I started working at a school with vulnerable young people. I was two weeks into the job when I got Covid. I was very sick (coughing horribly, fever, vomiting and breathlessness) in the Easter holiday. I came back to work for half a day but went off sick because I couldn’t do my job effectively with long covid symptoms.
I got a doctor’s appointment straight away and he diagnosed me as having long covid. He gave me a week off work. I was still unable to walk downstairs without being breathless, so I contacted my doctor again. I had a face to face appointment and he classed me as unfit to work. He listed it as long covid on my doctor’s note.
I was off for a total of 2 weeks and I kept in regular contact with my boss who was unsupportive. I expressed my anxiety about having time off so early in the job and emphasised that I was very ill but committed to the job. She just replied thank you for your message every time, with no ounce of empathy.
I’ve been back for over two weeks and yesterday I was 5 minutes late for work because my bus arrived really late. I was pulled into a surprise 6 week review meeting and told that my punctuality and attendance was unacceptable. I’ve been on time every day before that.
My boss then said she would never dream of talking 2 weeks off work (she’s never had covid). She belittled me and basically said I’m fired if I have any days off from now on. I understand if the rules require me to fail probation but my issue is the way she treated me. I did all I could – I contacted the doctor immediately and constantly kept her updated.
I was upset the whole day of the meeting. I don’t know if she was referring to me but I later overheard her talking with other staff members saying “nobody is irreplaceable”. I’ve been helpful, kind and polite – my only crime was being sick.
I feel like I don’t have a leg to stand on as I’m in my probation period and I have nobody to turn to. I’ve been unsupported and left to drown, as she put me with all the most difficult children straight away, with limited experience.
Am I being treated unfairly or do I need to suck it up?
TLDR: 2 weeks off work with Covid and I’m being punished and threatened with dismissal. Am I wrong to be upset?
17 comments
You are not wrong to be upset, they sound like dicks.
The question is, do you have any rights in this situation if they do sack you?
I would ask in r/LegalAdviceUK to get the skinny on that.
Are you in the union? Join it, they can support you
https://neu.org.uk/support-staff
Although your boss sounds ridiculous, I’d get the necessary experience then get out of there ASAP. To say with such confidence she would never take two weeks off, let’s hope her words are never tested.
Yes, that’s a really shit way for someone to treat a new employee. Doesn’t sound like someone I’d want to work for. Can you get any support from HR or anything like that?
Look for another job, unfortunately the law is on their side and they can sack you for any reason in the first 2 years (as long as it’s not for a protected reason e.g. race, gender etc)
It’s unfortunate you got covid so early into the job and unfortunately some managers / businesses are really inflexible with time off especially in care situations where they run the business with the minimum amount of staff needed so when someone does take a few days off the rest of the staff are under immense pressure to replace their hours.
Sounds unfair. Are you in a union? If not, join one asap, and get their opinions.
To address a few of your points: the government has legislated that sickness due to covid cannot count towards your sick record, so you shouldn’t be penalised for this. Review meetings need 7 days notice minimum for scheduling: you can’t just be pulled in to one. Also, review meetings are to review established goals and problems: you shouldn’t be hearing about any new concerns for the first time at one.
Keep copies of all emails and letters you send and receive: if they do screw you over, you can show that you did the right thing.
Speak to HR.
You were signed off as unfit for work by a doctor who examined you. Going into work would have been irresposible and may have extended your illness or made others ill. Ask if she would have preferred you to walk into school with a confirmed, symptomatic case of covid, despite being signed off. If you’re feeling like you have to drive the point home, ask what the policy for vomitting in the workplace is.
It’s not an ideal situation, but she is treating you very poorly and someone higher up in the organisation needs to know about this.
To my uneducated ear, it sounds like they are setting you up for constructive dismissal. This is because it sounds like they are watching you for any ingress, no matter how minor, and then pulling you up on it and starting a record trail to justify your eventual dismissal.
If I were in your shoes I’d start looking for other employment because the boss sounds toxic. There’s no harm in walking away now, and it’s probably preferable to return to the job hunt now because you’ll still be “fresh” in the skills needed to job search and can tag on the six week employment as job hunting/ COVID illness.
I don’t know your specific situation though so you do what is best for you.
Unless this treatment somehow differs from their absence policy it’s perfectly fair.
Join a union. They will protect your rights and stop you being bullied. They have full time legal staff ready to advise and support you and even intervene if necessary. Many also offer free legal advice to members.. that’s worth the subscription alone.
Personally, I’d bin the place off. Even if this issue went away, the entire management team sound like pathetic nasty people (sadly they walk among us) and pushing back while it seems like justice will just drain your energy – and if you’ve had Covid you won’t have much of that in the tank anyway.
Start looking for another job and line up interviews – maybe just phone interviews to start with to avoid needing to book time off, and in the meantime at work just slap on a smile and yes sir no sir three bags full sir, then when you have a new role – adios! (But still be professional – there’s nothing to be gained from exacting any kind of revenge, despite what movies and popular culture tries to tell us; it rarely feels as good as people think)
You’ll probably find your contract of employment deems 4 weeks worth of absence to sickness (20 days) is grounds for disciplinary process, regardless of the reason. A lot of places have similar rules, 12 days in a calendar year tends to be the norm.
It’s not fair, but unfortunately that’s the way it is and it sounds as if your card is marked now. If I were in your shoes I’d probably start looking for somewhere new
Sounds like you have an excellent case for unfair dismissal and harassment in the workplace. Get everything in writing, screen shots of messages, diary of things said, etc. Create a paper trail.
I never realised how common place it is for people to be discriminated for being sick. People here just don’t care, do they?
Others have said it, but to reiterate; JOIN A UNION. If you are working in a school, you absolutely *need* to be in a union. I’m a former teacher and was treated so badly by various schools, the union was well worth the dues. I got a wrongful safeguarding accusation made against me in one school which the union helped me navigate, and in my last teaching job I “failed my probation” (because I didn’t achieve the standard they wanted in my formal observation that THEY NEVER ARRANGED), and the union helped me threaten for wrongful dismissal and at least got me my four weeks notice pay instead of just one.
Also, the NASUWT has what is called the “benevolent fund”, which is financial support if you’re ever out of work and struggling to make ends meet. Surprisingly easy to access, and absolutely invaluable- I’m pretty sure I got more out than I ever paid in. Other unions may have something similar, but I had a lot of good experiences with NASUWT.
As for your specific issue, I recommend reading up on the sickness policy. They probably use something like the Bradford score, and there should also be a set of thresholds for when you get certain disciplinary actions, meetings, whatever’s. Start gathering evidence in case you need it, but there could be a case for *wrongful dismissal* if they do fire you (which differs from unfair dismissal in that you don’t have to wait 2 years for it to kick in, and occurs when you are dismissed in breach of their own contract). Anything that happens, write it down, get it in an email, whatever.
Good luck.
^Join ^a ^union
And people wonder why the sub antiwork exists, its not about not wanting to work, it is about not being treated like shit.
I would look for another job, I do wonder if they would act differently if you came in with monkeypox looking all messed up.
Sounds like a major red flag, be looking for a better job.
Could you speak to your Doctor and see if he would write a note confirming you have a long term health condition that presently means you are effectively partially disabled? The knowledge around long Covid is not fully understood.
If you can get a disability assessment confirmed, you might then be in a better position to ask for reasonable adaptations/ consideration be given and you will then have a protected status for any unlawful discrimination even within a probationary period.
Might be worth contacting a disability rights group to see if Long Covid is classed as a disability and whether there is any case that you could use to assess your rights.