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?

@nojob

2 days a month would be 24 days a year so a whole month of working days every year off sick. It's a really high number and I would absolutely expect that they will decide to terminate your employment at probation review.

If I were you I would start looking elsewhere and take steps to see if there is anything the GP can do to reduce the impact of your periods.

It sounds like they’re giving you a chance by extending your probation rather than just showing you the door, which they’re entitled to do. 10 days sick in 3 months is A LOT of sickness. I’d be on sick review for sure with that much and I’ve been in my job 4 years post probation!
I would be concerned, honestly. When you’re frequently are not there, the rest of the staff have to pick up the slack. You’re probably at the point where nobody is ‘shocked’ you’re not in again.

I didn't realise a couple of days each month was too bad

I think this is quite worrying. Is this your first job?

Yikes, it’s quite scary that you don’t think this is a big deal.
I work in public sector & 10 days in a rolling year is a big deal, never mind four months.
Do has own business, quite a small operation - if he employed someone with that many days off sick, it would have a significant impact on the whole business.

This is a wind up I’ll- no one is this naive surely!

@AbsentmindedWoman

We know paracetamol doesn't always help these things..
But the OP took 5 days off for a cold. Which is excessive. So you can see why people may be sceptical about days off for period related problems rather than just taking paracetamol.

I didn't realise a couple of days each month was too bad

I've been in a job for almost 2 years.

I have had 3 sick days. In 2 years

🤦🏼‍♀️

that's how your absences show up on a calendar (I plucked this one from google, obviously I cannot show you mine).

2 days a month is a ridiculous amount and very noticeable.

If you take the piss, managers tend to also start recording lateness and everything. It really does show.

My periods are so heavy and my iron levels get so low that I faint regularly

So why continue having periods? I'm asking this for your own welfare, OP, not for your employer's benefit. Your options include:

Taking the combined Pill continuously - talk to your GP about alternatives to the traditional 3 weeks of Pill then a withdrawal bleed.

Mini pill- lots of women have much lighter or no periods

Mirena - as for mini pill.

OP have you had a job before? If not, would you have thought it ok to take off a couple of days every month when at school? Have you not noticed that no one else takes a couple of days off a month?

Finally, when your attendance was previously raised as an issue, did it not click then that it wasn't acceptable?

I don't know anyone who stays off with a cold to be honest, 5 days in a row would be reserved for proper flu. DH and I haven't had 10 days off between us in ten years. I don't know anyone who takes off every month sick. Thankfully none of my colleagues do.

Fingers crossed they give you one more chance, but as other posters said, you really need to see a GP to see what can be done to help you tolerate your periods.

You sound like you think your work are being unreasonable for not giving you prior warning and if they did choose to get rid of you then they’re in the wrong.

That is a shocking amount of time off. How on earth can you think “a couple of says a month” is ok?!

The fact that @nojob is ignoring the questions about the reasons for your absence and only focussing on whether work can give you the heave ho kinda suggests to me that lessons will be not be learned.

Sorry I'm not deliberately ignoring questions, I'm reading through and trying to answer as many as I can. I'm on a train with limited signal and I only posted just over an hour ago - give me a chance to respond pls, thanks!

When I had periods they were so bad I had to take dihydrocodeine on days 1 and 2 in order to function in order not to take time off work and in the NHS we are not allowed to take time off work. If you are on probation you would be expected to come in unless you were run over by a bus.
I very much doubt they will keep you on as time off for sickness episodes like this are unlikely to stop.
I suggest you see your doctor and get adequate pain killers to keep you going during these episodes

Assuming your periods are really so bad every month that you are unable to work then you need to insist on medical treatment (I went on the pill for mine). Because you are unemployable with that sort of sickness record.

You don’t sound like you have much of a worth ethic though TBH. I’d have thought if your period related sickness was unavoidable, you would have dragged yourself in with a cold, not taken a week off.

Yes, they can dismiss you for frequent short term absence with no warnings and no procedure with your length of service.

TBH, I'd be looking to dismiss you with that sickness record. % days for a cold

They haven't told me where I stand yet...is that bad practice?

No.

And you need to stop trying to find something to catch them out on and stop having time off!

So why continue having periods?
to be fair, hiding the problem is not a great idea, if the OP ever intends on having kids one day, sorting out the issue NOW is highly recommended, not when she is TTC.
that's IF she wants kids, perfectly valid choice not to want them.

*5

My periods are so heavy and my iron levels get so low that I faint regularly

Why can’t you get the implant or pill to stop them then?

I didn't realise a couple of days each month was too bad.

It sounds as though this has been the pattern of your working life.

The cold was very heavy, I could hardly get out of bed for the first few days and I had a very high fever, it could have been the flu actually, I told my employer flu symptoms. Went to doctor twice and he sad some kind of cold/viral infection, but gave me precautionary antibiotics as I was feeling so unwell.

I didn't realise a couple of days each month was too bad.

Flabbergasting.

Let's say 80 days worked, 10 off, that's amost 15% absence.
Put it another way, it's the equivalent of leaving work a whole hour early EVERY DAY.

If they don't keep you on, you have to start appreciating that this was the reason why. If they keep you on, despite having been formally warned, you don't seem to have got the message that you cannot routinely take time off for periods and colds - so from now on dose yourself up and head in like the rest of us do.

I have no idea how old you are but missing 5 days for "bad periods" is something girls do in high school to get attention. You need to either suck it up or get medical attention to see what the problem is. A whole week for a cold is ridiculous. I run an office and if you worked for me I would have sacked you long ago.

I'm amazed no one has said the much loved MN words "millennial snowflakes" yet. Although I think OP is hoping for just that, and preparing a massive drip feed...I do love hearing all the MN I've never taken a day off sick competitiveness though

PS I myself have never taken a sick day in 50 years, even when my head and both my arms and both my legs fell off. I just used a bit of Pritt Stick and got on with it.

Playing catch up here.

Definitely go back to your GP. You shouldn't be suffering like that every month. Get them to refer you to a gynaecologist for investigations. It could be endometriosis or polyps or fibroids or anything really. Don't just go on the pill - get yourself checked out. You're fucking with your future fertility if you don't and you're fucking with your current health right now.

I know that GPs are prone to dismiss problematic periods, and you shouldn't have to do it but you need to press them on this. This is affecting your life and financial security and it's serious.