Can i sack someone for being off sick

However, an employer only has to make a reasonable effort and a tribunal will also look at how big your employer is and how easy it would be to make the changes. They will also look at the extra costs, such as training you might need, to see if they would be justified. If your employer refused to make reasonable adjustments to help you return to work, you may also be able to make a claim for discrimination.

The tribunal will want to know whether the decision to dismiss you was within the range of responses that a reasonable employer could be expected to make. The tribunal will look at the following things:. It could be considered reasonable for your employer to put up with a year's sick leave if you've worked there for a long time, but this may be considered less reasonable if you've only been there a short time.

Your employer should have looked at how they could cover your work while you were absent. A tribunal might ask:. Depending on your work situation, it may be harder for your employer to manage without you. For example, if you do skilled work, it could be difficult for them to find suitable cover.

If you're one of several people doing a similar semi-skilled or unskilled job, it might have been easier to find other people to cover. The tribunal will want to know whether you are likely to get better and when this would be.

If you need further treatment, when would this happen? If you are likely to make a full recovery it might not have been reasonable to dismiss you. A large employer may have been able to cope better with your absence than a smaller one.

Or they may have been more able to find you suitable alternative work. If the reason you're off sick is because of your employer's negligence, it may still have been reasonable to dismiss you if you're unlikely to be fit enough to return to work and they can't offer you suitable alternative employment.

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Hide this message. Home Working, jobs and pensions Redundancies, dismissals and disciplinaries. Dismissal: your rights. Reasons you can be dismissed There are some situations when your employer can dismiss you fairly. Not being able to do your job properly You may not be able to do your job properly if, for example, you: have not been able to keep up with important changes to your job - for example, a new computer system cannot get along with your colleagues Before taking any action, your employer should: follow disciplinary procedures - for example, warn you that your work is not satisfactory give you a chance to improve - for example, by training you Illness You can be dismissed if you have a persistent or long-term illness that makes it impossible for you to do your job.

The first port of call, as always, is the employment contract. Check whether the employment contract contains provisions about sickness absence. You need as much information as possible. Make sure you find out about the nature, extent and likely duration of the medical condition causing the absence.

These must be kept confidential of course. If the absences are short-term and intermittent, your business should investigate what the cause is. If necessary you should follow a capability or disciplinary procedure, setting timescales for improvement and giving warnings where appropriate.

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