Sacked while on sick leave!!

[mamatemi1]

My OH works for a well known pub chain he has been there for 3.5 years. He has a lump on his back and has been on sick leave since the beginning of the year. He was not paid his salary in January, and when he called to find out why, he was told that payroll were asked to withhold his salary. Personnel said that this was because he hadn't called in everyday!! Anyway to cut a long story short, they eventually paid him ssp and about 60% of his normal salary.

This month he has been paid £50 because - the January money was an 'advance', he has run out of ssp, anyway they are not paying him this month.

Does this constitute dismissal? We cannot afford to let his salary go, it means that we will not be paying our rent this month until this matter is resolved. I am trying to stay calm but considering that our half-term break constituted me driving 400 miles, falling sick and then driving back another 400 miles, I am at a fairly low ebb (the holiday was meant to get rested up for court with recalcitrant DCAs) . Any advise gratefully received.

[Sidewinder]

This certainly does not constitute dismissal, and may well be a breach of contract on the part of your husband's employer. Unfortunately to prove this you will need access to his contract or to a company handbook which details requirements for sick pay and procedures for reporting sickness. If he hasn't been reporting sick then they may have deemed him to have terminated his contract, but this is unlikely given the fact that there has been some dialogue between them. In either event you would have been notified in writing by the employer.

We will need a few more details to comment much further on your particular situation. What are the company's requirements for reporting absence? Has your husband been in regular contact? Has he presented a sick certificate, and how long does this last for?

With regard to the SSP issue, I cannot understand why he would have 'run out' of SSP as this is payable for up to 28 weeks, although is subject to regular notification of the sickness and production of sick notes. Have a look HERE for more details. In fact I strongly suggest that you contact DWP or CAB for some advice as you can't go on missing rent payments to make ends meet.

[mamatemi1]

Thank you sSdewinder. After the January debacle, he has been reporting weekly as requested. He has had 3 sick certificates 2 weeks, 2 weeks and 8 weeks which have all been submitted. They have given him SSP (not paid because of some story about cut off dates) apparently it is company sick pay he has run out of. We have done a letter asking for clarification within 7 days. I can post up if necessary. I am fortunate to have a colleague who can access union advise - there are no unions with his employer and I have let my union membership lapse ( I am a local government employee and concentrating on my pension!) Constructive dismissal anyone?!!

[mamatemi1]

Quick note to close this thread. OH finally got a diagnosis and treatment in April at which point he resigned. He has been on jobseekers since May but I give thanks that he started work today. Nine months on one salary and now I am redundant! Should get work soon though. Thanks for your help.