anyone ever had a disciplinary for being ill

[jaqi1]

i have been in my job for nearly 20 years and never had a disciplinary until today. i felt very ill and upset on monday so i got my partner to call in sick for me, so now i am in trouble

[Beth58]

Hi Jaqi, was it a disciplinary or a sickness review?

Sickness due to a disability should not be counted with ordinary sick days. Have you any course for appeal depending on the outcome?

Beth xx

[jaqi1 in reply to Beth58]

hi beth not sure wot it woz but everything i said had to be written down and put on my file, i think their problem woz because my partner phoned in and not me, seems abit pathetic to me.

[slatch]

Hi Jaqi, I have had to conduct disciplinaries on people in the past due to sickness because it was company policy after a certain number of instances.

I used to look at each case on merit and if someone had a genuine illness, as we do, I would take no action against them as outcomes were at my discretion, and there would be nothing on their file. But I had followed and satisfied procedure and the HR department.

I wouldn't worry too much,you will probably find they are just going through the motions. If action is taken against you, you have the right to appeal against the decision, and you are covered by the DDA, just mentioning DDA normally sends a shiver down the HR brigades spine.

Hope this helps

Andy

[Hidden]

If you are ill dont them bully you.. surely they cant discipline you.? I had a long spell off earlier this year due to swapping medication and hardly being able to walk , let alone get up stairs!, but it was all signed for my Gp.

If there is a problem contact your GP/ occupational health department for support/ advice xx

[jaqi1]

Thank you everyone for your answers, i feel such a mess at the moment and i could have done without all this, it may just b a formality but it still doesn't make you feel good.

[Gina_K]

Hi Jaqi,

Every where is the same nowadays, its just company policy. Just ring or meet and explain that due to your illness you were'nt up to making the phone call yourself, on this occasion. Most companies want you to ring yourself, and I have learnt that the attendance management is a 'one for all' policy.

Which is very unfair as they treat Monday morn malingerers the same as those with a genuine illness. I think when you are up to it schedule a meeting and explain, most managers should be understanding (most companies don't want to be sued!)

All the best and I hope you feel better soon, I have been thru the sick leave 'policy' mill. It is designed to keep 'bums on seats' thats why you feel bad. see maybe my previous blogs.

Gina.

[jaqi1 in reply to Gina_K]

thank you x

[casapp]

I work as a ward sister in the NHS, we have to complete sickness reviews if someone is off even 1 day and if they have more than 3 days in a row they have to have an interview. It's not to chastise them though it's to see what can be done to help and I have been on the recieving end. Mind you it is also used to catch the ones that have regular particular days off, ie a couple of years ago when we looked at one persons record the said person was regularly taking sickies on the friday and monday around their weekends off, the person didn't realise we had realised!! It does make you feel crap though cos it goes on your over all record and some people go in when they a visibly poorly and get sent home!!

[Victoria-NRAS Partner Moderator NRAS]

Hi Jaqi

I am really sorry to hear about this. Unfortunately as others have said it basically comes down to their individual policies, but worth asking for a copy of these policies if you're not aware of them.

The following is a quote from our work booklet (page 16):

'If you need to take leave because of RA, it is good practice on the part of the employer to discount this in any calculations on performance related pay or enhancements, or in counting total sickness absence when starting disciplinary procedures relating to sickness absence.'

Unfortunately, as you can see, this is just 'good practice'. It would be worth finding out what the disciplinary is for, as to me it doesn't seem clear if they are unhappy with your sickness absense in general, with that one specifically or if it is just that you didn't follow their procedure, in that your partner called and their procedure may state that you should call them.

If you don't have our work booklets, it may be worth orderinf them from the website. We have one for you, to show your rights under the Equality Act (formerly the DDA or Disability Discrimination Act), and give you other useful information. The other is for you to give to your employer, so that they understand more about your condition. These booklets can be ordered or viewed here:

nras.org.uk/help_for_you/pu...

