Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Equality, diversity and inclusionDisabilityLatest News

Employers should not be embarrassed to ask questions about sickness

by dan thomas 4 Nov 2004
by dan thomas 4 Nov 2004

UK employers may fall foul of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) because they are too embarrassed to investigate an employee’s illness or disability, legal experts have warned.

Many organisations would dismiss an employee who was constantly absent from work with self-certificated reasons, but they should not be afraid to ask questions, said Meriel Schindler, head of employment law at Withers

“Employers are often too shy to ask the employee in question, but coyness can be very costly,” she said.

“Turning a blind eye to an employee’s difficulties at or absences from work out of a misplaced sense of prudery will never be the right reaction. The employer may well have to face a claim for unfair dismissal and/or disability discrimination.”

While the compensation for unfair dismissal is capped by statute, the compensation for disability discrimination is uncapped, Schindler said. Such claims also attract adverse publicity and may well have a detrimental effect on staff morale, she added.

Withers four-step guide to dealing with long-term/intermittent sickness absence:


Ascertain the root cause of the problem

The appropriate response is to get to the root of the problem by asking the employee and their doctor what is wrong with the employee.


Review employee contract


Any well-drafted employment contract should contain provisions that allow the employer to send the employee to an independent doctor who in turn has access to the employee’s existing medical records. That doctor should then examine the employee and prepare a full report on the employee’s condition, current treatment and prognosis.


Be aware of your duties under the DDA


If an employee is suffering from a disability (which is defined very widely as a ‘mental or physical impairment which has a long term adverse effect on his/her ability to carry out normal day to day activities’), then the employer immediately acquires three additional duties: a duty not to discriminate against the disabled person; a duty not to victimise them; and, crucially, a duty to make reasonable adjustments for the benefit of the disabled person.


Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Take action


If following a full medical advice and a detailed exploration of what might be feasible, it appears that no reasonable adjustment is possible, then the employer may have no option but to dismiss. In those circumstances, the employer should not only act with compassion, but also follow the recently introduced statutory disciplinary rules.

dan thomas

previous post
Jaguar faces more job cuts
next post
BAT workers institute ongoing Wednesday fag break in pay dispute

You may also like

Postmasters could take ownership of Post Office

14 Jul 2025

Ethnicity and disability pay gaps: Ready to report?...

14 Jul 2025

Manager dismissed after covert recording with HR wins...

14 Jul 2025

Food sector warned it is facing a workforce...

14 Jul 2025

Gregg Wallace investigation: 45 allegations upheld

14 Jul 2025

Black TV professionals’ experiences of racism are rife,...

14 Jul 2025

Steep reduction in recruitment in June

14 Jul 2025

Two-thirds drink to cope with work stress and...

14 Jul 2025

Why online training won’t help reduce sexual harassment

14 Jul 2025

Three-quarters more likely to stay with employer who...

14 Jul 2025

  • Empower and engage for the future: A revolution in talent development (webinar) WEBINAR | As organisations strive...Read more
  • Empowering working parents and productivity during the summer holidays SPONSORED | Businesses play a...Read more
  • AI is here. Your workforce should be ready. SPONSORED | From content creation...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+