sacking someone on sick

Goksly · 2 Feb 2009 at 22:14

Didn't think you had to give much of a reason on probabtion - just say she doesnt fit with the team dynamic or something equally ambiguous.

gumbald · 2 Feb 2009 at 22:16

If I self-define as a woman, do I get extra days off?

Luke · 2 Feb 2009 at 22:18

Not in my team you don't.

vincent1989 · 2 Feb 2009 at 22:18

Goksly said:
Didn't think you had to give much of a reason on probabtion - just say she doesnt fit with the team dynamic or something equally ambiguous.

was not good enough for the position/s she said she could perform (read in to that what you will...)

gumbald said:
If I self-define as a woman, do I get extra days off?

yup, mostly known as job seeking days

knowlesy · 2 Feb 2009 at 22:20

Azagoth said:
All she's got to say though is "women's problems" and the whole thing will be swept under the rug. It happened with a woman I used to work with, she was notorious for constantly having so called "sick days" and when questioned about it she just said "I can't help it, it's woman problems"!

The truth was, these sick days just happened to coincide with her husband being at home from work yet, because the head of dept. didn't want to be seen as sexist in the current climate, the matter was quietly laid to one side.

its a shame to hear that that happend

OpenToSuggestions · 2 Feb 2009 at 22:34

disfunktion said:
Depression and stress are not 'rubbish'.

Half of the full timers have had time off with depression or stress. They are real illnesses but many people make them up as they are almost impossible to prove otherwise.

Kitchster_uk · 2 Feb 2009 at 22:43

Couple of things:

Yes you can bin her, she is within 12 months of her employment commencing then she can be binned without any real issue, providing you aren't discriminating on sex, age, race or disability.

As for those going on about 'womans problems', my wife suffers terribly from problems with her woman bits - she has been operated on 5 times in 2 years and she still gets her arse to work in a bloody difficult job (children's hospice) almost every time. There gets a point that she has to take too many painkillers to drive let alone work so they aren't generally faking.

Vixen · 2 Feb 2009 at 22:43

Does your company have a sickness policy? The last company I worked for had quite a strict sickness policy - any more than 4 times (not days) off in a year and you'd be put on an action contract for 6 months. I was off a lot in my last year and was eventually given a choice between leaving or being fired if I had one more day off in the next six months. As no-one knew what was wrong with me (was eventually diagnosed with ME), I couldn't get written off by my GP and couldn't guarantee I would be fine to work.

This was after working for the company for 2 years, so it should certainly be possible to get rid of someone within their probation period.

EDIT: Kitchester - for some women it's not just pain that's the problem. For women who get sickness with pain, it can be totally incapacitating as you can't work if you're constantly throwing up.

TheBigCheese · 2 Feb 2009 at 22:50

If the OP is the owner or has some influence in the decision making processes I would recommend joining the Federation of Small Business www.fsb.org.uk

Once you have become a member you are entitled to full legal support from their helpline and they will tell you what you can do and the best way of going about it...I have used them on several occasions and found the information invaluable.

caff · 2 Feb 2009 at 22:53

Whatever you do, be careful - such difficult people can be an incredible drain on resources. There may be valid reasons, but I don't envy your position

Third Opinion · 2 Feb 2009 at 22:55

If you are seriously thinking of dismissing someone, the last thing I would do is broadcast it over an internet forum.

TheBigCheese · 2 Feb 2009 at 22:59

Third Opinion said:
If you are seriously thinking of dismissing someone, the last thing I would do is broadcast it over an internet forum.

I think it would be pretty safe posting on this forum...and he's fairly anonymous.

Angilion · 2 Feb 2009 at 23:03

Blame it on the recession, saying that the job no longer exists, whatever. Then take someone on to do the same job with a different name or something.

OpenToSuggestions · 2 Feb 2009 at 23:38

Angilion said:
Blame it on the recession, saying that the job no longer exists, whatever. Then take someone on to do the same job with a different name or something.

I bet it was so much easier years ago....

"Your absense is obscene and your work output is pathetic, you are sacked".

Why is it so hard to get rid of dead weights these days?

el_dazza · 3 Feb 2009 at 00:27

We've had someone sick for TEN months. Just a waste of money keeping her, hopefully the company sees sense and realises she's playing on it for as long as possible.

Meridian · 3 Feb 2009 at 07:27

mglover070588 said:
I bet it was so much easier years ago....

"Your absense is obscene and your work output is pathetic, you are sacked".

Why is it so hard to get rid of dead weights these days?

It isn't. As I've already said, it's down to bad management, not the law. The question you should be asking is: "why are so many UK managers rubbish at their jobs?" Dolph answered perfectly with this:

You can sack someone when they are signed off, but you need to ensure all statutory obligations are met (including under the DDA) and ensure that there is a robust policy in place and that it's followed correctly.

But all too often managers fail to follow their own rules, which will usually leave an opening for a tribunal. Follow those rules and there's nothing the employee can do.

M

^TANK^ · 3 Feb 2009 at 07:39

disfunktion said:
Depression and stress are not 'rubbish'.

Luke · 3 Feb 2009 at 08:06

Angilion said:
Blame it on the recession, saying that the job no longer exists, whatever. Then take someone on to do the same job with a different name or something.

If the job no longer exists then you are making them redundant. If you make someone redundant then you cannot employ anyone in the same position for a minimum of six months.

ColdAsIce · 3 Feb 2009 at 10:02

Feed her to the wolfs

Amleto · 3 Feb 2009 at 10:38

emailiscrap said:
If the job no longer exists then you are making them redundant. If you make someone redundant then you cannot employ anyone in the same position for a minimum of six months.

it's not the 'same' position.