Possible higher-level sanction for voluntarily leaving paid employment

Hi all,

Query concerning a potential higher-level sanction for C leaving their job voluntarily.

C went into work and was not feeling well due to her fibromyalgia. C discussed this with a colleague during lunch break, and then decided to go home. C confirmed that she didn’t have authorisation from her manager to do this. C was then contacted by her Manager and told that if they didn’t return to work the same day that they would be sacked. C chose not to return to work and did not attempt to contact workplace in the days immediately afterwards. C didn’t receive any written correspondence confirming dismissal, but has now received P45 dated one week after incident in question.

C does not wish to dispute the decision that had been made as they do not want to work there in the future.

My questions concerning any prospective UC claim:

1. When would the events surrounding C leaving work be discussed by JC+?
2. My initial impression of the above was that C’s decision to not return to work would be treated as a resignation. What would be the relevant considerations made by the DM when deciding whether C left work voluntarily if C was treated as resigning?
3. C believes that in the circumstances they couldn’t return to work and that the health conditions weren’t properly taken into consideration by the employer. However, this was never raised formally by C, both during employment and the day she left work. Would it be beneficial for C to contact the employer as soon as possible appealing the decision so that it can be used as evidence when the issue is raised by JC+ staff regarding a possible sanction (even though she doesn’t want to return to her previous employment)?

i think we need to know more about how long your client had been there, whether the employer was aware of the health issues, so on and so forth

and your client may need employment advice as well as if employer knew of the health issues then there may be discrimination

having said that, just leaving without discussing with manager is never a good thing to do.  even if they knew all too well about the health issues in question.