Sick Absense From Work

[wiser1]

just a quick one
if your off sick and your providing sick notes from the gp covering the period you maybe off work, are the employers allowed to do a pay abate and put you on unauthorised absence, even though you are providing sick notes?

thanks in advancing

[Mr_Wistles]

If you are providing sick notes you cannot be "maybe off work", you have to be.

[wiser1]

so they cant put me under unauthorised absence? especially if im providing sick notes with a valid reason too?

[unique]

i'm not exactly sure what you mean by your question, but the simple answer lies in what your terms and conditions of employment say. they may refer to a seperate absence policy, in which case that should answer your question

if you are still unsure, you should discuss the matter with your union rep, HR department, or ACAS

if you are sick, you have no statutory right to full pay, so you may be deducted for days not worked. you may be entitled to statutory sick pay which applies for absences over 3 working days if your average earnings over the previous 8 weeks are high enough. your employer would normally request a self cert for periods of absence up to a week, and a medical certificate for periods over a week. as to how you are paid, and how much you are paid depends on your terms and conditions of employment, and thus can vary from employer to employer. without knowing the full details of your absence policy it's impossible to provide a definitive answer

your employer may deem "unauthorised absence" as any absence that hasn't been authorised in advance, such as requested holiday leave. it doesn't really mean much legally however

[wiser1]

your employer may deem "unauthorised absence" as any absence that hasn't been authorised in advance, such as requested holiday leave. it doesn't really mean much legally however

how can a company authorise someone being sick is beyond me, i think ill get in touch with the hr department and ask them whats going on,

[unique]

Originally Posted by wiser1

how can a company authorise someone being sick is beyond me, i think ill get in touch with the hr department and ask them whats going on,

i think you missed the point. if you ask for time off in advance, such as request time off for holidays, thats authorised absence, as you have asked for the time off, and the time off has been authorised.

if you call in on the day, or afterwards, to report that you are/were unable to attend work, then your employer may call that unauthorised absence, as you didn't request the time off in advance in order for it to be authorised

thus, if you are off sick, it's unauthorised absence

your HR department or your line manager would be best suited to answer the question, or failing that your union rep, or acas