So as it says above, my partner was caught by his boss as “pulling a sickie”. He went on holiday for 2 weeks which was authorised, but what he didn’t say was that Friday was the day of the flight and he was not on leave.

He emailed at 4 am on the way to the airport saying that he would not be in as he had been throwing up.

Now he’s not entirely wrong, he was actually ill. It’s a matter of fact though that he was never going to come in as he had a flight at 10 am, and his boss knows that.

He went to work yesterday and was handed a letter stating he’s on administrative leave until Friday when he will have a disciplinary hearing for leaving the business without cover and dishonesty.

He knows he f up, it’s his first job and it was bloody stupid of him.

He only works for a small IT company of about 4 employees. I think he must have just thought pulling a sickie is fine as you see it in media and such.

What can he do to get the best out of this situation or possibly keep his job? (deep apologies are a given…)

Here are what netizens think:

There’s not much that can be done really other than assuring his employer that he won’t do it again. If he is a valuable employee then he will likely be able to keep his job but there will be a lot of questions asked should he have any future sick days.

Admit his guilt /grovel / plead etc , assure them it will never happen again and will use this as a “learning” experience to improve himself and to ensure he fully understands the companies absence policy . he will be lucky to keep his job tbh , at the very minimum i would expect formal disciplinary action

There is no legal standpoint that can be offered because things like this will be in the contract or the employee handbook. I can give you the benefit of my own personal experience though.