Anyone know employment law?

[ema-lou24]

Ok so this could be quite long but I will keep it brief!

I work as a private carer for a lady who lives with her daughter. I look after the mum. The daughter is lovely and genuinly needed help regarding the care of her mother while she returned to work etc.
Anyway, get along fine with the whole family and loved the job.

Then I got signed off work due to a haemorhaggic ovarian cyst, doesn't sound that serious but my god it's agony.
Anyway, due to this she had to take some time off her own work and then get another carer in.....which in munster, this wasn't really my problem, can't help the fact I'm not well.
So a week into my sickness, where I handed in the sick note in the time needed, tried to contact her the night before to tell her I was gonna be off for a further week, and left messages cos she wasn't home.
I then receive a letter, asking me not to return back to work until I am willing to attend a disciplinary interview. WTF? In the letter she states that me being off sick has put stress on the other carers and that I "refused" to contact her regarding my sick leave. Which is bullshit.

I thought it was illegal to contact the employee while off sick and have a doctors line, ESP asking for a me to attend a disciplinary interview.

So my problem is, I am still not well, so I will more than likely be signed off again so cannot attend this interview, but not once has she said in that letter that I won't be getting paid.

My last pay was 2days before Xmas, I worked all over Xmas and new yr and was signed off the week of the 10th. I know I will probably only get SSP, but I'm still entitled to get paid for the work I done before I got signed off.
But I haven't received it yet.
Can she refuse to pay me cos I'm not working there at the moment?
Can she sack me?

I actually want to leave anyway to be honest. They are turning out to be nasty people.

Any help will be greatly appreciated xx

 

[flexilexi394]

youre in favour. Go to citizens advice bureau because you do have to get SSP the whole time youre off up to 26 weeks, and your right, they cant contact you or give you a disciplinary for this. if they didnt answer the phone thats their fault, hopefully you have some sort of record of calls? to prove you did try and contact them? that would help. but you defo are in the right, and as long as you have a docs note all will go in your favour. just go to the CAB and get definite advice in procedures for you, so you know exactly what to do next. x

 

[ema-lou24]

Yeah I have my itemised bill which proves that I did try and contact her and also left 2text messages to her mobile and have proof of that too.
I have been given sick notes to cover me from the 10th.

Because she deals with the wages etc, I'm worried that she just makes me wait even longer. I have contacted another carer and she says she hasn't been paid yet, but the wage slips arrived today so it should be in the bank in the next few day, but I just get this feeling that she's gonna be quite petty at the fact that I haven't been there so I shouldn't get paid, even tho I have a doctors line to cover me.
Grrrrrr!

Thanks for your information.
I don't even wanna go to the disciplinary tbh, they are just gonna make me feel crap for being ill, which isn't my fault I don't like feeling like this.

I've been told that she can't actually sack me either, cos I've had no written warnings, nothing, not even a verbal, this is the 1st time I've had anything like this xx

 

[flexilexi394]

na you wont get sacked at all, worst case a verbal but they havent got any reason to give you one and you can appeal it anyway. they can do one! x

 

[Butterflykisses]

Hey. Sorry you're having bother with work. Just one other thing - you shouldn't be called for a disciplinary meeting until an initial investigatory meeting has been held. This is basically a return to work interview in which you get chance to give your version of events and only after that and if your employer still feels it's warranted should a disciplinary meeting be called. As said before the worst case scenario should be a verbal warning which can be appealed.