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sick pay (originally posted 20/2)

Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2004 12:15 pm
by Mike
hi,

i posted the message below some time ago about sick pay and the situation has not been resolved.

i thought it was going to be ok as my boss thought that if i had a sick note i would still get paid but this turned out to be incorrect. As a result of this message i got into trouble as this somehow got back to my company.

as it turns out they believe they are acting legally and there seems nothing i can do about it but i would like to say thanks anyway to everyone who gave me advice.

thanks very much
mike


orig message:-
Hello,

can anyone direct me to a website where it will give me information about my rights as an employee regarding sick pay?

my company has just sent me a letter saying they will not pay me for the initial 3 days whenever i am off sick! Do they have the right to do that?? it seems like discrimination to me as I obviously are going to have the odd day off when i am ill due to my condition. Do i have any legal protection to stop them doing this or do i have to go to the doctor to get a sick note everytime?

any advice would be gratefully received

thanks

Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2004 1:38 pm
by Rik
Hi Mike ... not sure if this is a help?? ... but you could try either ... http://www.dwp.gov.uk/lifeevent/benefit ... y.asp#what

but what you really need to do is to seek legal advice from your local C.A.B office .... they will want to see what your contract of employment says for a start I should imagine ...

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/life/employment.htm

Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2004 2:11 pm
by Mike
thanks rik but it's not just me affected, it is everyone in the company! the union is taking up the case on our behalf to see if they can do anything but i'm not hopeful that anything will change. It just seems a little unfair as the reason they did it is because so many people are taking days off sick when they are not genuinely ill. but for anyone such as myself (there are other peopl with long-term chronic illnessses) we are the ones who suffer from this as the others will just take the week off rather than a day or two now.
thanks anyway

sick pay

Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2004 2:18 pm
by Iain
Hi Mike
I don't think legally speaking an employer has to pay you sick pay, though most do. Any that don't aren't very good employers in my opinion. But (I think) if you're off work for more than 5 working days and have a sick line from you're doctor, then your employer is legally obligated to pay you statuatory sick pay (SSP) for the period covered by the note. So if you get a sick note for 4 weeks, they should pay you SSP for 4 weeks minus 5 days. I think it's 5 days, may be 3, can't remember exactly now. Check out the Department of Works and Pension website link that Rik has posted, that'll tell you for sure.
Iain.

just another thought

Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2004 2:23 pm
by Iain
Does your contract of employment say anything about whether or not they pay sick pay? As far as I know they can't change the terms and conditions of your contract without getting you to sign another one. Glad you've got the union involved.
Iain.

Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2004 2:41 pm
by Hal
Hi,

I'm pretty sure they don't have to pay you for a certain amount of time off sick. Some employers do it "out of the goodness of their heart". You need to find out if there is distinction between a continuous chronic illness and a one off thing - maybe the days don't have to be continuous if its chronic ?

Hal.

Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2004 2:43 pm
by Mike
they claim as it is a minor change it does not require any notice. I'll see what happens

Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2004 2:47 pm
by Mike
yes i believe it is what happens with statutory sick pay but the vast majority of companies do pay from day 1 especially a company of the size of mine.

Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2004 3:47 pm
by Elaine
Hiya Mike just seen u post hope u get 'things' sorted out with u company etc. From my own experience if u have a union seek advise, i had been misled by my employer and my union insisted that I perued the issue about sick pay etc. with their support. Im glad i did as my employers had been paying me wrong telling me I was only entitled to certain pay although mine is to do with industrial injury the issue has now been resolved. :roll:

best wishes Elaine ;0

good luck to you - if in doubt ASK!!!!! :?:

Posted: Wed Apr 28, 2004 9:53 am
by Iain
Hi Mike.
Hope you get it sorted out, I can sympathise totally. An employer moving the goalposts as regards sick pay sure doesn't sound like a minor change for sick or other disabled employees like us! Maybe you could look up the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) to see if anything in that could help your case. Best of luck, Iain.

Posted: Wed Apr 28, 2004 2:19 pm
by Mike
Hi,

thanks so much to you all for your help and kindness, it's bad enough having to cope with a long-term chronic illness without having to worry and stress about this as well. I feel ill anyway but i'm sure that this is making me worse as i feel terrible today.

mike :D

disability discrimination Act

Posted: Wed May 05, 2004 4:59 am
by amanda in CA
I understand that there are other people with chronic illnesses in your company but it may be that there are special provisions within the Disability Discrimination Act for people on dialysis since I imagine that most of the people with chronic illness are off sick because they feel ill or are in pain. the difference with dialysis is that it is a life-saving procedure and it could be that legally it is considered to be in a different category. furthermore, there may be specifics which come into play, ie. did they know of your illness when they employed you, did you become ill at a later stage when you were already in their employment - such distinctions may be pertinent as to whether they are in the poo or not by not paying you sick pay when you go for dialysis. Be sure that your union isn't in cahoots with management, it does happen, a friend is going through a similar thing and her union are a little bit too pally with her line manager, which should be raised with the TUC as far as I'm concerned. Amanda