Disciplined for sickness :(

[ruthyp]

Hi all!

I now only have 3months left of half pay, i know this shouldnt be the case but i cant help feeling that i should just be trying to get better so i can go back to work, rather then concentrating on myself and getting better.

Im in a very difficult place as i feel it is partly due to my job that my crohns flared up, they were putting a HUGE amount of stress on me and at the same time i flared up (coincidence?). i went to hand in my newest sick note, and my manager told me that when i get back, i will have to have a meeting to get an official step one warning about my sickness (this by the way is at her own discresion, so she knows what illness i have, knows im feeling stressed anyway, but is still deciding to give my a disciplinary for my sickness)

this will stay on my record FOREVER! any job i go for from now, i will have to tell them i have been officially warned about my sickness. I have done some reading and seen that i can actually appeal against this, my question is:

Has anyone done this and won? xx

 

[crag]

Hi Ruth,

Nice to meet you. I'm very sorry to hear about your situation, work worries are something that even healthy people stress about, so I can appreciate the way your feeling.

Do you have any kind of trade union at your place of work, or if not do they at least support union members? I'm currently trying to get a diagnosis, and have had a lot of time off sick as a result. I've only just started booking it as sick, before I was using my holiday entitlement as I didn#'t want my attendance to fall through the floor! Work have actually been supportive and have encouraged me to book it as sick.

I'm only saying this so that you know what your company should be doing, they sound as if they've had a big input on your current state of health and should be acknowledging this by giving you the time you need. Have you kept a diary of events at all? Deadlines, pressures, support etc. Just so that you have all the ammo you need as this doesn't sound like it's going to be pretty!

I'm afraid I haven't been through a similar situation but on the info you've given so far I'd say definitely appeal it! It might be worth getting in touch with citizen's advice if you have no union support? They may be able to direct you to a suitable union, but your company need to support it.

I'm sorry if none of this is helpful, I just wanted to offer something as I really do feel your pain! I hope you make some positive progress, and please let us know how you get on.

Take care of yourself,

Craig

 

[Rebecca85]

I agree with contacting your union if you have one. I was under the impression that disciplinary procedures were for people who repeatedly took one or two days off, and so did not have documention for their illnesses. If you have documentation for your illness then it's obviously genuine, and she is clearly being discriminatory.

 

[Joleen23]

Hi Ruth , get with the union ASAP.
I didn't and recently had a stage 3 meeting, All everyone kept saying to me was get with the union. Im from the Isle of Man (which is a pretty small place) and when i contacted the union they said they couldn't help me as the problem had already began and they were too busy to take on old cases
I was in hospital when i recieved my letter informing me that i could possibly lose my job due to sickness.
I had my meeting and i have been given 3mths to improve (they expect 95% attendance) im 2 months in and had Wed/Thu off due to Fever/vomiting (was signed off by doc who was disgusted that i was being threatned with losing my job)
In my case ,I really don't know if there is much that can be done about it though. I actually work for the government and i had a disability officer and HR sat in on my meeting and apparently its all legal.
The procedure that there monitoring me under is called the capibility procedure and means that there not doubting that im ill , there just questioning if im still capibile of doing the job im contracted to do.
It's a nightmare , im actually terrified of being unwell in case i lose my job , when i should really be concentrating on getting better.
Keep us posted

 

[ruthyp]

Yes I am in the union, and I have written everything down (well all the dates and info i can remember). I will take all your advice and contact the union, i was unsure whether i was making a bigger deal then it is and whether or not i am being discriminated against or whether i just feel like i am. I have been off sick since november last year and only worked a month and a half in march/april and am now off sick again, so like Rebecca85 said, it is defo not just 1 or 2 days here and there, its big chunks and 2 of those months i was in hospital. I think im in shock that even though she came to visit me when i was in hosp and could see how bad i was, she is still CHOOSING to step one me, thats what gets me, that she could decide not to but is anyway.
x

 

[StarGirrrrl]

Since you are both in the UK, Crohns& Collitis UK may well be of some help:
http://www.nacc.org.uk/content/home.asp#top

 

[Jennifer]

What? I didn't know they could do that and it sounding like they probably can't. I'm pretty sure that's illegal here in the US. No you're not making a big deal out of it at all. It is a big deal.

 

[Joleen23]

Yeah it was at my line managers discression to but me on this capibility procedure.
There is another lady i work with who has ME and she has had the same amount of illness incidents as me but for some reasson she is not as far up this procedure as me. I've decided to put in a complaint, i do kinda feel like im being bullied a little

 

[silvermander]

Wow, things are very different over here. I didn't realize how different. There is a lot of crap employers can and do pull, but the Americans with Disabilities Act has put the kibosh on a lot of it.

I feel so bad for you. Stand up for yourself and don't let this woman make you feel worse. If she does, then she's won.

 

[StarGirrrrl]

We have a Disability Discrimination act too, employers are not allowed to act like this here, what they are doing sounds illegal to me!

Please get help from Union, Solicitor, GP/Consultant, Crohns&Collitis etc, can't let them get away with it!

http://www.nacc.org.uk/downloads/factsheets/employers.pdf

http://www.nacc.org.uk/downloads/factsheets/Employment.pdf

 

[ruthyp]

Yeah it was at my line managers discression to but me on this capibility procedure.
There is another lady i work with who has ME and she has had the same amount of illness incidents as me but for some reasson she is not as far up this procedure as me. I've decided to put in a complaint, i do kinda feel like im being bullied a little

Gosh! that really is bullying, especially if you've both had the same amount of time off, defo put a complaint in. There is a lady where i work with parkinsons, and she is allowed to come in and work whenever she likes aslong as she does the required hours a week, for example do 1hr one day but then do 8hrs the next if she felt better. I got told i wasnt as ill as her and i wasnt allowed to do that, I almost died in february!!! but that doesnt seem to count for anything. Im glad all of you have written on here, makes me feel like im not alone and that im not making a mountain out of a mole hill.

Best of luck to you Joleen. And to everyone else, i thought it sounded illegal too, especially seeing as they were the ones putting stress on me anyway then they punish me for something i believe they have caused!x

 

[I Love Lamp]

Yeah thats very wrong. I had similar troubles when i worked for a big bank. I was warned about my sickness. I reminded them that Crohns is covered under the Disability Discrimination Act and they suddenly became very supportive.

Knowing your rights is the most powerful approach. They have to make all possible provisions to helping you get back to work and that includes not stressing you out.

hope this helps