To think I will be dismissed for sickness record?

[nojob]

I started a new job last October with 3 month probation. I was told in January that my probation was to be extended for 2 months 'due to absence' as I'm not fully trained up yet and haven't been able to demonstrate I can meet the required standard. They said they are confident that I should meet the required standard by the end of February.

I have been off sick for 10 days in total (2 days in November, 2 days in December, 1 day in January all due to very bad periods and 5 days last week due to a heavy cold.). Can they decide not to pass my probation even if my performance is ok? They haven't said anything yet but I get the vibe that they are not very supportive of sickness. I missed some important training when I was off last week. Should I be worried?

I work in HR in the public sector. We're quite lenient where sickness absence is concerned but even we would be looking to dismiss with 10 days absence in less than 6 months.

You've already had your probation extended, you've been told you need more training but you missed the training. You're on very thin ice at the moment.

If you want to salvage this situation go into your next meeting with a plan on how to manage your absence. If it's cyclical at least you can predict it to an extent. Can you use flex time? work from home on those days? re-arrange your working pattern to a 9 day fortnight or similar? How do you propose to catch up on your training given that it's so important?

Don't get hung up on the process, the fact is it doesn't matter hugely. Dismissing you now is low risk for them. Take responsibility, recognise this situation is untenable and have a plan.

Employment rules are ridiculous if calling in sick oncs during pribation would mean you were pretty much done. Everyone gets sick. Would they rather you come in and vomit over them?

I recently started a new job in January and have 1 days sick - because I broke my foot. I still came in the next day on crutches despite the pain as I have a standard 6 month probation period.

I also suffer from stage 4 endometriosis and I am currently going through the worst flare up I have had in a while - and I am still in work. Yes it's hard but during the day I take very strong painkillers, have a hot water bottle and at night I get to bed early enough to get a decent sleep before my last dose of medication wears off.

Get yourself to the GP and refuse to leave until they have prescribed you pain relief. I am frequently doubled over in pain and feel like I am getting gutted alive, but I would be suffering the same at home as I would in the office so dont see the point in staying home, work can also act as a distraction from the pain

Ilikewinter......Ditto. If you were in my employ you would be gone by now....

It sounds harsh but in the first 3/6 months of a job you need to show the best of yourself so they want to keep you. After that you have started to prove yourself

@LilyLovesLacey

Did you miss that she called in sick 4 times in 4 months totalling 10 days?

Tranexamic acid. Mefanamic acid. At the same time. Take an organic form of iron such as Hemaplex or spatone. I literally haemorrhage every month but I’d never take time off work for it.

You have to remember to that absence affects the rest of the team and they will be watching what the manager decides to do too, especially if they are the ones picking up the slack. It can be demotivating for a team if one person is frequently off leaving them to pick up the extra work or hours when they have other plans themselves. The manager will need to ensure that their decision is for the whole team and the well being of the job that needs to be completed.

OP, you are full of excuses and looking for loopholes.
I would not keep you on.
Why not sort your issue out instead? I've got people like you working for me who seem to not care about the impact they have on their more committed colleagues when they have a sniffles and are absent for 2 days. The latest theme is ' I've been sick" - they know that's an automatic 48hrs off...
If your gynaecological issue was that serious you would have had treatment, not just left like it for years, as you say. Take some paracetamol, suck it up and grow up.

Yes they can I got fired by text once had worked there for 6 months had 2 days off ill and 1 day for my daughter who was ill then texted my manager as very early to say I could not come in my daughter had a terrible rash so could not go to school as unknown what it was her teacher was pregnant. Got a reply saying don't bother coming back in !

5 days off for a heavy cold is ridiculous to be honest... get a grip. Fair enough if you have flu but a cold????

