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.

They might sack you if you are regularly sick so unreliable, if they suspect you are lying and annoyed about it or they have too many staff and looking for excuses.

As you are reliable I think you will probably be fine

@Benjispruce4

Here

The op doesn’t have a disability.

Have you done a covid test or have a temperature gun?

I’d like to think they wouldn’t sack you but I can’t say for sure and I’m sure there are lots of people who want this weekend off.

I had a similar situation and it was on a very important day which looked really suspicious.
My covid test was negative but then I took one the next day and it was positive and I felt so relieved that I had actual evidence of why I was off.

Obviously yours might not show anything but if definitely try and get some evidence.

If they don’t believe you then unfortunately there’s not much you can do and you’ll have to contact your union for help.

@wingscrow

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...

Thank goodness for this sensible post.

The OP is sick. The end. All the posters trying to make out she's somehow in the wrong, and those recommending she drags herself in there no matter what ...

No employer I know would take any notice of this, regardless of how inconvenienced they were. It's life. And a part of managing a business.

Do get to a doctor OP, you need to feel better. 💐

I’d go to the walk in centre and take the children with you if you have to. Take snacks and something to do. It sounds like you need to be seen.

This country is getting more and more like the US. Fired for being off genuinely sick for one day?

This thread has brought back memories of me going in on deaths door because I was afraid of having a sick day.

One time I felt really rough but still went in and i vomited all over the floor in front of everyone - part of me died of embarrassment but the other part of me was thankful I had proof of being ill - which is mad.

One good thing about covid was if you were ill you were expected to stay off.
Whereas now it seems it’s going back to where you’re expected to go in.

Of course you can take time off if you are ill. But you can't take sick leave because you have no transport or no childcare. You can be sacked if you take an excessive amount of sick leave.

If you’re employed under 2 years they can sack you for any reason. You have very few rights.

Good grief - what sort of employment laws do you have in the UK????

I would call in now OP and explain that you very possibly won't get to work, at least they will be able to look for someone to cover. I hope you are feeling better soon.

The police have a very generous sickness policy

Full pay from day 1 (for up to a maximum of 6 months in a year and then half pay for final 6months)
No need to provide a GP until 7 consecutive working days

That's not quite the full picture.
Yes, it is full pay for six months then half pay - but only after five years of service? Assuming it is similar to other public sector roles?

Plus this does not mean that staff can take six months off with no repercussions?

Where I work (with a similar pay policy) our 'managing' sickness process kicks in after 8 days regardless the reason - with a referral to OH followed by a first stage meeting with your manager setting out expectations and a 'plan' re absences going forward - if within that period you are off again, it leads to stage 2 - similar process. At stage 3 you could quite easily be looking at dismissal.

So the policy of six months full pay is not quite the generous sick pay policy it seems.

I know of a member of staff in one of our offices who was injured in a workplace accident (not badly but enough to warrant a trip to a&e with subsequent follow ups in fracture clinic) and was sent home and told not to come in for the rest of the week. And those days counted towards the 'trigger' for referral.

@wingscrow

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...

I agree with this, however my experience is of the opposite and as the employer is in the strongest position in these situations it all boils down to the belief and attitude/culture of the employer, and IME the lower paid/regarded you are then the more you're going to be assumed to be taking the mick or just an inconvenience for being human and getting ill now and again. I agree with a pp that there's a lot of naivety around jobs like hospitality when it comes to sickness or absence, in reality you aren't a valued human being, you are a means to make a profit for the company and no more, don't do that even once and you face the concequences. Most people probably aren't advising the OP to go into work tomorrow because it's the right thing to do, or because they think she's faking or not as ill as she says, but because they've experienced similar situations where they've been punished either officially or unofficially (zero hour contracts becoming just that after being ill or turning down a last minute shift) and have suffered the financial concequences of that. 'The needs of the business' or in most cases the need to make profit is all in our culture and with the employment laws we have, having no rights under 2 years and disciplinary action against people who are humans and get sick being commonplace, it's not surprising that it's like this.

