Why would an employer incorrectly record the reason for sickness absence.

[Roseshavethorns]

Hi
Does anyone know why an employer would record a period of sickness absence with an incorrect cause?
A period of absence caused by my disability (and noted on my fit note correctly) has been coded as absence due to depression.
I can prove it's wrong, so that's not the issue but what would be the benefit to my employer in doing this?

It may just be an administrative error. Have you asked them to change it?

Disability related leave should be exempt from any absence totting up process - get it queried and ammended

If they want to get rid of you they may think it will be easier to manage you out with periods of absence dur to depression compared to absence due to your disability? I don't think they are correct in thinking that but it's a potential motivation. Or it's just a slip of the keyboard or someone doing things in a rush and not concentrating, it may be a simple mistake rather than a makevolent plan. Just write an email to HR asking them to correct it.

Is there any chance that it’s simply a clerical error and the options are next to each other on a drop down box?

if not, there isn’t really an advantage per se, but if you accrue instances of sick leave that are not related to your disability they could commence attendance proceedings against you which could ultimately lead to your dismissal. Obviously you’ll need to check attendance policies etc as to what it means in your organisation, and only you’ll know if you think they could be trying to manage you out, but worth keeping an eye on.

They have already sacked me for capability.

I guess I am trying to find out if they could have had an ulterior motive. They know that I am disabled but sacked me anyway.

Did they have proper grounds to sack you?

How long have you worked there ?

Did they make reasonable adjustments for you to continue in role ?

Hi
I worked there for 5 years.

I am already taking a case for unfair dismissal against them but unfortunately don't have any legal advice.

It just feels very significant to me that they have done this but I can't think what the benefit would be.

It is significant as the absence should have been recorded accurately especially when disability related

Many employment lawyers offer a free initial review and advice or the citizens advice / ACAS are good sources of support too

If you have legal cover on your home insurance, they may be able to help.

This is not entirely correct. There should be adjustments certainly but it would not be a reasonable adjustment to simply disregard disability related absence.

It's probably an admin error OP. Our system has a drop down list for absence reasons and Disability Related Illness is just below Depression on the list.

Most likely an admin error. Ask them to correct it.

If they sacked you due to your absence record then it is significant. If they sacked you for some other reason it isn't.

This.

It could be significant. Or it might be not so quite significant. A lot will depend on all the other evidence and points.

You do need to be aware though, knowing about your disability doesn’t mean they can’t sack you. Or can’t sack you for absence. It’s a lot more complicated than that.

Thanks everyone.
They recorded it incorrectly over a number of fit notes so I can't see it being a simple error (especially since they seemed to change the cause halfway through one fit note) and they are not close alphabetically.
I guess all will be revealed eventually.

Were you off with a mental health condition, OP? I used to work in a place where the crappy HR system forced you to pick from a drop down menu of reasons for absence. Absences were often entered in line with whatever seemed like the "best fit". Could it be something like that?

i thought your appeal had failed?

An appeal would be an internal process.

The case for unfair dismissal would be at an employment tribunal, ie the next step after a failed appeal.

OP, you haven't said whether you were sacked because of your absence or some other reason?

It may be that it was the closest reason they had in a pre-defined list that they could select.

Businesses can dismiss on the grounds of capability even if you have a recognised disability because despite reasonable adjustments it may be the case that you are not capable of fulfilling the role.

@Roseshavethorns It could be they upgraded the HR/Payroll system and the code numbers changed. Very rare but a possibility.

If you don’t have the fit notes ask your GP for your medical records. These should show what has been put on the fit notes.

It doesn’t look good on their part as without a logical explanation it looks like they were trying to manipulate the information.

Remember GDPR requires records to be accurate and any inaccuracies should be corrected.