Being summoned to disicplinary hearing.

[saltire]

What can I expect?

I presume you've already been "investigated" ?

There should be the person taking the hearing and someone taking minutes on behalf of the company.

The perso chairing the hearing will then ask you some questions about the incident and ask why you did whatever you did etc.

Then they will ask you to go away for 5 mins and give you a decision or they may say the decision will come out to you at a later date.

Depends on the company but they should provide you with a written document explaining exactly what to expect and the full procedure from start to finish and what preparation you can make.

It should also cover union representation (if you have one) or whether you can have a colleague support you.

Well I'm not sure. I have had 5 days off in the past 7 months, one of which was becasue Ds2 was sick, and 2 of them becasue I had slapped cheek virus.
I was off Friday and Monday as well, becasue I had a migraine, which i had worked with all week becasue I was, quite frankly, not keen to take any more sick days as I knew this would happen, but it got so bad I ahd to take some days off.
Anyway had my back to work interview, where it states that I have had 2 verbal warnings and 2 formal verbal warnings for my days off sick. The next step is a disiplinary hearing, and I am being put on a sort of "warning system" where if I have any more days off ill in the next 6 months then formal action which could result in dismissal will start

Aren't you a childminder? Are you the person being disciplined or are you being called as a witness?

You have had 7 days off in 7 months? Are you sure that's all it's about?

llaregub - yes I am usually a childminder, however due to the move I am having to do everything from scratch, all of which was delayed for months due to paperwork getting lost or delayed

beaniesteve - yes, its really about me having 5 absences in 7 motnhs, I am not reaching the company's expected standard. I got my first verbal warning the first time I was off when Ds2 was ill

It's a day a month so I can see why eyebrows might be raised. And some organisations such as supermarkets and local authorities are cracking down on sickness. But I do think it's a bit harsh. People are only human and sometimes they do have a child being ill/two episodes of minor illness themselves within a few months.

Is it because of the Fri amd Mon either side of a hot w/e?

Have you got any evidence of your migraine, such as prescriptions or details of Dr appointments etc?

Btw, is really, really worth seeing your doc if you suffer from regular migraines, there are lots of medicines available these days that can make a big difference.

edam it may read like a day a month, but I had 2 together when i had slapped cheek and then Friday and Monday off (ont eh advice of NHS direct) so really just 2 days in february and 2 days in May!

The company I work is for a major high street retailer. I am just annoyed, and it means that if I go down with a D&V bug, I'll have to go into work (as I'm not allowed another sick day in the next 6 months) and pass it on to the other staff and customers. Still the place I work for sells diocalm and kaolin and morphine so i should be ok.

It is a very harsh policy - a bit mad to discourage people from taking time off when really ill!

I would be horrified if one of my staff came in with a migraine - some have to go up ladders and do electrical things - v dangerous.

Can you offer to take the day due to child's sickness as unpaid or holiday? I think most companies would say that your sick leave is only for your own sickness. And get letter from your GP if possible to back up the other absences, or details of prescriptions etc.

Good luck, horrible thing to have to go through. I would recommend taking someone with you, pref a union rep if possible - they often pick up on irregularities, procedural errors etc and tend not to be intimidated by HR types - who are there on the company's behalf, not concerned with your welfare, imo...

I know, Saltire, I did say it was harsh. I understand the business logic but think it's treating people like machines. And will have all sorts of undesirable consequences - like penalising/scaring people who are genuinely ill or forcing you to go in with D&V, for instance.

Ideally, as an employer, you'd train all your managers to spot the difference between a generally conscientious worker and someone who is swinging the lead and deal with it, rather than having such a heavy-handed policy.

Well I almsot passed out today, the temperature inside work was 28 degrees. Of course I don't think the ehat is helping where my migraines are concerned

one of my colleagues came into work in the winter with a chest infection, she was couighing and hacking and could hardly breathe, but didn't want to take any time off in case it affected her attendance record, another came in with a swollen knee, again becasue she had already had 2 days off and didn't want to get a formal warning, and ended up being hospitalised becasue she needed an operation, which could have been avoided if she had rested when told

Is it purely because of the amount of days sick leave you've had, some sort of trigger system, or is it a disciplinary hearing because you have phoned in 'sick' while you were actually well and were caring for DS....? I don't know if you get any paid sick leave but if you were using paid sick leave to care for a sick child I wouldn't be surprised if there were repercussions.

