Disciplined for being off sick

[aggiela]

In feb this year I was off for 4 weeks with a broken hand. On oct 23 I had an accident that put me in hospital and I have been off ever scince. My boss has informed me that she intends to discipline me over my level absence. Can she do this for genuine doctor certified absences? I have also just informed her that I am pregnant. Help!

[saxy_jag]

Unless you're taking the micky and 'milking it' over your recent accident (which I doubt, because you're asking us for advice on it), you cannot be disciplined for taking sick leave.

However, your employer can insist that you attend an interview with HR or Occupational Health, with a possible view to dismissal, suspension or redeployment on the grounds that you're medically unfit to do your job and will be so for the foreseeable future. Where I work (a local council), this kicks in automatically after a set period, but people are generally sensible enough to be able to tell genuine sickness from plain skiving.

You cannot be dismissed for being pregnant. In fact, you have certain rights, such as paid time off for attending ante-natal appointments etc. Maternity leave and pay rights used to depend on how long you'd worked for the company, but it's twenty-odd years since I had my kids, so that may have changed.

You may get some advice from your trade union, if you're a member of one. If not, I suggest you speak to your company's HR department, or perhaps CAB.

[Twenty20]

Not quite true, you can certainly face disciplinary action over a poor attendance record (and this includes sick leave). Many contracts of employment have such a clause.

You can't be disciplined or dismissed for being pregnant though your record prior to that may trigger a disciplinary hearing. The fact that you are pregnant may make your employer tread more carefully, but as it seems that your sick leave is not pregnancy related then they may well proceed.

[Postdog]

They seem to be able to do what they like if you ask me. I work for Royal Mail who have a very unfair policy with sickness - 3 times within a certain time period and you are out, irrespective of length of service, past history etc. The joke is you could have 3 one day sicknesses, the sort not worth bothering a doctor with, and so only lose 3 days, but providing you have a certificate, you can be off for months at a time.