Open petition: Ban employers from issuing warnings/dismissing employees for serious illnesses

Created by Redvers Maisuria-Clark
Closes on 12 April 2027

We ask the Government to introduce national rules requiring employers to always exempt people with serious illnesses from any sickness absence triggers or dismissal. Serious illness should never result in disciplinary action simply because someone is ill.

We think this practice is cruel and unnecessary. It can create fear, affect mental health and imply illness is a failing. No one recovering from a stroke, cancer treatment, major surgery, organ failure or other life changing illness should face disciplinary action for being ill.

Some workers have received warnings instead of support at the moment they most need compassion. This harms mental health, creates fear, and undermines dignity. Serious illness must never be treated as misconduct.

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