"We don't DO sick pay"!!!

[Alison82]

Hi

A friend of mine is going through some problems at work, so I am posting here on her behalf for some advice.

The works in a shop as a sales assistant and is standing on the shop floor for most of the day.

There are 2 things really.

She was bitten by an insect on her leg a few months back and it became very infected and swollen so much so that she needed an operation to get the infection out, she was on crutches for a while and her doctor signed her off work for 4 weeks. She went into work on her crutches to give them the note from the doctor, they told her “we don’t do sick pay” and she must go and sign on for benefits; however they still took a copy of the form, she didn’t know any different so she went to the relevant place (I’m not sure where that was) and they told her no we can’t help you as you are earning too much, they spoke to her head office and head office told the benefits people that if she came in with the form then they would have been able to pay her, which is a total lie as she did go in. They paid her about £200 but she is still owed about £700.

Secondly my friend has asthma and at her work (the same company) they are going refurbishment work, they are sawing mdf and there is a lot of dust around the store, they again are refusing to pay her for any sick time she has off and the management are implying that she should hand in her notice as they can’t pay her and they can’t transfer her to another store.

She really wants to leave anyway but she wants to be paid what she is entitled to without being forced to leave.

Can anyone offer some advice, I offered to write her a letter but I’m not sure where to look in regards to the law.

Many Thanks

[paulgmb]

Hi Alison,
I think we need more info here. Is there a company sick pay scheme in place or not?
If there is then she should be paid as per the scheme. If not then she should be paid SSP (statutory sick pay) which is basically paid by your firm on behalf of the benefits agency after the first 3 days of sickness. Looking at the amount she has been paid it looks as if this is what she has received.
Your colleague should not hand in her notice but perhaps ask to be transferred to another store whilst the work is carried out.
No reasonable employer would ask their staff to work during a refit. Her employer has a duty under the Health and Safety at work act to provide safe and healthy working conditions.
Regards,
Paul.

[postggj]

also a lot of firms are now doing no sick pay in the first twelve months of employment

[Sidewinder]

I agree with Paul - this all depends on whether the company have a sick pay scheme as a part of your friend's contract. If not then she is not entitled to full wages whilst off sick. She is though entitled to SSP up to a maximum of £75.40 per week (as long as she earns an average of more than £90 per week) and qualifies to receive this from the fourth day of sickness - she receives nothing for the first three days.

Originally Posted by Alison82

Hi

Secondly my friend has asthma and at her work (the same company) they are going refurbishment work, they are sawing mdf and there is a lot of dust around the store, they again are refusing to pay her for any sick time she has off and the management are implying that she should hand in her notice as they can’t pay her and they can’t transfer her to another store.

Many Thanks

This is a different matter altogether and an inconsiderate attitude could land the employer in trouble. As stated above there are legal obligations under HSAWA to provide safe working conditions, and your friend should ask to see the risk assessment carried out with regard to the impact of the refurbishment work on employees' health. This will completely throw them as by law (Management of Health and Safety at Work
Regulations 1992) they have to have a Risk Assessment with measures in place to preferably remove, but if not possible, reduce risk. The work itself should also be covered by the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health regs. MDF for example should be sawn with dust extractors attached to cutting equipment with adequate ventilation to protect not only from dust but from the effects of breathing the resin used to hold MDF fibres together. Depending on the type (and cost) of the MDF it may contain high levels of Formaldehyde which is nown to ittitate skin and the respiratory system - there must be a Risk Assessment in place and one of the remedies for the risk of dust should be to minimise the effect of dust on employees - I would also suggest that special consideration (ie removal from the source of risk) should be given to those with existing respiratory conditions such as asthma. She should certainly not be penalised for ill health directly caused by a known risk factor.

I would strongly suggest that this is tackled by an immediate meeting with the management to discuss the effect on your friend's health caused by dust and she should ask what measures were identified by the Risk Assessment to minimise the ill-effects on staff of sawing MDF and other potential dust and irritants. She should also raise a grievance if this has caused her financial loss through causing absence from work (although it may need a doctor's opinion to directly attribute the asthma flare up to dust).

If they don't play ball and she feels strongly enough (or if they dimiss her Health & Safety concerns) she can go to the local Environmental Health Office (via the Council) and seek their guidance. Your friend cannot be fairly dismissed for raising a legitimate Health & Safety concern.