An employee of ours has a condition (I won’t disclose what as its extremely confidential at this stage) which we as an employer have no control over alleviating. His absence levels are far higher than anyone else, and often short term. After this latest sickness absence, he told us his doctor has diagnosed IBS, and has said one of the factors may be stress, which he is certainly affected by because of his ‘situation’. We simply can’t do anything to change his personal life. There may not be a resolution to his condition for several months or years (if ever) and the people in his personal life adding to the stress may never change their stance. We can’t continue ‘putting up’ with these absences, and we’d help if we could to change things, but we can’t. His stress is in no way linked to his job or career with us. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how we deal with this please? And where do we stand legally? Can we take him through a disciplinary if we have to? I’d rather it not come to that, but the future is not looking bright. We are trying to be understanding, but there are limits, and we’re a small company.
Liz Ratcliffe