Employer refusing sick pay

[iceboy]

Hello everyone;

 

I have been working for this company for almost 5 years. I had an accident 2 years ago and had my ankle broken and went on a sick leave for about 3 months and i was given 6weeks full sick pay followed by SSP.

 

This year however i needed to have another surgery and had the plates removed from my ankle as they were giving me trouble. I went on a sick leave 4 days before April. And after 7 weeks of recovery i had appendicities and had a surgery to remove my appendix and was signed of for firther 7-8 weeks.

 

According to my employer, the rules for the sick pay has been changed as of April 2012 and they only pay 2 weeks full now. However, as i left just before the change, i believe this shouldnt affect me!

 

When i went on a sick leave i depended on that sick pay. Made all my plans around this amount so i wouldnt struggle!

 

But now i am being chased by my creditors because i couldnt afford to make the payments to those companies!

 

My HR insists that she will have to arrange a management meeting before she can get back to me! I am sure she has all the power and she doesnt need any meeting! Shes meant to have that meeting for over a month now!

 

I am due to be back at work but this problems has given me so much stress, i dont even feel like getting out of the house! My mobile phone has been disconnected yesterday due to unpaid bill! I feel frustrated!

 

I am not sure what to do at this stage! I am not sure whether it is good idea to go back to work while we are in dispute!

 

I dont know where i stand! Could anyone please help me? What should i do? I am sure i am entitled for the sick pay but my employer has been harrassing me long time now! And i have a feeling this is their next trick!

 

I really appreciate any help. Thank you all.

[postggj]

if you went sick before this change on sick pay policy, the change will not, or i should say, will not effect you

 

this change in the sick pay policy,

 

were the staff informed of this change to their contract of employment from april 2012 and what was the exact date

[iceboy]

I have receieved no notification about the changes, beforehand or after. It was all done during my absence. They left a paperwork notifying of the changes taking affect from the 1st April 2012 in my pigeon hole while i was away. They didnt even bother posting it to my home address or calling me.

[Emmzzi]

Was it an accident at work?

[iceboy]

No it wasnt an accident. The metal plates in my ankle were given me trouble and they had to be removed. Unexpected part was that after recovering from that surgery, i had appendicities and couldnt work for further 6 weeks! And everything went upside down as i started struggling to pay bills. If my employer made the promised sick pay, i wouldnt have been in this situation.

[assisted blonde]

If you are fit enough to go back to work then you should, staying off longer will only IMO look bad. just because you are disputing your sick pay shouldnt affect anything else at work, also if they are right (and I'm not saying they are) staying off will give you a longer period of no pay and make your financial situation even more precarious.

[iceboy]

I have recovered from the surgeries. However i still have sudden and sharp pain under need my appendicities scar throughtout the day. My doctor sending me off for a ultrasound scan before he can comment on it. Also i am very stressed! My sleeping paternt went upside down. I am scared when i get back to work, i will fail attending work on time for a while, although this is not my concern at the moment.

 

I still dont know what to do! My employer is the only reason i am in such a bad state mentally and financially! Any help on what i should be telling them? How can they expect me to afford travel costs untill next pay day when they cant even pay me the sick pay i am entitled to?

[iceboy]

During my research i have come across with this:

 

Unlawfull deduction of wages:

 

Sections 13 to 27 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996) set out the provisions that protect workers from unauthorised deductions from their wages. *

* *

Protection against unauthorised deductions *

Section 13 of ERA 1996 prohibits deductions from a worker’s wages unless: *

The deduction is required or authorised by statute or a provision in the worker’s contract; or

The worker has given their prior written consent to the deduction.

 

According to this, i should still be eligible for the full 6 weeks of pay. I have been told that from the date of sick leave, i have only 3 months to dispute. In my case, i have only till 22nd July to issue employment tribunal!

 

I have a feeling that they are trying to get past the 3 months period so they dont have to deal with the subject matter!

 

Can anyone suggest me what to write on a letter as i need to start grievence process asap.

 

Thank you.

[postggj]

it is three months less one day

 

put the grievance inn, then put inn the employment tribunal claim

 

you can withdraw the claim at any time with the tribunal service

[iceboy]

Any advice what to write on grievance letter? Any template maybe?

 

Also could you please help me on how to put in the employment tribunal claim?

[goboy]

Any advice what to write on grievance letter? Any template maybe? Also could you please help me on how to put in the employment tribunal claim?

 

You can get the online tribunal claim and it is self explanatory so do it and as said above it can always be withdrawn if your employer plays fair.

 

My aunt is disabled and they have stopped her pay all the time and she has but in a claim to ET1 to get any redress from her employer. Her employer played for time so she would not be able to put in a claim. After she put in the grievance she wrote to her employer saying that some of her grievance relating to her pay and that part of it needed to be resolved before a certain date as they will understand that she was under time restraint due to getting her ET1 in. But that did not get them moving and they told her they had a time limit to reply, which would put her out of time for tribunal so she went ahead and put in the ET1 to make sure it was not out of time.