If you've been the victim of violent crime, the last thing you want to worry about is taking time off work. Read on for your rights

It's not something anyone wants to contemplate, but imagine you've been the victim of a violent attack. An extremely traumatic experience, to say the least, and one that will leave you with a lot of rebuilding to do. You may well need to take some time off work to recover both physically and emotionally.

The last thing you will want to worry about is your job security - how will your employer react, what are you entitled to by way of support and time off work? Here are some guidelines as to what you can and should expect of your employer...

Click to find out about:

Taking time off

Long-term absence

Sick pay

What to expect of your employer

Back at work

Taking time off
You should be entitled to take sick leave to recover from the after-effects of a violent attack, be they physical or emotional. Although in these circumstances your need for time off will clearly be related to the attack, the general principle governing your absence will be the same as if you required time off for any other 'illness'. The time that you'll need to take off will of course depend upon the seriousness of your injuries. The basic rule is that your employer should allow you this time off - but bear in mind that they may require medical certificates to confirm the position.

Generally, your contract of employment should deal with the period of absence for which doctor's certificates are required - typically after any absence of seven days or more. If your contract specifies when you are required to provide doctor's certificates or self-certification, you really do need to comply with these requirements to avoid getting into difficulties. If you can't realistically get the information to your employer directly, do try to arrange for a friend or family member to keep them informed on your behalf.

If your employer requires a medical certificate for a shorter period, you may have to pay for it - doctors typically charge for certificates issued for periods of only a day or so. If this happens, your employer really should bear the cost of obtaining the certificate.

Long-term absence
Unfair as it may seem, you are not entitled to take an indefinite amount of sick leave - if you're absent for a prolonged period, your employer may start to think about your future. It may be hard to predict how long it will take for you to recover from an attack, particularly if you are suffering from an emotional reaction such as stress or depression.

When dealing with a longer-term absence, in order to dismiss someone 'fairly' (a horrible concept in the circumstances, but it's important to be realistic), an employer should take steps to ascertain the ultimate prognosis, establishing when you are likely to return - and they may request a medical report from your doctor or consultant. If your employer does take steps to find out your true medical position, much will obviously depend on what your doctor or consultant says.

If the report suggests that you will not be able to return to work for some time, then although it seems harsh, it is possible that your employer may decide to dismiss you. However, before doing so, they should really go through a series of informal 'warnings' and consider whether there is any reasonable alternative employment that you could be offered or whether they could make any adjustments to your working environment that would enable you to return to work. If they don't do this, you may well have an unfair dismissal case.

Sick pay
When you're absent from work due to illness, you will be entitled to statutory sick pay (SSP). You will be eligible to claim SSP after you have been sick for four consecutive days (this includes weekends and Bank Holidays). However, your SSP entitlement is subject to the statutory limit of 28 weeks in every three years. SSP is currently paid at the rate of £63.25 a week. Many employers will ask for a doctor's statement for periods of sickness of more than seven days: however, they cannot require a doctor's statement for the first seven days of a spell of sickness for SSP purposes.

You may also qualify for contractual sick pay on top of your statutory entitlement. However, this will depend on the terms of your contract of employment - it's worth getting someone to check this on your behalf. Even if your employer doesn't offer contractual sick pay, they may decide to bend the rules for you on a discretionary basis - it's always worth asking.

What to expect from your employer
Most employers will be sensitive to your situation and will understand that you may need to take time off in order to recover from the attack. If your employer is unreasonable and does not allow you to take time off or, in a nightmare scenario, dismisses you for a reason connected with your absence, you may well have a claim for unfair dismissal or discrimination against them. In such a situation, an Employment Tribunal would almost certainly take a rather dim view of the employer's actions.

Obviously, it may be difficult to talk to your employer about your ordeal: however, you should really try to keep them informed as much as possible, so that they can adequately deal with your absence. In particular, you should (if possible) keep them informed as to when you are likely to return to work: this will enable them to work out how to cope with distributing your work in your absence.

The very least that you should expect from your employer is a sensitive hearing of your situation. In all employment contracts there is an implied term of mutual 'trust and confidence' and that term controls, to some extent, the behaviour that can be reasonably endured and expected by each party.

If your employer acts unreasonably in relation to your illness, they could, potentially, be breaching this term. If this is the case, you could ultimately resign and claim that you were constructively dismissed. Following this, you could potentially claim for unfair dismissal or breach of contract. Quite clearly, this is a highly unreasonable situation in which to be placed by the employer - why should you have to resign when they have acted so inappropriately? But in a worst-case scenario, that's your ultimate sanction.

Back at work
As and when you return to work, try to keep your employer informed of how you're feeling and reacting. Your employer is under a duty to provide you with a safe working environment - and increasingly, that extends to emotional and psychological protection. They should respond sensitively to your return and avoid putting you under undue pressure in the first few weeks - if you're finding it difficult to cope, it's probably worth explaining this and making sure they're aware of the position.

It's bound to be a difficult transitional period and there's really no point in making it more stressful for yourself by putting a brave face on it all. If you try to pretend that all is well when it's really not, your work may well suffer, leaving you subject to disciplinary proceedings.

In general (and there will, sadly, always be employers who just don't behave in a reasonable or humane way), it's much better to be open and work together to try to effect a smooth return to work.

Finally, if your attack takes place while you're at work, your employer should be acting with still greater care, especially if they're in any way responsible for it - perhaps by failing to put in place adequate security arrangements. Clearly, litigation will be the last thing on your mind in the immediate aftermath, but when you're starting to feel stronger, it's certainly worth exploring the issue (perhaps initially talking to a solicitor or someone at a local CAB) to see what you may be entitled to by way of compensation.