While I agree with the majority that OPs level of sickness is unacceptable I think others have been foolish.
Dragging yourself in to work sick won't do you any favours. Once the company decide to get rid of you it doesn't matter how good your attendance is. I work with a lady who has been employed by the company for 35 years and very rarely has time off but the company are still trying to push her out. The point I'm making is that (unless you are very lucky and work for a fantastic company ) you can be a model employee and the company will still shit all over you. Don't put your health at risk for work but at the same time don't take 10 days off in 4 months.
OP as they didn't sack you when you came back after being sick perhaps you have been lucky but they could still sack you tomorrow. I would keep your head down and work bloody hard. I certainly wouldn't call attention to your bad attendance by demanding meetings and so on.

I have some sympathy for you, OP @nojob. If you have been at the heart of a loving family which encourages you to take care of yourself, and cossets you when you fall ill or feel rotten because of painful periods, it must be hard to realise that employers simply see you as an economic unit, and rate you simply on your capacity to come to work and do the job. No sympathy for your ongoing problems or brownie points for trying your best, sadly. It's not school. If this is not something you can cope with, you might want to rethink your career, if you can. Perhaps try working part-time, to allow time to recover from periods or viruses? Or offer to forego pay for the two days you need off each month? They won't like that, I fear, but it would show you accept your problems are not fair on your employers or your colleagues.

SolemnlySwear2010 - to be fair, a foot fracture is completely different to 10 days off with colds and periods.

I took off 6 weeks in a new ish job for a fracture. They still made me permanent! I was in a cast and couldn’t get in the shower, down the stairs or on the train. Taxis would have been more than my salary. I slept most of the days away with pain. The office was the third floor of a Victorian building, no lift so I couldn’t have gone in.

I would be concerned about your sickness record OP, and I wouldn't be able to take the risk of taking you on and finding myself regularly in a pickle without key team members.

As you've not completed 2 years service they can dismiss you without needing a reason and without any type of warning.

I'd suggest you look into getting support with any underlying health issues so as to minimise any absence in future roles.

Also, wrt giving a reference it is possible that future employers ask past employers how many days sick leave you've had and they may disclose this as it would be a fact rather than an opinion.

Current employment legislation and law means as an employee you do not have the same rights as an employee of over two years. Your employee can terminate your employment without an explanation; that is the legal standing if under two years continuous employment. Anyone telling you different isn’t aware of current legislation. Your employee has already noted your absence record and extended your probation and unfortunately you have had another 5 days sickness. Either they are going to terminate your employment (they can do this with no explanation and do not have to follow any company policy) or they are debating what to do. If I was you I’d try to formulate a way of overcoming future absences with the help of your GP and take to your employer with a reasonable and workable plan going forward. Doing nothing or hoping your employer might have done something wrong will not save your job OP, sorry but there the facts.

Used to be a manager and for the company one sickness in probation was enough to fail you.

If my 15 year old daughter who’s periods make her vomit because of the pain can still function, maybe you just need to put on your big girl pants and take some pain killers and go to work??

One of the points of a probation period is that they can let you go without formal warnings if they have enough reason. This is not an acceptable sickness record in the eyes of an employer and you probably realise that.

People are generally are expected to work though colds. Flu no. Cold - yes

IF you’re lucky enough to still get taken on, you won’t be very popular with your co- workers, who will have to cover YOUR work load for no extra pay, whilst you stay home with period pain... pretty lame reason, considering I’ve known colleagues to still attend work whilst receiving chemotherapy.

Yup, attendance, work and behaviour is what they look at. You have to meet a certain standard.
Did you come in as a new team or just alone?

You’re a massive piss taker, OP, shameless. Sort your work ethic out of you will never hold down a job

I think if you had the additional 5 days after they told you they were concerned about your attendance and standard of work then I might be worried.

Yep I’d be worried you’d be gone straight away in my dept

I’ve had 7 days off on the last 5 years - you are massively taking the piss

Anyone having more than 2 instances of any duration in our place per year is on a warning.

Op you already stated they sat you down and advised you they were extending your probation due to your inability to complete the training due to your absence. That was the formal process. You now need to go to them with a plan that shows you are sincerely making an effort to get action taken by your GP so your attendance can improve and how you propose to make up that list training time to have any hope. The truth, as many have said, is you can be fired “for failing your probationary period due to inability to complete the required training”