Can I be sacked for being ill?

[littlemissangrypants]

I have posted before about my work contract. Have been working for two months now and despite only working part time I am working a 50 hours week. It has got to the point where my GP has signed me off sick as he is concerned for my mental wellbeing.
I have almost had a breakdown due to long hours at work with no sleep (24 hour shifts). Just let work know but am wondering if they could sack me for being signed off for 2 weeks.

I think you might be better post in employment issues.

It's illegal for you to work 50 hours a week without opting out of the working time directive, so they are breaking the law. The 24 hour shifts also sound illegal to me, but my law's a little rusty so I'm hoping someone will be along soon. You could do with going to the CAB and asking for advice, as you're not being treated very well at all.

What does your contract say?

If you've been there more than 12 months then there is no way you could be fairly dismissed for 2 weeks off. Clearly the working hours are an issue you are going to have to address though. Do you have independent records of the shifts and hours you've been working?

If this is going to continue and they have no solution in place, I would suggest you have a strong case for constructive dismissal. You also need to let them know that this is the reason you have been signed off, that it is causing you injury and that if you return to the same situation, they will be liable if you are damaged again by these circumstances.

You have to have two years service now for unfair dismissal. The OP has been there 2 months.

Yes they could, after two months, unless your illness is related to a disability.

In your contract you may have opted out of the working time regs, but even if you haven't, it has to be an average of more than 48 weeks over a 17 week period, so not an issue yet.

Do you have any reason to believe they are going to sack you?

Who are named as your employers on your contract of employment? A4E or the care facility you work in? And what are your hours of work as shown on your contract?

The working time directive would specify how many hours you can work in a shift and how much uninterrupted rest you need to get between shifts. I can't remember exactly what it is but its considerably shorter than 24hours unless you're doing something where you are not doing actual work for a certain number of those hours and are at home eg like a doctor oncall from home.

I also seem to remember that unless you are in one of the exempted professions eg a hospital consultant then an employer is not allowed to ask an employee to break the directive. You have to volunteer and be willing.

I'm not entirely sure about this though so it would be worth checking.