Employment nightmare!

[charly]

Hello,
i am probably not going to make much sense during the coures of this, probably because i am sooooooooooo stressed:sad: but here goes.

I have a small nail salon that i bought 2 yrs ago, it's just about ticking over under the current financial times and i do mean just, skin off teeth comes to mind !!
I have a member of staff who has worked for me since i took over, she has always been heavy on the sick leave, she does 2.5 days, about 16 hrs as she has a little boy. She is now 16 weeks pregnant and due to a very sick start she has been off a few times...!
However every time she calls in sick i have to cancel a full day of customers. I am working HARD to keep my business afloat, but she is losing me money hand over fist, i cannot afford this or my business will fold, seriously, it happend over christmas at my busiest time i lost hundreds of pounds and not to mention my reputation.
What do I do??
I hope someone can help with some advice as i am at my wits end!
thank you so much

 

[Enhanced-Barbie]

The obvious answer is to talk to her, prehaps she thinks its not a problem with you if she takes time off.

I would tell her that due to the nature of her job, the business and the clients are relying on her to be reliable, and because she can not do that, prehaps she should rethink her place within the business.

To be honest, I'd get rid of her and get someone else in. It's only going to get worse when shes got 2 kids to care for.

 

[Pink Pink Pink]

It's really hard to hand out a P45 to a pregnant lady cos of the law. She could turn around and say you're sacking her cos of that and legal action could be taken. If you say it's cos of her sick leave - then that is a direct result of her pregnancy.
Sh'e been with you a while so be frank. Tell her how much money you have lost,. Go over the appointment book for her sick days and show her EXACTLY how much you turned away.
Issue her with a written warning regarding her time keeping and be apologetic but firm.
That way you have grounds to sack her if she still doesn't comply after an official warning
xxxxx

 

[Lynne Baker]

Before you do or say anything to her, or anything more about her on this board, you must talk to a legal bod -CAB can help here.

 

[Blue Rose]

Before you do or say anything to her, or anything more about her on this board, you must talk to a legal bod -CAB can help here.

Totally agree here about talking to professionals who know what they are talking about.

You could also try phoning your insurance company - they should be able to pass you on to the legal department who can advise you properly.

 

[RedAdmiral]

Def agree call the professionals so you are fully backed up when you speak to her, in the meantime get looking for someone new

 

[charly]

thank you for your support, sometimes it's easy to think your on your own when your in a mess, so it's so good to hear someone else's take on your problem.
I will take legal advise before i talk with her, it is the right thing to do.

thank you so much.

 

[tigi]

if you go on the direct gov website or acas website they have tond of info that help you to know where you stand. i agree with the other ladies that you need some professional advice before you speak with her. directgov website is very useful for lots of other things too!