I got fired today!!

Oh and the probation period is a bit of a red herring. The relevant law is that you can't claim unfair dismissal in the first 2 years of any job. So they can fire you for any reason they like except overt discrimination. But they would have to know you had a disability, which Is why disclosure is important. But yes in the employee manual you probably haven't seen will be some requirement you have not met, although as I said that may not be the real reason they fired you but its handy and easy.

It's completely unrealistic to expect an employee never needs sick days - we're humans not machines!

You don't know why they fired you, could be they can't afford you, or they've had a rethink about the role. Or maybe he really was putting on a front when he seemed understanding, which seems v disingenuous and unfair, but plenty of managers are cowards. It must be a shock. But after just months, and you didn't disclose a disability I don't think there is anything you do. Im sorry it's a tough position to be in. Maybe time to get creative about what you can do to make money, skills and interests you have, could improve, could you do a course in something, what is there is a lot of work in. I don't know what the answer is, but id throw myself into figuring it out.

Ok, so you’re not going to make a claim. Good, as that would be a waste of time & money you don’t have. And you need to concentrate your efforts on finding a new job. An employer is meant to give you a written job contract before 3 months, but since you were fired at 2 months then they could say if you made it to 3 months, you would have been given that contract. A “written job contract” could be just an email with basic terms like “£13ph 40 hours a week, one week notice either side”. But since nobody has explained the world of work to you, you’re not meant to have any time off. Saying “there was a sickness bug going around” is not genuine sickness is it? Every single workplace that has open plan layout has someone coughing all year around. You can’t use someone else’s sickness to justify time off yourself. If you don’t give a stuff about work, then don’t expect your boss to give a stuff about you. Also, childcare issues is not sick leave. Perhaps a fully remote job might be better for you. Good luck.

Just a thought, you had three bouts of illness, two times migraine plus sickness. This is often frowned on more than one bout of illness. Plus you had the childcare so that was another absence. So that’s four lots of absences in a short space of time . Plus the unreliability of coming in late.

Surely all jobs have a probationary period?You must have realized that,especially as there was no contract.It does seem odd that they say you had 11 days off.
Sure it is possible to prove this is incorrect. But 6 days off seems excessive.

“They said I did a great job” - well, that’s PR now you’ve left. What they said behind the scenes quite another, e.g. work full of errors & slow taken to complete, inefficient. What they’re firing you for is time off. Unofficially, your work could have been sub-par. Since your illness didn’t seem legit, and your work full of errors, they made a judgement call.

In the nhs if you work 3 days a week, eg (Tuesday /Wednesday/Thursday) - if you ring in sick on Tuesday but close your absence electronically on the following Monday and return on the Monday, they’ll count every day from Tuesday = 6 days, including the weekend and the Friday even though you don’t even work those days. I have the same problem in that if I’m off sick I try to close the absence asap otherwise it looks like I’ve had a lot more time off than I have had. Stupid system.

This. I have worked for 30 years and I think I have taken about 10 days off sick in the whole time...

It's a shame but really, 6 or 11 days is ridiculous amount. i would not hire you either.

You would have got fired in my place, probation period or not. What you have to understand is you’re not meant to have ANY sick days off. I’ve been working 30 years and haven’t taken a single day sick. Also, 3 sick days in 3 months & you’re fired in my workplace. End of. Whoever you are in hierarchy, head honcho or office cleaner. No messing around.

You CAN take sick leave of course, but if you start a pattern of looking as if the job is of secondary importance, your employer will treat you as if YOU are of secondary importance. I was taught: never slag off your last employer (because they will think you will be slagging them off next) and pretend you like your new company even if you hate them. Play the long game and keep your cards close. I loathed all my jobs but learned to skive with skill.

If you don't 'think' you've had as many days off as 11 that means you've basically lost track which means it probably is 11 and that's totally unreasonable in such a short space of time. Dont mean to be hurtfull but you sound like you are ripping the pish and more than likely deserved to be given the elbow. Sorry to be so blunt but there are folk desperate for jobs and vacancies seem to get filled with people who can talk the talk until they get the job then everyone else has to carry their arses while they take a sickie at every opportunity.

That was your big mistake although I expect that, if you had declared your disability, you probably wouldn't have got the job in the first place.

True, but op also said she was (often?) late due to her undisclosed disability. So maybe that contributed also.

Well said, l totally agree with you .

@cooksbrandedclockHow am I making up scenarios, it’s exactly the OP’s situation - one of the absences was for a sickness bug. So if she had come in for the sake of being reliable ( in your eyes) she’d have been in and out of the loo with D&V and also infected everyone.
The other absences were for migraines, which are also debilitating especially if working at a screen, so pretty pointless to come in.
Then the child being ill - she could hardly leave a child alone at home and not everyone has someone to step in and help.
6 days of absence for genuine reasons like these doesn’t make someone unreliable if they’re productive and a good worker the rest of the time.

I’m an employer. I hate employing people for reasons you’ve described.

I am shocked to hear that people don’t pass probation because they took sick leave. I would never dismiss someone for this reason. What if someone just happens to be sick during their first 6 months with a new employer? That doesn’t necessarily mean that they’d continue that trend. I also have empathy for a single parent with a sick child and who has nobody else who can babysit when the school doesn’t accept the child because they’re sick.

I have someone at work in this situation. She frequently asks for time off or asks to change her working days/ hours because of childcare issues. I always agree because she makes up her time on other days and she is always willing to pick up extra tasks, etc. It’s a 2 way street. At the same time, I have a staff member who is always rushing to leave work 10 mins early when we are quiet, but never offers to leave 10 mins late when we a busy. If I was to choose between the 2, I would choose the first.

OP, even though you have childcare issues and perhaps are more prone to sickness, if you work hard and are conscientious I’m sure you’ll find an employer who will see that.

Government telling people with disabilities to work.

People with disabilities try to find work.

Employers: Fuck this, we will nto give you any adjustements, we want abled bodied and minded people only, Ciao!

I think the practicalities of people with disabilities trying to get into a job market is a fucking nightmare. If you declare your disability you face people thinking you're not up to the job and don't declare it you don't get reasonable adjustments and you can't back track. I think I'd have one attempt at explaining your full difficulties in detail and make a last ditch attempt at changing minds. It sucks OP I'm sorry.

Haven't read the full thread, only OPs posts. If you've only been off for 6 days instead of 11,you should be able to prove it by door entry records, PC login records. But tbh, even with your previous employment you seem to be blaming the employer ("toxic management") You seem to be playing victim. You don't seem to take any responsibility for the breakdown in your employment. Your previous employment ended due to toxic management, your current one you got fired. If you do not stop and look at what you might be doing wrong then you are likely to have a long series of short stints in employment. Re. your most recent employment, you probably don't meet their business needs. If your employer needs someone who is reliable and does their contacted hours then you do not sound like that person, sorry. I also wouldn't fight to be in a place that I am not wanted. Good luck in your next role.

I would think so.

I don’t think sickness will necessarily cause you to fail your probation. Maybe it was a combination of six days holiday (plus five days childcare?) plus being late into work.

What’s your solution? People come in with D&V, spread it around the office (and the train on their commute) and then go home, making more people ill?

Perhaps OP should have brought her son into the office with her when he was unwell?