OP it would be great if you could ring in sick because you're genuinely ill, and you're in the best position to judge if you'll be negatively affected by doing that knowing your employer (other than the obvious of losing a days wage which is important when you don't earn a lot) but I would and have struggled on through shifts when unwell because I couldn't afford to face the concequences that I know an employer could and in some cases would give me for being ill on a day I'm supposed to be working.
At the end of the day, many employers don't care about the well being of their staff or about spreading illness around, even when they don't pay for absences, it just doesn't feature.

I have struggled through shifts when I've been ill before, I honestly wouldn't take a day off for most illnesses but this has floored me and gone on far longer than other mild illnesses usually do.

@MimosaFields

Can you afford Push Doctor online appointment today?

We're registered with LIVI for online doctors appointments. It's free and over lockdown were so much easier and better than a face to face appointment with our GP.

Nobody can tell you how your employer will react.

But look… hospitality is generally crying out for staff.
And you’ve covered multiple extra shifts this last year, which means - they don’t have enough staff.

Yeah, it’s a pain if it’s a busy day, and when it’s a bank holiday there’s that extra element of your employer wondering if you’re taking the piss. But the risk of that goes up, the longer you leave it.

It sounds like you simply can’t work - so call it now.

I really don’t think they’ll sack you when they’ve been needing extra shifts. And if they do… hospitality is a good sector for picking up more work.

Get well soon

OP what makes you think they will sack you? Have they threatened it or done it to other people. I'd contact them ASAP so they can try and get cover.

@Crinkle77

OP what makes you think they will sack you? Have they threatened it or done it to other people. I'd contact them ASAP so they can try and get cover.

I suspect there is a back story with the employer

No one would ever think they’d be sacked in this scenario unless there was “history”

Sounds like you have covid and not well at all with it.

Would it help them to know in advance so they can find someone else? Speak to them today and explain.

Sorry if that’s already been suggested.

@KevinTheKoala

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.

There are tests where you dont have to swab around your tonsils. Some can be from the front of your nose or from a saliva sample, some can be used in more than one way. No idea what is available in the UK though.

Its ridiculous that people are put in situations like this. People should not have to drag themselves to work when they feel ill, let alone this much ill. I am really sorry.

If you're thinking you could get fired for calling in sick I guess its because you know your employer can be unreasonable. If your emoloyer was accommodating and understanding then the thought that you could get fired for calling in sick wouldn't have even crossed your mind. They shouldnt fire you for being sick but there are many employers who would.

You need to ring in sick. 12 months ago. You certainly wouldn’t be expected to work whilst feel unwell and would be treated as suspect covid until proven otherwise.

The 2 year period during which you can be dismissed was increased from 1 year by the government years ago.

Yes they can sack you, but I doubt they will.

'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'.

That's not going to happen under the current Government; or whenever they get round to scrutinise them it will probably be with a view to removing more of them.

BTW the right to claim unfair dismissal used to apply after 1 year's employment; it was increased to 2 years some time ago. Yet another thing to thank the Tories for.

Yes the Op's employer would be stupid and callous to dismiss her for being sick just because the time of the sickness is inconvenient to them; unfortunately the bottom line is that there is no law against being stupid and callous, and the protection isn't there the way it should be.

Call your manager today, it gives them time to get cover for tomorrow. Explain your symptoms and offer to cover a few extra shifts next week once you're better, this may help them get cover and explaining you're worried financially will also reassure them that you're unwell.

@SquirrelG

If you’re employed under 2 years they can sack you for any reason. You have very few rights.

Good grief - what sort of employment laws do you have in the UK????

I would call in now OP and explain that you very possibly won't get to work, at least they will be able to look for someone to cover. I hope you are feeling better soon.

Unfortunately during your first two years of employment you have very little protection and very few rights unless you're disabled (or pregnant) in which case you're protected under discrimination laws.

But yes, someone with less than two years service with a high level of absence can definitely be let go for calling in sick. Absence policies are largely irrelevant as they can just give your your notice.