something I'd even given a second thought to and I can now understand the difficulty of the situation a little better.
Edited by Morris12s3 on Monday 21st September 19:14
Whatsmyname said:
Why didn’t they furlough her from March to Oct?
My thoughts as well.Also, I agree with the general discussion. It is difficult, but from the employers perspective they can't have a member of staff off indefinitely.
I hope she recovers and also can find another job soon, or some other way of getting support. Best wishes.
Morris12s3 said:
My sister has just been sacked due to illness.
A little background, she was diagnosed with breast cancer early last year and has been off work battling it since. She works in education.
She will be talking to her union about it but has described her previous contact with them as 'pretty useless'.
I appreciate every case is unique, but to me it seems somewhat heavy handed and unfair.
Her employment record prior to this was exemplary.
Any easy answers or advice please?
Thanks in advance.
Seen this before, they don't believe her basically.A little background, she was diagnosed with breast cancer early last year and has been off work battling it since. She works in education.
She will be talking to her union about it but has described her previous contact with them as 'pretty useless'.
I appreciate every case is unique, but to me it seems somewhat heavy handed and unfair.
Her employment record prior to this was exemplary.
Any easy answers or advice please?
Thanks in advance.
One former employer, the office manager was a nasty b***h, one of her people had to take 6 weeks off for a major operation, this manager was convinced it was all a lie, was running around telling everyone as much, even to the owner of the company, recovering employee got wind of this and came into work..... with a still bleeding 7 inch scar across her abdomen.
It's not the first place i've worked where nobody believe that you are genuinely sick, I think it's really very common.
lyonspride said:
Seen this before, they don't believe her basically.
One former employer, the office manager was a nasty b***h, one of her people had to take 6 weeks off for a major operation, this manager was convinced it was all a lie, was running around telling everyone as much, even to the owner of the company, recovering employee got wind of this and came into work..... with a still bleeding 7 inch scar across her abdomen.
It's not the first place i've worked where nobody believe that you are genuinely sick, I think it's really very common.
That's awful.One former employer, the office manager was a nasty b***h, one of her people had to take 6 weeks off for a major operation, this manager was convinced it was all a lie, was running around telling everyone as much, even to the owner of the company, recovering employee got wind of this and came into work..... with a still bleeding 7 inch scar across her abdomen.
It's not the first place i've worked where nobody believe that you are genuinely sick, I think it's really very common.
To be fair though, I will say I was told a story by a client once.
A member of their team was off for 6 months with "cancer" (awful, you think). Work kept him on full pay throughout.
He sent them "cancer scans" and other bits and bobs.
Apparently the had an "operation".
I can't share the photo for obvious reasons but I'm looking at it now. For the small breathing tube that clips into your nose, he decided to use some hot glue gun sticks, and paired them with a set of white Apple ear buds going up and around his ears. Apparently he had a "drip" going into his hand which was a sticking plaster and a USB charging wire!
320d is all you need said:
That's awful.
To be fair though, I will say I was told a story by a client once.
A member of their team was off for 6 months with "cancer" (awful, you think). Work kept him on full pay throughout.
He sent them "cancer scans" and other bits and bobs.
Apparently the had an "operation".
I can't share the photo for obvious reasons but I'm looking at it now. For the small breathing tube that clips into your nose, he decided to use some hot glue gun sticks, and paired them with a set of white Apple ear buds going up and around his ears. Apparently he had a "drip" going into his hand which was a sticking plaster and a USB charging wire!
Genius! To be fair though, I will say I was told a story by a client once.
A member of their team was off for 6 months with "cancer" (awful, you think). Work kept him on full pay throughout.
He sent them "cancer scans" and other bits and bobs.
Apparently the had an "operation".
I can't share the photo for obvious reasons but I'm looking at it now. For the small breathing tube that clips into your nose, he decided to use some hot glue gun sticks, and paired them with a set of white Apple ear buds going up and around his ears. Apparently he had a "drip" going into his hand which was a sticking plaster and a USB charging wire!
320d is all you need said:
That's awful.
To be fair though, I will say I was told a story by a client once.
A member of their team was off for 6 months with "cancer" (awful, you think). Work kept him on full pay throughout.
He sent them "cancer scans" and other bits and bobs.
Apparently the had an "operation".
I can't share the photo for obvious reasons but I'm looking at it now. For the small breathing tube that clips into your nose, he decided to use some hot glue gun sticks, and paired them with a set of white Apple ear buds going up and around his ears. Apparently he had a "drip" going into his hand which was a sticking plaster and a USB charging wire!
Were they fired?To be fair though, I will say I was told a story by a client once.
A member of their team was off for 6 months with "cancer" (awful, you think). Work kept him on full pay throughout.
He sent them "cancer scans" and other bits and bobs.
Apparently the had an "operation".
I can't share the photo for obvious reasons but I'm looking at it now. For the small breathing tube that clips into your nose, he decided to use some hot glue gun sticks, and paired them with a set of white Apple ear buds going up and around his ears. Apparently he had a "drip" going into his hand which was a sticking plaster and a USB charging wire!
Morris12s3 said:
A little background, she was diagnosed with breast cancer early last year and has been off work battling it since. She works in education.
Bit late now, but was she not able to dip in and out of work at all? A mate's wife has same, and same kind of time. She's apparently got the worst form of breast cancer but she's been doing some work, apart from some periods where she's been recovering from operations.Have family members in teaching and the job seems to depend massively on your face fitting with the Head.
320d is all you need said:
lyonspride said:
Seen this before, they don't believe her basically.
One former employer, the office manager was a nasty b***h, one of her people had to take 6 weeks off for a major operation, this manager was convinced it was all a lie, was running around telling everyone as much, even to the owner of the company, recovering employee got wind of this and came into work..... with a still bleeding 7 inch scar across her abdomen.
It's not the first place i've worked where nobody believe that you are genuinely sick, I think it's really very common.
That's awful.One former employer, the office manager was a nasty b***h, one of her people had to take 6 weeks off for a major operation, this manager was convinced it was all a lie, was running around telling everyone as much, even to the owner of the company, recovering employee got wind of this and came into work..... with a still bleeding 7 inch scar across her abdomen.
It's not the first place i've worked where nobody believe that you are genuinely sick, I think it's really very common.
To be fair though, I will say I was told a story by a client once.
A member of their team was off for 6 months with "cancer" (awful, you think). Work kept him on full pay throughout.
He sent them "cancer scans" and other bits and bobs.
Apparently the had an "operation".
I can't share the photo for obvious reasons but I'm looking at it now. For the small breathing tube that clips into your nose, he decided to use some hot glue gun sticks, and paired them with a set of white Apple ear buds going up and around his ears. Apparently he had a "drip" going into his hand which was a sticking plaster and a USB charging wire!
A former supervisor once said to me "95% of people want to do a good job, and they will if they've given the chance and the right motivation", this was from some high level business research carried out by a large automotive company which I won't name, so it's funny that in almost every company I have worked for the management have been convinced that not a single person can be trusted to do any work.
Edited by lyonspride on Wednesday 30th September 21:48
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