I got fired today!!

That’s not right? They can sue for discrimination under EqA from day one but not unfair dismissal under the Employment Rights Act?

OP there’s some shit advice on here from posters who have clearly no experience of or empathy for disability, and how hard it can make finding and retaining employment. There is even less grasp of the law surrounding disability in the workplace.

Even if you didn’t declare your disability to your employer, so much time off within a short space of time could be considered to have been enough of a red flag for them to enquire as to whether you needed support. Instead of intervening in a timely manner, they appear to have waited it out until they could fire you. If there are grounds to think that the employer could reasonably have suspected a disability or health condition then it doesn’t matter whether you declared it or not. You need to ditch this thread and contact ACAS for proper, balanced advice as to your next step and whether or not you have a case for unfair dismissal.

Look, I'm not actually looking to take this further or go to a tribunal or anything. I don't have that kind of fight in me.

I'm just worried about what I'm going to do going forward.

And yeah, I'm a bit annoyed that there was no contract, no mention of probation, no warnings. No back to work meetings after absences to discuss, etc. They were very happy with my work, and my time off hasn't been mentioned before today. As I said, there were no warnings, no discussions. It just feels shitty. No opportunities to improve and keep my job, etc.

No they don’t. If you have a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010 you have employment rights from day one, including the right to apply to sue for unfair dismissal.

Sadly you have no rights to go to tribunal for unfair dismissal as you need to currently be in a job for 2 years!

It is your responsibility to chase for your contract and to be honest I’d not have started without one.

Sickness, as a manager 6 days in 3 months would be of concern to me but I’d be having conversations with you before now!

No they don’t. If you have a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010 you have employment rights from day one, including the right to apply to sue for unfair dismissal.

Some of my time off was due to the aura migraines caused by my office lights. Totally new for me.
Some other time was due to my son being poorly and having to look after him.
Another was a sickness bug.

It doesn’t appear that any of the absences were connected to ops disability. Op said that the migraines seem to be due to the lights, her son was unwell and she had a bug.

I started a new job on 1st September.

I was given an offer of employment letter when I started but never received a contract.

Today I was fired. Apparently I've had too much time off and failed my probation.

They've said I've had eleven days off. By my tally it's six days. Not eleven. Two were caused by migraines with aura which I've never had before and my GP reckons it was highly likely to have been caused by my office lighting as the migraines only started after I got the job. And since i stopped using the overhead office lights, (i sourced my own alternative) I've been migraine free.

I know it's still a high amount to have had off but I recieved PIP for a disability that does unfortunately mean it's difficult for me sometimes to get to work. But I've done my best.

Have I got a leg to stand on here? I never received a contract. Was never informed of a probation period. To then be told I'd failed a probation period that I didn't know existed? I signed nothing that mentioned probation.

I wasn't offered an extension to the probation period or a improvement plan, etc. Just straight dismissal, with no prior warning, for failing a probation period I didn't know existed. And also told I've had 11 days off and I don't think it's been that many.

If you have a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010 you have rights from day one, including the right to sue for unfair dismissal. The choice to declare a disability or not is relevant, but the employer bears some responsibility if it can be shown that they should have suspected something was amiss.

There’s nothing to take to tribunal! To get to a tribunal a person has to be in post for 2 years currently!

I think people are being a little unkind to the OP, it is always a shock to find you are suddenly not wanted, even if the reason is justifiable. In your case OP it would not be unreasonable to have expected return to work interviews or informal chats with your manager after each absence, and for the manager to have made clear that further absences could result in dismissal. If that didn't happen then it may be that the company would not have been a great one to work for in the long run.

I’ve had experience of exactly this situation at tribunal. The OP had significant time off in a short space of time, which should have been a red flag for the employer to intervene and find out what the problem was - especially if there was a probation period with specific guidelines about permissible sick leave. That would have given the OP an opportunity to declare the disability and describe how the working environment was affecting her. Instead, the employer seems to have waited it out until they could fire her. That’s what could potentially work against them.

What is your husband doing to help with childcare? And, given you were just a couple of weeks into a new job and had to take so much time off sick for yourself, why didn't your husband stay at home to look after your sick child?

Sadly you have no rights to go to tribunal for unfair dismissal as you need to currently be in a job for 2 years!

It is your responsibility to chase for your contract and to be honest I’d not have started without one.

Sickness, as a manager 6 days in 3 months would be of concern to me but I’d be having conversations with you before now!

When do you declare it?

At application stage - you'll find you don't even get an interview.

At interview stage - you will almost certainly not get any further.

On day 1 - they can still find another reason to let you go after the probation period, though if they did let you go on day 1 they'd have to really prove it wasn't an immediate response to the declaration... it is possible though.

If a company does not want to hire people with disabilities, they can absolutely find ways to avoid doing so without any real possibility of comeback for the applicant. Many companies do not want to hire people with disablities because frankly (and speaking as a disabled person myself) its expensive, its a faff and we're just less reliable (depending on the disability of course) on paper and in peoples experience.

I started a new job on 1st September.

I was given an offer of employment letter when I started but never received a contract.

Today I was fired. Apparently I've had too much time off and failed my probation.

They've said I've had eleven days off. By my tally it's six days. Not eleven. Two were caused by migraines with aura which I've never had before and my GP reckons it was highly likely to have been caused by my office lighting as the migraines only started after I got the job. And since i stopped using the overhead office lights, (i sourced my own alternative) I've been migraine free.

I know it's still a high amount to have had off but I recieved PIP for a disability that does unfortunately mean it's difficult for me sometimes to get to work. But I've done my best.

Have I got a leg to stand on here? I never received a contract. Was never informed of a probation period. To then be told I'd failed a probation period that I didn't know existed? I signed nothing that mentioned probation.

I wasn't offered an extension to the probation period or a improvement plan, etc. Just straight dismissal, with no prior warning, for failing a probation period I didn't know existed. And also told I've had 11 days off and I don't think it's been that many.

When do you declare it?

At application stage - you'll find you don't even get an interview.

At interview stage - you will almost certainly not get any further.

On day 1 - they can still find another reason to let you go after the probation period, though if they did let you go on day 1 they'd have to really prove it wasn't an immediate response to the declaration... it is possible though.

If a company does not want to hire people with disabilities, they can absolutely find ways to avoid doing so without any real possibility of comeback for the applicant. Many companies do not want to hire people with disablities because frankly (and speaking as a disabled person myself) its expensive, its a faff and we're just less reliable (depending on the disability of course) on paper and in peoples experience.

I’ve had experience of exactly this situation at tribunal. The OP had significant time off in a short space of time, which should have been a red flag for the employer to intervene and find out what the problem was - especially if there was a probation period with specific guidelines about permissible sick leave. That would have given the OP an opportunity to declare the disability and describe how the working environment was affecting her. Instead, the employer seems to have waited it out until they could fire her. That’s what could potentially work against them.