Could anyone give me some advice please The organistaion i work for , sickness policy , states that if you have more than three abscences in a 12 month period you get an informal warning for sickness and will be normally told that if you have two periods or 8 days abscence in the next 12 months you will get referred for a meeting to possibly go to the next stage of the attendance policy , whcih would mean going onto the formal stage - at this stage you would be normally set a target for the next 12 months , with 3 monthly reviews and also made clear to you you that if your abscence does not improve you could get reffered for a capability hearing which could result in termination of your employment .This meeting will have a manager who will present the case against you , a HR representative and a senior manager . i was referred for my abscence to a formal meeting and was suprised that the manager who presented the case didnt just mention my abscences in the previous 18 months which had led to this hearing , but highlighted my total abscences in the last 12 years ?? . i have looked through the attendance policy and can see nothing in there that an employees total abscence in employment is to be considered at any hearing . would this not be a form of bullying ? as the manager seems to be trying to make your attendance look worse than what it is , surely only the abscences in the previous 18 months which lead to the hearing should be mentioned ??

They could look back that far if they were looking for "trends and pattens"

would this not be a form of bullying

No, unless you are the only employee being taken to task in this manner and there are clearly others who mirror your attendance that are left alone. Even then there are many ifs and buts

as the manager seems to be trying to make your attendance look worse than what it is

How? unless they make up absences then they are stating what your attendance is, the trigger may be 3/6 4/12 but unless their policy states absences over the last XXXXX time can be counted they are fair game.

That is how it's seen

Personally i always felt the further back they went the more below the belt they were hitting you but it then goes into a percentage game where you need to start looking at time off/worked days over the period they use as often this is what happens when:-

a) they are looking to make things look worse than they are but don't have too much absence recently

b) you have been off work consistently year in, year out when you tot them up and it's a valid point to raise for the employer

c) you are very good at playing the trigger system keeping just on the right side of the triggers

the easy way to keep them off your back....... don't take time off,

otherwise expect hassle, remember your employer pays you to turn up for work and do the tasks you are paid for, in return you expect to be paid. When your off sick your are not fulfilling the most basic aspect of your contract, once an employer shows they took reasonable steps to warn you and take into account any sickness levels the average person has your fairly dismissed.

Instead of looking at bullying and being treated unfairly the best thing you can do is concentrate on keeping your backside in work. It is the only safe option, like it or not.

thanks for the replys . makes a bit more sense now ..fair cop etc

While I detest blanket absence policies and think they are very unfair sadly they are here to stay I think. Gone are the days of being able to "use" your sick days . You need to remember that business is all about money in the bank for shareholders and the workers are just a means to an end. Anyone who thinks differently is, IMO misguided