It is extremely difficult for an employer to sack an employee who is on certified sick leave but not impossible although it opens such employer to an unfair dismissal claim.
You should be aware that your employer is quite within their rights to seek a medical cert stating an estimated time as to when you may reasonably be expected to return to work.
If you are in a Union you should consult them.
Capability
This includes issues such as lateness, absenteeism and persistent absence through illness or injury, either short-term or long-term.
If lateness or absenteeism is at issue, your employer will be expected to have documentary proof of this allegation, such as clocking-in records or documented absences on file that are not medically certified. In addition, your employer will also be expected to show that you were made aware of the problem and that you were warned as to the consequences for your continued employment.
If illness or injury is at issue, it is often assumed that you cannot be dismissed fairly while on certified sick leave from your work. However, this is not true. It is difficult to lay down hard and fast rules to apply to these cases as each will be treated on its own merits. Issues such as length of service, previous record and the importance of the job will vary and will have to be taken into account. These types of claim are often divided into short-term and long-term absences.
Dismissal related to short-term illness generally occurs where you have a medical problem that results in frequent absences for short periods from the workplace. Assuming that the genuine nature of your problem was not in question, your employer will have to show that a pattern of absence exists, that it is causing problems, that the problem is unlikely to get better and that you have been warned that dismissal is likely.
In a case of a long-term absence, however, your employer will be expected to obtain detailed medical evidence that an early return to work is unlikely. There is no set period of absence by which it can be said that a dismissal will or will not be considered reasonable. Obviously, the longer the absence, the easier it is for your employer to show that it is causing genuine difficulty in terms of the organisation of the workplace.
In terms of medical evidence you may be required to attend your employer's medical expert. If there is a conflict of medical evidence between you and your employer as to the possible return date, your employer will be expected to get a second opinion before taking the decision to dismiss you.
However, it is important to note that if your illness might be considered a disability under employment equality legislation, your rights under that particular legislation would also have to be taken into consideration.
Employees have rights & employers have obligations & given the facts outlined by the OP I would suggest that the employer in question cannot fairly sack this person without falling foul of unfair dismissal legislation.
Employees have rights & employers have obligations & given the facts outlined by the OP I would suggest that the employer in question cannot fairly sack this person without falling foul of unfair dismissal legislation.
The reason for cutting my hours is less children attending this year (Preschool), but has opened a second school and has moved a member of staff employed after me to there, keeping her hours.
Surely I should have been offered that role????
All very confussing and stressful
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