Trade union gives advice on ‘taking sickies’

Trade union gives advice on 'taking sickies'

Uproar as Amicus offers World Cup tips

Trade union Amicus has stirred up controversy and debate after publishing
tips for its workers on how to take a ‘sickie’ without getting in to trouble in
order to watch England’s games at the World Cup.

Under the headline, ‘World Cup Fever’, the site has the following message:
‘So you want to watch the World Cup, but you are meant to be at work when it’s
on: can you play away or is the risk of permanent relegation from your job too
high?’

It then goes on to tell members that it is ‘quite difficult to prove that
someone is not really sick if they have one day off’.

While it says that lying about being sick can be grounds for dismissal under
gross misconduct, if the company’s disciplinary/absence procedure does not make
this clear ‘you can argue that it is simply a form of misconduct which should be
viewed in the light of your work record’.

‘If you have a union representative they should be able to help you with your
arguments and interpretation of procedures,’ Amicus goes on to say.

The union says members should try and book time off, but if that fails should
try to persuade management, with the help of a union negotiator, ‘what a good
investment it could be to find ways to let people watch the World Cup.

Stephen Alambritis of the Federation of Small Businesses told BBC Radio 4
that that the advice should be withdrawn from the union’s website.

‘It’s grossly unfair also on staff who are not football fans when they see a
union advising their other colleagues to take a sickie,’ he said.

Share

Subscribe to get your daily business insights

Resources & Whitepapers

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folders and Embrace Metadata
Professional Services

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folders and Embrace Metadata

3y

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folde...

In the past decade, the professional services industry has transformed significantly. Digital disruptions, increased competition, and changing market ...

View resource
2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professional Services Firms

2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professional Services Firms

3y

2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professi...

In recent months, professional services firms are facing more pressure than ever to deliver value to clients. Often, clients look at the firms own inf...

View resource
Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine
Accounting Firms

Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine

3y

Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine

In a world of instant results and automated workloads, the potential for AP to drive insights and transform results is enormous. But, if you’re still ...

View resource
Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021
Making Tax Digital

Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021

3y

Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021

The first phase of Making Tax Digital (MTD) saw the requirement for the digital submission of the VAT Return using compliant software. That’s now behi...

View resource