Support for a business owner with staff on long-term sickness absence

What happened

Graham (not his real name) is a business owner who had an employee on sick leave for over a year, and had little contact with the employee during this time. The employee’s absence was placing pressure on existing staff and the Graham wanted to find a resolution to the situation, either by having the employee return to the workplace or to terminate their employment so that he could recruit a new person into the post.

How we helped

When Graham got in touch with our employment law team, we advised him to contact his employee to get the lines of communication open, encourage an open dialogue about the situation and the best way to move forward for both parties. We were able to guide Graham through a fair process and assisted in drafting relevant letters for him to use in communication with his employee.

The outcome

Following a meeting between Graham and his employee, they mutually agreed that it was in the best interest of both parties if the contract of employment was terminated on grounds of ill health. The process was managed in such a way as to ensure that the working relationship between employer and employee remained amicable.