The curious story of a man who denounced his company has gone viral all over the world. The person in question, due to some health problems, has been on sick leave since 2008. In 2022, he decided to take legal action against his employer: the (questionable) reasons for the gesture.
When it comes to union achievements, definitely the sick leave it is one of them. For workers, sick leave allows you to take care of your health without worrying about lose your salary. It also gives you time to heal and fully recover before returning to work. For employers, however, the benefits are few. The workload may increase for other employees and, at the same time, the need to find replacements may arise an extra cost at the end of the month.
Just the sick leave is at the center of a curious news story. The protagonist is called Ian Clifford, who several years ago started working for IBM, one of the giants of technology. In 2008, due to some health problems, the man left his job but was not fired: he entered, precisely, on sick leave. Five years later, in 2013, he sent a letter of complaint to his company, asking for a salary increase, which hadn’t changed in five years. The two parties reached an agreement: Clifford passed between the disabled employees of the companyso as not to lose work and, at the same time, “don’t have to work”. But that’s not all.
The man who sues his company after 15 years on leave
Under the new arrangement, Clifford was paid an amount equivalent to three-quarters of his previous salary: about 60,000 euros a year. Nine years after this settlement, the man officially sued IBM, for the same previous reason: “The amount had not increased from 2013 to 2022”. In court, Clifford accused the company of “discriminating against a disabled worker” as his employer had not bothered to adjust his salary, despite the rise in inflation globally.
The denouement of the story was not in Clifford’s favor. A few days ago an English court in Reading, his city of residence, he denied his complaint. The judge explained that the company was providing him with “favorable treatment” by paying him three-quarters of his salary, despite him having been off work for 15 years. Of the increase, Judge Paul Housego wrote: “Active employees can get salary increases, inactive ones do not. And discrimination against the disabled has nothing to do with it. Clifford was treated unlike any other.” More precisely: “Even if the value of £50,000 has halved in the last thirty years, receiving three quarters of a salary without having to work is still preferential treatment.”
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