I got fired today!!

You’re lucky colds don’t tend to affect you too badly. Can you just imagine for a moment that other people might not be so lucky? That some people are immunocompromised, and some have neurodivergences which mean that they struggle, really and genuinely struggle, far more than you do with being ill. Also, cold and flu tablets only treat the symptoms, they don’t treat the illness. It’s great if they make it possible for you to sleep and feel well enough to work, but they aren’t some magic cure that will get rid of a cold, let alone flu.

I agree with the majority here that the OP took too much time off for too many different reasons too early in her employment and that the employer was within their rights to let her go. But really, there is some appalling shite being spouted on here about how it’s the responsibility of a good employee never to take a single day sick. Life isn’t like that.

This isn’t true

Dontou come under the disability act? this is under the equality act 2010. You can not be discriminated against if you do regardless that it is in probationary period. Contact ACAS. Good luck companies should not be allowed to treat people like this

If you didn't declare your disability you didn't give them opportunity to make reasonable adjustments. It's your responsibility to make sure they know about your disability at interview stage. It makes no difference whether 6 or 11 days because both are too many in a little over 2 months. Most people wouldn't have this level of sickness in a 12 month period. As you have worked for them for under 2 years they can fire you for any reason or no reason at all perfectly legally. You need to sort out your health before starting another job or the same could happen. I thought all jobs were 3 or even 6 months probation with contract being issued once you passed probation period.

No I wouldn't inflict D&V, but some people (sorry to say, often quite melodramatic) always seem to get colds that are 10x worse than the average person, and really want you to know about it.

If I get a whiff of fever, sore throat or aches, I take a couple of cold & flu tablets, have an early night, and it's invariably a non-starter. If my cold developed into one that made me a major germ spreader - kind of sneezing / permanent runny nose, then I would stay off for a day of bed rest; I wouldn't go in.

6 days off in about 12 weeks is a lot.

Unless you agreed some reasonable adjustments with them before you started around sick leave but that would only be in relation to any existing conditions.

Migraines are awful but 3 days for each does seem excessive?

I’ve let people go during probation for not much more.

Jot it up as experience and discuss your needs with the employer before accepting a job next time. Also if something new crops up be honest with your employer and fully explain the situation to them. It sounds to me like you maybe didn’t have full conversations with them about the migraines? If you had to source your own lighting that sounds like there was no occupational health involved? Or did you do that off your own back?

I probably used ' literally ' in a hyperbolic sense. You would (PROBABLY) get sacked from NHS for somethings, ie abuse, fraud etc, or found not fit to practice. What I suppose I really mean is that the NHS seems to have no power of sanction when an employee decides to ' play the game ' by not coming to work on a regular basis. I don't know much about being employed in education but the NHS definitely has the same problem you identified ie recruitment and retention and poor management.

I guess I’m being pedantic but you did say it’s literally impossible. The same is often said about teachers and I think there are usually two issues about both jobs; difficulty in recruitment, poor management.

As an employee you should chase up about things like contracts or read the company policies. Maybe one is signed after probation. 6vs11 - 6 is still a lot. Assume you had days off sick. Most jobs have probation periods.

I am sure what you say is correct, however my experience is only of NHS HR procedure. It is sclerotic when it comes to engaging with staff with attendance issues, improvement plans, where they don't turn up to meetings, 'reasonable adjustments' which are often unquantifiable and hard and time consuming to implement, ie OT assessments which take forever to happen. I am really not against work places being made easier environments for people with chronic disability physical or psychological, but when you have a situation where staff went out pubbing for the night ( because socializing is ' Good for their mental health') then are too tired/emotional ( hungover) to turn up for their shift the next morning! It is always the same staff , and you know if you are rostered to work with them the chances are you will be picking up their work or phoning another long suffering colleague to come in on their day off. The only consequence is nothing, or a ' back to work chat' with the manager if the manager has time for this. Maybe I am old fashioned, but turning up to work is your contracted duty not an option. Any how I am retiring soon!

My wife works for NHS Scotland in a large hospital, and she says exactly the same thing. You'd have to commit murder to get the sack.

There are no jobs where it’s impossible to fire someone as long as it’s done properly through a competent HR department.

Are you saying that employers should expect an absence rate of around 20% from their workforce? How’s that going to work?

And make sure you declare your disability so that they can make reasonable adjustments. Don’t suffer in silence.

The fact is that if we want more disabled people finding and retaining employment, there has to be some understanding of their needs in the workplace and a willingness to meet them halfway

Though it doesn't appear relevant to OP's dismissal I agree with this completely, @Rosscameasdoody. As many of us have found, approaching the matter properly can often result in some of the most committed employees because it's clearly seen that everyone's respected in the workplace

Unfortunately, as with so much else, it can get spoiled by too many who take the piss and certainly aren't going to admit doing exactly that (as in the many threads where someone feeling a bit tired gets told to pull a sickie and blame their mental health)

Of course that's no reason to disadvantage those genuinely living with a disability, but it really doesn't help anyone - those who honestly do need support least of all

As someone who is fed up of covering for colleagues who are taking the absolute piss with non attendence I don't blame your company for firing you. I work for the NHS and a it is literally impossible to fire anyone, and leaves those with a strong work ethic constantly picking up the pieces for snowflakes who think one sneeze entitles them to stay at home .Yes I am bitter!

I realise this was meant for me as you have tagged me in a subsequent post. You are making things up again - things that were not said, plus straw men that are nothing to do with the issue of a new employee proving their unreliability within weeks of starting a new job. Again, I refer you to the Bradford Scale and the actual words said in my previous posts. You are flogging a dead donkey, but feel free to carry on. I will leave you to it.

But isn't about disability issues in the workplace. None of the leave that the OP took was related to her disability (as you, yourself, agreed).

You can still be, in your eyes, responsible and be too unwell to work. Illness isn't always self inflicted and sometimes you cannot, and should not, power through. There will be some people who take the mick but it's not just the two categories - well enough for work, or taking the mick and irresponsible.

Why do you think it’s not relevant - the thread is about disability issues in the workplace ? And why do you think one reply to a poster who was making a similar point is ‘hijacking’ the thread ? Are you new to MN because many threads spark broader discussion, so it’s not unusual and still on topic.

Forgot to tag, that was referring to @cooksbrandedclock

Who on earth afe you refering to? And who said the business couldn’t cope?

You can think what you like, but the fact remains that if your business can’t cope with an employee being off for 6 days then it’s poorly run. People aren’t robots, they get sick, their kids get sick. A well run business would have contingencies in place. Maybe the OP didn’t disclose her disability exactly because of attitudes like yours. You sound like the kind of toxic employer I’ve learned to avoid. So the OP probably had a lucky escape.