Two year dismissal policy

[Ilovemypantry]

I am very worried about my daughter (she’s 25). She has been employed by a bank for about eighteen months and earns a good salary.
About seven weeks ago she was signed off by her GP for anxiety/depression which is not work related. Her employers have been very good, she has started to see a counsellor which was arranged by occupational health department. She is planning on being back to work in the next couple of weeks.

My worry is that the company could terminate her contract under the two year ruling, which I believe they can do without giving a reason. Could this bout of depression be the reason they dismiss her, even though they don’t have to say that this is the reason.

I’m not too clued up on employment law these days and don’t really want to bring it up with my daughter as she is quite fragile atm.

Has anyone got any experience or knowledge of this please.

If her employer has been supportive and she is planning to go back in the next couple of weeks then there’s no reason to think they plan to dismiss her.

It is possible for an employer to dismiss someone easily during the first two years, unless the dismissal is related to a disability or other protected characteristic. Something like anxiety/depression can be a disability so even though this particular period of sickness is relatively short-lived, they will be conscious of that and are likely to be more cautious as a result anyway.

It's a real hassle to recruit good people so if your DD has had no issues until now then there should be nothing to worry about. Staff retention is often a KPI for management so they won't be wanting to lose people.

Hope her situation improves.

Technically yes the 'rule' is employers can dismiss someone for any non-discriminatory reason up to 2 years employment, and they don't have to follow a fair process, e.g. they don't have to hold a hearing or give a right of appeal.

However not all employers use this willy nilly, the most common way it is used is for probationary dismissals and getting rid of people who are clearly not working out/performing well in the early days of their employment. I'd go so far as to say by the time someone has built up 18 months service the majority of employers would give the person a chance to sort out whatever the issue is rather than leaping straight to dismissal, not just for 'moral' reasons of fairness etc. but also because it makes good business sense, that person will have built up a fair bit of knowledge and experience, relationships with clients and colleagues etc, and replacing that with someone new takes time and effort so not to be entered into lightly. Plus someone suddenly being sacked one day without any warning can negatively impact all the other team members' morale and confidence in their employer.

And it sounds as though your DD's employer is doing the right thing and looking to support her and help her back to work with the offers of counselling etc., it doesn't sound like they want rid of her, and as a large bank they will have the resources to be able to cope with a period of absence without it having a huge impact on the business. I would really try not to worry about it or mention it to your DD - it's not something within your or her control in any case so it's 'wasted' anxiety, I know it's easier said than done but I would try and focus on supporting her and getting her as healthy as possible and then work will fall into place...

In a strong corporate organisation with decent HR, no-one would be let go after 18 months without some form of due process. If they are being supportive I would take it at face value - she won't loose her job unless they raise specific performance concerns