Can I be fired for calling in sick on a busy day?

[KevinTheKoala]

I feel genuinley rotten and just seem to be getting worse, what started as a high temperature and severe body aches has turned into a throat so sore I can't swallow, painful ears and one perforated ear drum that is now leaking fluid, coupled with dizziness, nausea, shortness of breath and a bit of chest pain. In short ok really not in a good way and the doctors won't open till Tuesday, out of hours is too far away for me to get to I have no money and can't drive and have 2 children and nobody to look after them. I'm supposed to be in work tomorrow and I really don't see how i will magically be OK by then but obviously it is Easter Sunday - am I likely to lose my job? I can't afford to take sick days, I struggle through as much as possible but I can't remember feeling this ill before.

Theres alot of naievity on this thread. The harsh truth is very grim, being ill is now equivalant to commiting an criminal offence and the schools have gone the same way, then they wonder why mental health has sky rocketed.
I am a lone widowed parent and having a day off sick is simply not an option for me and l have 4.50 am starts. This is the world we live in now.

@Benjispruce4

Of course you can’t be fired for being ill.

Why post something that's blatantly incorrect?

You absolutely can be fired for absence - especially in the first two years where you practically have zero employment rights.

@Benjispruce4

You can’t be fired for being sick, that’s unfair dismissal.

Yes, you absolutely can be.

In the first two years you have practically no employee protections unless you're disabled.

Here

Call in sick and say you are going to out of hours and then your gp so you have proof you are sick. Send your kids to their dad and just don't tell him you aren't going to work. Don't have to actually go to out of hours, just go to the gp on Tuesday and get a sick note from them.

Let your boss know now you're unwell and probably can't make it in. Much less stress for them if they can sort cover today than in the middle of a busy morning tomorrow which means they are more likely to be reasonable with their response.

Get as much paracetamol and sleep as you can over the next 24 hours and see how you feel in the morning. Ring around your colleagues and try to get a swap in the meantime.

I'd also be inclined to ring ahead today saying you have all the symptoms of covid and are very visibly unwell, but that you'll come in if they can't get cover, then turn up looking like a (snotty, partially deaf) corpse on the assumption that they'll send you home.

If I was a manager in hospitality I would be forced to weigh up the inconvenience of sending you straight back home against the risk of my entire team coming down with Covid by Wednesday.

I know it's shit, but if you're a single parent, you can't afford to risk losing this job.

Two days off and twice late would not result in any form of performance management where I work, admittedly quasi public sector.

OP I would call your employers now and explain how I'll you are and that you doubt you will be well enough for work tomorrow but wanted to give them time to find cover. Explain also that you are calling 111 now. 111 may have a link to a duty Dr. Ours does at weekends and Bank Holidays. They may be able to call you back.

I hope you feel better soon.

I would phone in today and pre warn so that there is at least the option of cover and you don't just not turn up on the day.

I'd also get yourself some medical care - call 111 as a starting point they might be able to help without you going anywhere.

Neither will stop them firing you if they are so inclined but given the state you are in you would not be safe working would you?

This is only the second time I've been ill in 12 months and I know it's not ideal but it's not like I chose to be sick. I handle people's food I couldnt go in with a D&V I could have given it to any number of people. And I'm asking the question because as much as I really don't feel well enough to work, frankly I can barely look after my children at the minute, I'm worried sick about the potential consequences of this.

@Benjispruce4 that doesn't apply within the first two years of employment.

www.springhouselaw.com/knowledge-hub/sickness-absence/sacked-for-sickness/

Here.

In the first two years of employment, you have practically no protection unless you are disabled.

You can't bring an unfair dismissal claim in that time period either.

@Benjispruce4

Here

A cold is not a persistent illness. There is a legal definition of disability which would require an employer to make reasonable adjustments. If the required adjustments are not reasonable (initially determined by the employer) then the employee can be dismissed on the grounds of capability.

