Sickness absence

Q: One of our members went on sick leave directly from maternity leave, suffering from post-natal depression.She returned to work but was off sick again for the same reason and was interviewed under the absence procedure and issued a warning. Is our employer entitled to do this?

In the case of Brown v Rentokil (1998) IRLR 445 (which was a case concerning a woman with post-natal depression) the European Court of Justice established that it is unlawful to dismiss a woman because of a pregnancy-related illness at any time until the end of her maternity leave.

However, once she returns to work following maternity leave a woman loses that protection and she is then treated in the same way as other employees who are absent for other health reasons.