It is purely becasue of teh fact I ahve had 5 sick days over a 7 month period. Only one of teh days was because I was looking after DS2, and they know he was ill. The other 4 days have been me being ill - 2 with slapped cheek, and 2 this weekend becasue I had a migraine, which I still have, and am wearing dark glasses round the house.
Company policy says that I am "not meeting the expectations of the company and that it is unacceptable level of sickness". The procedure is verbal warning on 1st sickness, verbal warning on 2nd sickness, formal verbal warning on 3rd and 4th and then on 5th the option is either a written warning or a disciplinary. My manager has choesn the second option. She has also decided that if I have nay illness and therefore days off becasue of it in the next 6months then I could be dismissed. She is going to speak to the store manager about it today!

My goodness, this is like reading something of Victorian times!

What a horrible place it sounds, and what a dreadful way to treat someone.

I hope it goes as well as it can do for you, but in all honesty I'd be looking for a better job with a better employer.

on your behalf.

Where I work if someone rings in sick to care for someone else, it's recorded as absent unless they have made prior arrangements - many of our staff book leave for things like caring for someone post-op for example to ensure they can have the time (needs of the business and all that). Staff recorded as absent aren't paid but due to the nature of their job, someone else will probably end up doing overtime to cover it.

Don't forget you do at least have the opportunity to put your case over in the disciplninary rather than them going straight to a written warning - your union rep will be able to advise you on that. I'm not sure they can dismiss you purely for being ill unless it is unsubstantiated by a doctors note or similar - they probably want to stamp out the odd self-certified sick day here or there, esp as there is a second bank holiday coming up (not saying that you are swinging the lead but that is what your company will assume when you ring in sick unless you prove otherwise).

That is madness! If I were you I'd be looking for another job with a better hr policy. What is it about this company that makes you want to stay? Is the pay fantastic? Do you really love the job.
I say get out and find somewhere you can take carer leave.

You get a verbal warning for taking the first day off sick???????? Where's your union?

I don't like the job, and the pay isn't great. However I needed some money coming in until I could get registered as a childminder again. That process has now taken axactly 12 months!
I am really annoyed, it's not as if I was swinging it and I know there are some who do. I checked back over the dates, as my boss reckons that all my sickness was on Fridays! One (with Ds2) was a Wednesday, the 2 days with slapped cheek were Tuesday and Wednesday and the migraines were over a weekend! That's it though. I know I have been self employed for 7 years so ma a bit out of the loop with employment issues, but surely their policy of giving out formal verbal warnings when you get back from your first sickness can't be correct. I was told, after the first time that I wasn't meeting the company's expectations!

How long have you been there saltire? When you say x number of days in the last 7 months, does that mean you've been there 7 months? In which case they might be being harsher about it, or might decide to call it a day because they feel you are a bit unreliable. Not saying this is justified, but if you've not been there long you don't have many rights at all.

You say about 1st sickness, verbal warning etc etc then up to 5th sickness written warning or a disciplinary. So are the earlier warnings not part of the formal disciplinary process then, just informal warnings? In which case that's a lot less harsh obviously, more like 'having a word.'

Lots of places do have draconian sickness absence policies, retailers often known for this.

Yes the verbal warnings are part of the disciplinary - they are recorded on file. The front of my file has the dates I was sick, and the total (5). Then under it is written "verbal warning issued for non-attendance", on 2 occasions, then "formal verbal warning issued for non attendance" on 2 occasions, then there is space for the 2 options open to my manager either a written warning or the disicplinary. She chose the second option, this has been written ont ehf ile , and now I jsut need to wait.
I'm not sure what the procedure is though.
Just hope the DSes don't get sick whilst I am still there.

Oh and yes I have been there 7 months.