Can an employer terminate employment if signed of sick by a doctor.?

I am asking this on behalf of my mother who has been signed of sick by her doctor for 6 months now on full pay. She will soon be going on to half pay as over the 6months mark and has a meeting with her employer to discuss the matter. The ill health has been caused by the job and proven by the doctor that basicaly she is allergic to the chemicals and environment at work causing skin problems making it impossible to go back to work or the problems will arise again(she has been fine away from work)

She has been with the company for over 25 years now and is worried they will just terminate her contract with no pay or another position offered.

What is her rights? can they just terminate employment on ill health when she has been signed off? Can they offer her a redundency package. She is very worried and does want to go back but the doctor has advised her she is best not too. But that wont pay the bills.

Any employment advice is much appreciated or direct me to a site that has info or help. Im in the uk.

Thanks in advance.
Additional Details
Its not her fault they changed cleaning materials and she develeped allergy, She wants to go back.she was fine for 25 years until things changed in the business. So in theory the workplace is at fault! All she wants is a department change where she wont be in contact with whats causing the alergies.

Curtis H

Pol

This is a reasonably complex issue that has several answers& each from a differing aspect of the employment you Mum has enjoyed.

There are legal considerations regarding the chemicals in use and this may become a H&S investigative issue, it could become likely that using their section 20 powers they identify some shortcomings which must be addressed; they would also look at sickness levels through perhaps a mini epidemiological study to look at patterns.

The law is strict on chemical use and COSHH/CHIP not withstanding will also include MSDS LEV control, PPE etc etc. this will require training on handling, exposure limits and finally in hazards cannot be eliminated under hierarchical controls then PPE will be required. Constant monitoring should be conducted by the company.

Firstly Mum should secure the services of an employment law specialist; then (and I feel it will be likely) the advisor will contact the company to state the case and will result in two likely, but not definite outcomes.

1. Mum can simply not continue due to being the only person affected; it should be considered however that the duty of care they owe your Mother will extend to PPE and breathing protection (as a last resort). This also assumes the company are squeaky clean in terms of legislative and best practice compliance.
2. That the company will be subject to an investigation by the appropriate authorities to see what they are doing regarding work place exposure limits and other working (preventative) practices; in the event they are not squeaky clean then Mum may well have a case for permanent disability, this would need confirmation by medical experts (probably appointed by the company underwriters).

It may be that Mum prefers to return to work in an alternative role; she should write and request an alternative role and subject to availability should be considered for change with no considered cause for discrimination.

For obvious reasons I can't go into everything here but suffice it to say it may be a rather long and drawn out procedure.

There is however much that can be done.

Curtis

DBomb

I live in California and the laws here in the US change from state to state, so I am sure country to country would vary quit a bit. But, her years of employment with that company will speak volumes to a judge, and being it is a medical issue caused by her work also will speak loudly. For your moms sake in the fairness to her, convince her to speak to a lawyer, if she lived where I do her salary would stay the same while the company paid for a trade school or something comparable to retrain her in a new career.
And way to go to you for watching out for your mom!! Good luck!!!!

Tinkerbell

The company should be able to find another position for your mum to work in.
Theres no point them paying her for her to be off sick. So the sooner she is well enough to work the better.
I think also because she has worked there so long they will want to be accomodating to her.

Good Luck!

P.S I would get your mum to think about which departments she could work in, because they might ask her for her imput at the meeting.

s.j.compton@btinternet.com

The company cannot fire her for being off sick. As long as she has been signed off.. BUT ! if she cant go back to the position she was working in the company has to were they can relocate her to another position. This position could be with lower pay or less responsibility, but they cannot fire her. I would go to citizens advice and get some advise from them tho

~M|ssy~

If the employer feels that your mother can no longer perform in her job, which she can't if she is allergic to chemicals which she has to work with, they can legally terminate her.

rwa000

you are not going to want to hear this but Dr.s notes mean nothing your employer can use them or ignore as they pay the salaries not the Dr.s, as fa as you allergies people do develop allergies as they get older it is not and occupational illness as some of the other answerers alluded to, an occupational illness must meet the criteria per OSHA and then must be certified by OSHA that is in fact and occupational illness. It takes years to prove and can be very expensive , so to answer the rest of your question even after 25 years if she is unable to do the job she supposed to do they can legally terminate her

time for a change

Citizens Advice Bureau!

Mum11/01/08

Try this website - www.ear.co.uk. They offer free advice on any issue and they have been great when i needed employment advice. All of their contact details are on their, i just emailed and had had a response within 24 hours. Good luck to your mum i hope she manages to get this sorted - she has rights and i can't imagine that she can be dismissed without redundancy money at the very least.

sophieb

Yes the workplace is at fault for changing the chemicals but she has every right to leave and get work elsewhere. Why is she waiting to do that? It depends on if your state is has a "work at will" law or not. If they do then the employer can drop her from the employment list at the drop of a hat. They probably don't want to do that because they will have to pay unemployment compensation for her. They probably fear she would sue them for their illness. I don't know if they would win in court or not. But gee if she's sick she should look elsewhere for work. But yes, they can force her out. I'm in the US and each state has their own employment office here. Healthcare is a good thing to get into right now, as well as teaching.

Duke75

Not sure the legalities of it but I don't see why she should expect her employer to pay her if she is not physically capable of doing the job.

DENNIS P

If I knew someone who had 25 years service in I would consider this an essential to obtain the best possible help and advice that's available, contact a solicitor who specialises in Industrial practises, you may regret it if you do not get the best now

TTC

NO WAY

michael

wow i would speak to a lawyer!!!

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