by Jana
(Mooresville N.C, United States)
We have a new attendance policy at work and you’re only allowed 6 occurrences a year and i have 2 young daughters and no one to help me while there sick. my daughters have already had strepp throat twice this year and stomach virus and you get 1 occurence when your out or a half occurence if your late and i had doctor notes each time im out with the doctor returing me back to work on this day…My question is can i draw if terminated for attendance, I have been at my for almost 3 years and im a single parent with no help.
Jana,
This is a simple concept that I have written about many times.
You may be able to get unemployment even if you are fired for attendance if the attendance issues were caused by sick children. I have also recommended that you keep documentation such as the dr notes you provide to the employer and I might even go as far as to have daycare records which show they couldn’t take the kids on the days they were sick.
A job cannot keep you from performing your duties as a parent, but when I make a statement like that I can be sure that there’s someone who will eventually read it and think that they can abuse this little loophole to their hearts content.
My suggestion is if you are a single parent and have no one to care for your children when they are sick that you request intermittent FMLA to take your kids to the doctor or care for them. It can protect your job for up to 12 weeks .. regardless of the point policy.
But be forwarned, if you use up the bulk of FMLA the employer will look for any reason to get rid of you as soon as it is possible for them to do so without looking like they retaliated.
Protecting oneself while employed is what getting benefits is about.