Disabled

burkey365

I was working for a company through an agency for 5 months then signed a full time contract, 2 weeks later i was admitted to hospital with a virus that almost killed me and i spent the next 16 months in hospital paralysed and blind..I was released in march and sam now in a wheelchasir but all through my illness work said they would keep my job open for me..2 weeks ago i went to see my employers and they said unfortunately the position was made redundant and the other 2 colleagues on my team have been moved to different roles in the business and that it would be too expensive to modify the building for wheelchair acces so maybe i should look to work elsewhere..Can they do this, I was not notified of redundancies or anything though i had not worked there long enough to receive it and surely i am now being discriminated against, if i cant work there can i at least receive my holiday pay i never took while in hospital..i am furious i can be treated like this and now have to rely on the state for benefits..i have worked all my life..please help, what can i do

wolfehouse

contact the equalities and human rights commission via their helpline
http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/

sounds like you may have a case as the disability discrimination act means no one should give the kind of off hand answer re. making a place accessible without a lot of evidence etc. but these people will know for sure.

i suspect discrimination is always very hard to prove.

dmg24

Did they notify you of the redundancy? When did the redundancy take effect?

Is the company very small/ does it have a low turnover?

JCS1

In a past job we had doors that open via a ground sensor fitted to accommodate a wheelchair, and reclaimed the cost back from DWP. There was also a carer that came in at lunchtime, again this was claimed back.

burkey365

I went to my workplace last week to ask about going back, that was thr first i heard about redundancy, when he explained it happened months ago, no i was notified by letter or call, i guess they just hoped i would go away, wqhere do i stand..My illness is Guillame Barrie/Miller Fisher variant apparently the only person in the UK to have it which there is no cure so I am now in a wheelchair, have no sense of balance and cant control my limbs, my left arm is paralysed too though i have a lot of control over my right..surely i should have been notifird or even offered my holiday pay as a goodwill gesture, when i asked why I wasnt notified of redundancy they apologised for overlooking that but said i would not have qualified for anything though from what i hear there was only 2 people in my team and they still work there so it seems he said the position was made redundant but no staff..The company is called Talent Training and its the biggest training provider in the country..what should i do next

dmg24

Given that they did not notify you of the redundancy, and have acknowledged that, you do need to take professional advice on this. I would contact ACAS in the first instance.

I don't think that this is directly a disability issue, although it could be argued that it is indirectly because your disability was the reason for your absence (although that was not the reason for your dismissal).

ohreally

dmg24 wrote: »

I don't think that this is directly a disability issue, although it could be argued that it is indirectly because your disability was the reason for your absence (although that was not the reason for your dismissal).

The DDA contains no provision for indirect discrimination because direct discrimination is capable of being justified.

Burkey 365, make contact with the equality and human rights commision.