Employers commonly think that because somebody is off sick, they cannot be dismissed. This is not the case. However, there are several things that you need to be aware of.
If the employee has over two years’ service, you need to go through a Capability process. If you don’t do this the employee could bring an unfair dismissal claim. A capability process involves a series of meetings with an employee to understand more about the reasons for being off sick and when the employee may be able to return to work. The purpose of these meetings is to review the position. If it ultimately reaches a stage in which the employee can no longer fulfil their role, then the employer can dismiss, if they follow a fair process.
If the employee has a disability, then you need to consider any reasonable adjustments. This places an additional burden on the employer in that they must avoid any discrimination. {WHAT IS A DISABILITY?}
With an employee who has under two years you may take the decision to simply dismiss with notice. Again, you must be careful with this approach as if an employee does have a disability, they could bring a discrimination claim. So, while they may not be able to bring an unfair dismissal claim they could raise a complaint of discrimination.
So, the question whether it is safe to dismiss will depend upon the circumstances.
