Voluntary surgery

System
System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
edited June 18 in AAT student discussion
Can anyone help with this query?

Member of staff wants to get their eyes lasered and will need a week off.

As this is voluntary surgery, should it be taken as holiday?

This isn't covered in their contract. When they were written this kind of thing ddidn't happen.

Sara

Comments

  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:Voluntary surgery

    Whilst the surgery is 'voluntary' it is still for a medical reason.

    Personally I work on the basis that if there was a likelihood that the employee would be able to obtain a doctors sick note (which I would say they would in this case) then it can be classed as sickness eventhough it is 'planned' - as most surgery would be.
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:Voluntary surgery

    Thanks Gill.

    Problem is my boss thinks its like having cosmetic surgery - because he says it isn't really necessary.

    Does anyone know the legal rule on it?
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:Voluntary surgery


    A boob job could be classed as a medical operation but it's hardly in the same context as a lifesaving organ transplant even though both go under the scalpel!

    Since this could be classed as cosmetic rather than essential surgery (and I would agree with your boss here even though I too wear glasses), if this were our company, I would advise the employee to take a weeks holiday. Alternatively, as Gill says, they could try getting a doctors certificate in order to claim SSP but it's highly unlikely we would authorise a full sick payment out of our own goodwill due to the nature of the surgery being undertaken.

    As far as I am aware, there is no current legislation to force employers to pay sick pay to employees in a similar fashion to that of holidays, SMP etc and any payment scheme set up by a company is entirely voluntary and discretionary (as long as it's not discriminatory!).

    Regards,

    Robert
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:Voluntary surgery

    Robert I think you hit the nail on the head.

    People with poor eyesight are classed as having a disability (however minor in comparison to say a wheelchair user) therefore you do have to be careful how you deal with the time off for surgery.

    If you would pay sick pay to someone who has an ingrowing toenail removed but not for eye surgery then you would be discriminating. If your policy is not to pay sick pay (other than SSP) then there is no problem in expecting them to take leave.

    Our sickness policy used to be 'upto 4 weeks full pay at the management's discretion' and we were strongly advised, in light of the DDA, to change this so that the emphasis is on whether the employee gets a sick note or not and therefore we would not be discriminating.
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:Voluntary surgery

    I had laser eye surgery last year, and the benefits have been amazing. However I did not expect to get paid sick pay, it was my choice to have the surgery and therefore took holiday.
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:Voluntary surgery

    I thnik I shuold hvae eye srugrey bceuase I cna't see my kyebaord porprely.
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:Voluntary surgery

    Ouch!
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:Voluntary surgery

    Hi everyone,

    Interesting subject and in fact one thats been rumbling along for many years, i can recall my boss hovering over sick pay for my footballing injuries.

    The responses are right, if the absence is such that she is prevented from working by virtue of a medical procedure she is at least entitled to SSP, your employer cannot refuse to assess this unless he is prepared to declare that the procedure does not geniuinely prevent her from working. The fact that she is voluntarily putting herself through the procedure is irrelevant from an SSP point of view.

    For occupational sick pay purposes i feel it is much more complex because your employer did not consider such issues when the terms and conditions were created.

    Fundamentally i dont disagree with the views that the employee should perhaps take a week of her own holidays to do this but she may take the view that as she is medically unable to come to work and unfit to carry out her duties then she has satisfied the requirements of her contract.

    It all depends what the terms and conditions say and whether they permit the employer to withhold OSP in such cases.

    My advice would be to proceed with caution and look carefully at the wording of the terms and conditions.

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