Stressed at work on probation

LegacyUser

Hi All,
Going unreg for this. in short i have been working for a company that has treated me badly. Things have gotten so bad that i handed in my notice last week but after talking with a colleague he convinced me to rethink and talk with the boss.

I requested this meeting but have been ignored completely on top of this i was sent a list of targets by the boss well outside my skill set to achieve from June 6th on wards. This is causing me massive stress and on top of this my little lad is sick with long term illness also.

I am up to my eyes in stress at the whole thing as it looks like my boss just gave me this work to keep my busy for 4 weeks but i have no idea how to even start it. To be honest i am thinking getting me to leave early.

I was going to go to the docs as stressed so much to get signed off for the remainder of the month as things are that bad. My contract states

"13. Illness

13.1 If you are absent from work due to illness, accident or any other circumstances you must inform the Company by 10am on the first day of absence.

13.2 If you are at any time prevented by illness, injury, accident or any other circumstances from discharging all your duties for a period of three consecutive days, then a satisfactory certificate will be required from your doctor in respect of such absence.

13.3 Where you are absent due to certified illness, you are entitled to receive your full
salary and bonus entitlements for a maximum aggregate period of three months in any
calendar year.

13.4 If you are at any time prevented by illness, injury, accident or any other circumstances beyond your control from discharging all your duties hereunder for a total of 180 or more days in any 12 month period, the Company may terminate your employment upon service of such minimum notice as is required under statute.

13.5 In the event of your absence from work or inability to perform the duties of your position due to illness or accident, the Company reserves the right to refer you for medical
examination to a medical practitioner nominated and paid for by the Company. The
Company shall be entitled to receive full details of any such medical examinations."

Although under probation i take it from this i would still get full pay until i leave as we both agreed to 4 weeks notice and not 1 as per my contract.

can anyone advise or comment?

thanks

Bandana boy

As a rule sick pay benefits do not kick in until you are off probation

StillWaters

That's very generous sick leave in their policy. So you have handed in your notice, and plan to serve your notice on sick leave? I would be very surprised if they pay you tbh.
Normally such clauses as well as entitlement to other benefits such as CPD only kick in after probation.

Chattastrophe!

Firstly I'd imagine the three month "entitlement" is accrued on a pro-rata basis, depending on how long you've worked there.

As others have said above, as a general rule you don't get those sort of benefits until you have successfully completed your probation. They are intended as benefits for long-term employees - it makes no sense for them to pay you when you've handed in your notice already.

Legally they're not obliged to pay you for sick leave.

tatli_lokma

Have you considered the fact that if you do try to abuse the generous sick pay system by using it to shorten notice, you are highly unlikely to get a positive reference from this company? This might not be an issue for you, but if you do intend on looking for work elsewhere or returning to work at some point, it would be wise not to burn bridges.

I wouldn't be inclined to ignore the fact that an employee gave 4 mths notice, I agreed thinking they were going to work the 4 mths and hand over to someone else and give me time to find a replacement, only for them to then take 3 months off sick. Eventhough you would be leaving, if it were me I would still insist you attend the company doctor, as they set out their right to do in point 13.5.

Would you not be better off just approaching the boss, tell them that in fact 4 mths was too optimistic on your part and you now feel that you cannot work that long. See if a compromise can be reached. It would be better in the long run IMO.