(Eg a software developer who was losing their sight. Occ health recommended specialist software and kit at about £100k and the appointment of a second developer with the same skills and experience to sit along side the employee to support them (£60k plus on costs per year). The organisation could not afford that, so the employee was dismissed (fairly)).

Contact them today. Tell them you are going to try to do your best to come in tomorrow but you feel horrendous and so it's possible you might bit be able to. Tell them you're worried about leaving then in the lurch for bank holiday so you wanted to let them know asap in case they can find cover.

Giving them as much notice as possible is the best you can do.

If they sack you, they are arseholes. Luckily it's a good time to be looking for work in hospitality so please try not to worry too much.

let them know today you can't work tomorrow

I can’t see the employer bothering to follow a procedure to fire somebody for being genuinely sick when it is only her 3rd day in 12 months. The hassle in following the correct procedure and hiring all over again isn’t not worth it for sickness in an otherwise competent employee.

Had you previously requested Easter Sunday off?

I would phone today and let them know you are sick. They can try to get cover.

What was the previous treatment for your perforated eardrum? How long would you be unable to work?

If you are honest with your boss and give them a chance to get cover it would be much better than just phoning in sick tomorrow morning.

Call 111 and they can talk to you. If you need medicine they can send a prescription to your local pharmacy electronically.

Sometimes I just can't believe what I am reading...

I am a manager and the last thing I want is for someone to come in when sick.

Why? because I don't want someone who will:

• not be able to perform the job correctly and who might make a mistake that might have an impact on clients/our work
• might pass on whatever bug they have to us, turning the problem of having one employee off sick into a bigger issue if the whole team is affected
• might pass this on to our clients (some of the people I work with are vulnerable)

The OP work in hospitality. she might be preparing/serving food, are we suggesting she goes to work and risks infecting customers?

The British has this bizarre view that being sick is somehow something that should not happen (newsflash, human beings will get sick...) or that people are faking it.

This week at work we had so many people off with either Covid or Norovirus. The last thing I want is any of them in the office passing this on to the rest of us.

OP, you are unwell, you need to call in sick. Put your health and that of the people you work with/customers first.

Any employer who would fire a good employee for this and/or does not plan how to run their business factoring in potential employee sickness is a complete fool. We are in a situation where the hospitality industry has a shortage of workers. If it comes to the worse you would not have any problems finding something else...

@Benjispruce4

I can’t see the employer bothering to follow a procedure to fire somebody for being genuinely sick when it is only her 3rd day in 12 months. The hassle in following the correct procedure and hiring all over again isn’t not worth it for sickness in an otherwise competent employee.

It depends on the industry, how competent OP is normally and how easy it will be to hire a replacement.

In many companies, all they need to do to get rid of someone in the first two years is give a weeks' notice - they don't need to actually give you a reason apart from "it's not working out".

Did you swab your throat ? although when I had covid , I had a throat so sore I just wanted to spit rather than swallow and it was two days before I tested positive.

I haven't requested the day off before, I really need the money to be honest and can't really afford to have the day off but that can't be helped. If I was in anyway able to pull myself together I really would, like many people on minimum wage I can't afford to be sick. I'm not single, I still live with my children's dad but it's very complicated. I will be phoning them today and letting them know, and I will try 111 as well and hope that they can do an over the phone assessment.

Tbh OP, if they'll sack you for clearly being genuinely unwell (you don't sound as though you make a habit of calling in sick) you probably don't want to work for them anyway.

I had my tonsils removed when I was young and so when the instructions say to swab around your tonsils I'm never very sure where that is, I also have a very strong gag reflex that makes it near impossible to do the test correctly and my throat is really swollen too so I did swab my throat but I don't think I did it properly.

This country is getting more and more like the US. Fired for being off genuinely sick for one day? After the whole P&O debacle employment rights really need to come under more scrutiny.

Sorry you are feeling so rubbish OP. I would call 111 as you may be able to get an out of hours appointment to at least see if your ear is infected.