medical appointments and sick leave

[sazza2008]

ok so i have been employed for 3 years in a private care home. i had some time off sick about 5 months ago due to a back complaint . i saw an occupational health doctor and was told i was fit for work. so once i returned to work i was told that if i had any more time off sick from work it would be instant dismissal. my manager commented to me that unless im dying i should turn up for no matter how ill i am. i questioned this as works policy with stomach bugs clearly stated 48 you cannot enter the premises for 48 hours. My manager said that if i had sickness and diarrhoea to simply stick a cork up my bum and go to work. Any way i have been attending a weight managment clinic because i am overweight and work has supported me with this. i show them my appointment cards every time. Now my manager is demanding to see my weight clinic card (where they record my weight each time i go) to see what my progress is. My manager stated that if i didnt show her it i would be suspended. can she do this?

 

also while i was on the sick, i missed 2 appointments in the weight clinic and my manager telephoned me asking me why. I asked her how she came by this information as it is confidential, she said she had contacted the weight management clinic. As far as i am aware the clinic which is NHS run, cannot give out this information. i know my manager has "contacts! in the NHS. As she regularly brags about it.

 

Also i am was told that because of my absence from work when i was ill that i have to have weekly supervisions, which have not been completed for 2 months. Now because we have an inspection coming up the manager stated that she will write the supervisions for the last 2 months and back date them and i will have to sign them, which i refused to do as they should have been completed weekly as stated when i returned to work.

 

can anyone help please?

[Nystagmite]

also while i was on the sick, i missed 2 appointments in the weight clinic and my manager telephoned me asking me why. I asked her how she came by this information as it is confidential, she said she had contacted the weight management clinic. As far as i am aware the clinic which is NHS run, cannot give out this information. i know my manager has "contacts! in the NHS. As she regularly brags about it.

 

I would complain about this.

 

As for the comments about you being sick - I'm sure your manager wouldn't be too happy if you turned up for work and threw up everywhere...

[Sidewinder]

Did the employer arrange for the weight clinic appointments and are they attended during 'working time'?

 

i was told that if i had any more time off sick from work it would be instant dismissal

[/Quote]

 

Nonsense! For the employer to dismiss fairly and for this to be the case you would already have to have been the subject of a warning under the disciplinary or capability process. Were you?

 

Also, even if you were on a warning for absence, it is not considered fair for this to remain on your file indefinitely, so you should have been advised that any further periods of absence in the next 6 (3/9/12 etc) months might lead to further sanctions which could include dismissal.

[sazza2008]

no employer did not arrange for the weight clinic and no not attended during work time. my gp referred me. and no no warnings

Edited October 13, 2011 by sazza2008

[Sidewinder]

In which case, you should be making a formal complaint to not only the employer, but also the Health Authority. Your attendance at the Clinic was during your own time, and it is no business of the employer whether you attended or not. Nobody at the Clinic had any right either in confirming your attendance or disclosing any other details.

 

Your employer has also potentially compromised the health and safety of clients by insisting that you attend work under threat of dismissal were you to suffer an illness which expressly forbids you attending work. They have also threatened you with disciplinary action should you fail to attend a clinic in your own time for whatever reason. As if that wasn't enough, the Manager is also trying to encourage you to fraudulently complete documents which might compromise your own position in an attempt to protect hers.

 

Naturally I can only advise on the facts as you have stated them, and no doubt your Manager might have a different position, but for starters, do not sign documents knowing them to be false - that could have serious ramifications not only for the employer, but also for you personally, and seriously consider a grievance into the intrusive and unlawful acts of obtaining confidential information, and also threatening you with disciplinary sanctions which are outside of the scope of the company's own policies. You should also ask for written confirmation of when your record will be expunged of the warning in place for previous attendance issues (six months would be the norm), and seriously consider a formal complaint to the Chief Executive of the Health Authority concerning the unauthorised disclosure of your personal information, to be pursued through the ICO if you are not satisfied with their response.

 

Whether you do all, or some of the above is down to you, but I certainly wouldn't do nothing!