State Employee: Sick leave and entitlement to ref and increment

elainem

Registered User
Messages
611
Hi! everyone.

I just need some legal advice re. my job. I was on a temporary contract which ran out in June 06, but the employer did not get round to renewing it, and so I kept on working in my job. I had quite a lot of sick leave all certified since Jan last year.

I separated from my ex partner, have two children, have gone through two court cases and moved house all since Jan last year.

I have a thyroid problem which is often quite badly affected by stress - i.e. I can feel really exhausted when a lof of stressors come together.

Earlier this summer it was suggested I should not drive my car for a week or so until the tiredness got better. However, though all my sickness was certified, my line manager (I am a State employee) said she was going to write to me about my sick leave.

I decided to leave anyway and gave my notice in a few days later. This was due to having to travel an hour each way to work. Also my child just started school and I wanted to be there to drop her to school and pick her up afterwards.

I have sold a house in Dublin to move down the country so I have no mortgage and savings, and some property rented. My question is that my employer has now refused to give me my annual increment which was due on 30th June. I won't be finishing work until 2nd October. My union was no good.

My line manager and guy in union are old freinds and apparently go back a long way. I asked my line manager could I have a letter stating that I was due to go on to another increment point on the salary scale - but to no avail. They say it is something to do with sick leave, but won't explain.

Can they do this, although the sick leave was certified and they knew I had this condition when they employed me? Also, they are suggesting that reference will be a problem due to sick leave. Could this be possible? I've had about 9 weeks sick leave since Jan. Six weeks in early Jan to Feb due to stress and trauma of court cases. Three weeks over the summer, when condition reoccurred again. My daughter was sick eight times over the summer with two hospital admissions - so stress of this caused problems with my thyroid again.

Any advice would be really appreciated. Sorry the post is so long. Thanks in advance.
 
Re: Sick leave and entitlement to ref and increment

Hi Elaine - What does your original contract say about when/how increments will be paid? If you're not happy with the service you are getting from your union official, you need to let him know this and tell him you'll be contacting his boss if not resolved. Likewise, if you're not happy with the lack of explanation from your line manager, contact your HR department.
 
Re: Sick leave and entitlement to ref and increment

As regards the reference, well your employer if they choose to give a reference are under a duty to be both fair and accurate.

Purely as a matter of personal interest, do you have a source for saying that '(the employer) is under a duty to be both fair and accurate'?


Thanks
 
Re: Sick leave and entitlement to ref and increment

9 weeks sick leave is an incredibley long amount of time to take. Although I have full sympathy for your personal problems I do not think you have rite to take umbrage with your ex employer. I agree fully with dats_right, if you were employed in the private sector you would not have a job to return to. You also handed in your notice after your line manager took issue with your leave. I would have fired you on the spot. I have worked with people who have lost family members and partners under tragic Circumstances and they have shown more commitment to their jobs than you have!
 
Re: Sick leave and entitlement to ref and increment

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Re: Sick leave and entitlement to ref and increment

Spring v Guardian Assurances [1995] 2 AC 296

Where in a nutshell, a former employer was found liable in negligence for a carelessly prepared reference.

Thanks very much.
 
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