Kind regards

Victoria

Helpline & Information Coordinator

[beachbabe]

hi jaqi,

i gave up work due to this very thing happening to me - i was issued with a cause for concern notice on my absence which basically meant i couldnthave any more time off which was ridiculous because, as we all know, you cant get to work if you cant move ! !

in the end i left as i felt i couldnt work under that presssure of never being ill due to ra or anything else and i had lost all respect for my collegues if they could treat melike that.

i did use my union to accompany me on all meetings tho.

sorry to hear this is happening to you but it may be better to stop work anyway

keep smiling from beachbabe xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[jaqi1 in reply to beachbabe]

hi thank you for your reply, i would love nothing more than to leave my job but i wouldn't get any money so i can't afford to xxxxx

[Hidden]

Hi Jaqi,

Our company has a policy that they expect you and not anyone else to phone in within an hour off your start time otherwise this results in disaplinary.

There thinking behind this is people find it easier to get someone else to phone in and lie for them when they are pulling a fast one! However in out case this is not true but they normally treat everyone the same.

The first time I was so bad I couldnt get out off bed to phone my boss and I felt so tearfull that I really didnt want to speak to anyone let alone them, so I sent her a text that morning explaining how I felt and promising to get intouch as soon as I felt able too, a couple off days later I felt well enough to go in for a few hours and before they could get me in for a disaplinary I asked for a meeting with them, my boss and supervisor, I told them that some days getting out off bed was to painfull to do and obviously on days like this when the pain was so bad the last thing I felt like doing was phoning in to have a chat, as my boss is very chatty on the phone and wants to know the ins and outs off a ducks backside! not something you feel like doing when in so much pain, I told her if this was a problem then I would get a note from my doctor explaining how much off an issue it was for me to phone in on my bad mornings and that because off depression I was unable at times to even get my words out to chat to her.

She left the meeting to chat to the MD to discuss company policy on this and I was told by a college that they even phoned there employment solicitors to get it checked whether they should allow me not to be disaplined as they didnt want other people saying I was getting special treatment.

Basically the outcome is not they expect to hear from me when I am up too it and not at a time specified by then its also been agreed that if I dont feel up to speaking then I can just send them a text to let them know.

Ive been at my place off work for 18 years too and you still get treated like the people who started 18 days ago unfortunatly, however since Ive been very honest with my employers they have been very accomodating and allowed me to work flexible hours for appointments, morning stiffness etc.

If I was you I would speak to your employers and tell them how you feel it worked for me and now they know what to expect from me.

Take care and try not to let it upset you too much because I know how gutting it feels when youve worked for a company so long and realise you are just a number to thenm.

Julie xx

[SootyB]

Hi Jaqi,

Don't panic about this - if you can get hold of a copy of your company policy, then have a look through it, but I'm an NHS team-lead, and certainly we're forced to go through this kind of thing with people, although I usually fight against it if I think it's not justified. If it's just a sickness interview, then it's no problem. If it's a 'stage 1', then you need to look into your rights regarding your RA as a disability (as others have said), because they can't usually count these towards a sickness level without breaching discrimination law. If it's a disciplinary, then you need to know what the issue is, and then you can fight it on a level playing field. If it really is something as simple as having a partner call in instead of you, then you can be honest and say you genuinely weren't in a fit state to call, due to your chronic medical condition, and that you had no idea that it would be an issue. Also, turn the situation on its head, and politely ask if they can suggest a method of contact for any future incidents, to avoid any similar problems.

Most of all, never forget that you are not at fault, and that most policies are set up to punish those who abuse the system; you are not one of them, and any decent boss will see that.

Good luck!

Sara x

[Hopeful1]

So glad that this site offers support to us all. Thank you everyone.

[alioli58]

Use Equality Act and any of your health evidence to fight the Disciplinary.

Join a Union and get Union Rep to present your case.