Sick pay

Case 4: The facts

Nicola Taylor asked a manager for assistance in getting to the train station after a late shift, as she was scared to walk; he said it was her responsibility to get to and from work. Taylor went home, suffering from stress, and was signed off sick by her GP for seven weeks with “an acute stress reaction”. Her employer refused to pay her sick pay, relying on a term allowing it to withhold sick pay if there was doubt that the absence was health-related.

The ruling

The Employment Appeal Tribunal held that Taylor was entitled to sick pay and the non-payment was an unlawful deduction of wages. There had initially been doubt as to whether she was sick or “piqued” by the refusal of help, but this doubt was removed once she had provided medical certificates from her GP confirming that she was sick as a result of stress. The truth of her sickness could only then be challenged if the employer carried out a medical investigation which put the GP’s opinion in doubt.