Dismissal due to poor eyesight?

zzzLazyDaisy

Tama wrote: »

I am currently signed off by my GP and recieving sick pay so do I really have to worry about any of this for the time being you think?

If you mean that you are in receipt of company sick pay (rather than SSP) then no, you don't need to worry about this at the moment.

I suggest that you concentrate on getting better and learning to cope, and forget about work for the moment. Your employer should keep in touch with you, but shouldn't be hassling you to get back to work.

Good luck!

Tama_3

Rockporkchop wrote: »

Was the problem caused by negligence on the part of the surgeon or was it one of the "side effects" you are warned about before having the surgery? Just wondering whether you are able to claim compensation at all for loss of earnings, if it came to it.

Well, trying to find out if they were negligent is proving to be very difficult. Up until a week ago, everything was fine according to them, just "taking a bit more time to heal" than they expected. Now, they are saying I will need more surgery and even then, they can't guarantee it will solve the problems.

Unfortunately, I wouldn't have a leg to stand on in terms of a claim against them as you have to sign about 30 different disclaimers before the op. They cover themselves really well.

It was the worst decision of my life but now I just have to deal with it.

G51shopaholic

I feel sorry for your situation, but if the laser treatment was "cosmetic" then you need to seek compensation from the surgeon if it seems not to have worked or seems to have gone wrong.

Your employer would be entitled to receive back the sick pay from any compensation.

While I sympathise, I can see why your employer is not happy.

My sister-in-laws sister had a tummy tuck that went horribly wrong and she was off work for over 6mths - she didn't get any sick pay as she'd booked the time off work using holidays (they said ok to go back to work after 4 weeks). And they viewed the op as cosmetic.

You need to be honest with your employer and seek legal advise against the surgeon.

Weirdlittleman

jdturk wrote: »

Have you got a link for this?

They won't because it's wrong. Of course if you are in a company sick pay period it may be harder for them to justify that there is no alternative etc.

OP I would be tempted to phone your boss explain the situation and await their response whilst discussing with access to work the situation.

It may be your employer values you so much they come up with a solution of their own accord or are happy to wait until the next surgery. On these grounds I wouldnt want you to pre empt them into having another mindset.

For example if you were them and you suddenly started talking about not coming back you would think twice about continuing the sick leave and pay than if you thought it was a short term thing for a highly valued staffmember.

I suspect they will look to now involve OH assessments etc but I think you are a long way off permanent dismissal for incapacity.

Could you discuss a phased "return", shorter shifts or consulting instead for the next few months. Its better for them to pay you and get some return than to pay you and get nothing.

zzzLazyDaisy

jdturk wrote: »

Have you got a link for this?

Hi, I'll have to do a search for the case law and come back to you (it isn't part of the statutory protection legislation).

In essence, though, the reasoning is that company sick pay is part of the contract, therefore the employer has foreseen that some employees may from time to time be off sick for the length of period provided by the company sick pay. If the employer then seeks to dismiss the employee because they are off sick, whilst they are in receipt of company sick pay the employer is acting in breach of contract as to do so would prevent the employee from relying on their contractual rights in the very circumstances that those rights are intended to cover.

So the claim would be for breach of contract for the remainder of the sick pay period.

The situation would be different if redundancies arose, or the employee was guilty of some form of gross misconduct, because then the reason for the dismissal would not be ill health and thus would not be a device to avoid having to pay the employee money due under the contract.

I'll have a search for the relevant case law and get back to you on this.

tbh I think it is extremely unlikely that OP's employer will go down that route as most larger employers who have contractual sick pay schemes do abide by them.

Note - for the sake of clarity, someone in receipt of SSP only does not have this protection as SSP is not a contractual benefit conferred by the employer, but the employer would still have to follow proper procedures and take the DDA anto consideration.

zzzLazyDaisy

Weirdlittleman wrote: »

For example if you were them and you suddenly started talking about not coming back you would think twice about continuing the sick leave and pay than if you thought it was a short term thing for a highly valued staffmember..

Assuming that this is a contractual company sick pay scheme, the employer would be in breach of contract for the reasons outlined above.

However before any decision is made to terminate the employment proper procedures must be followed and, I agree, that will often include the involvement of an Occupational Health Adviser - or at the very least obtaining a report from the GP or consultant.

Tama_3

Thank you all, I talked with my boss this afternoon and she requested that I come into the office this week to discuss my options.
I'm a bit concerned however because there was mention of a need for someone to work part time on reception. No offence to receptionists, but there is no way I'm going to do that and be ridiculed by my colleagues that I've worked with for nearly 10 years. It would be too much to bare, I'd rather resign.

Horace

Tama wrote: »

Thank you all, I talked with my boss this afternoon and she requested that I come into the office this week to discuss my options.
I'm a bit concerned however because there was mention of a need for someone to work part time on reception. No offence to receptionists, but there is no way I'm going to do that and be ridiculed by my colleagues that I've worked with for nearly 10 years. It would be too much to bare, I'd rather resign.

Tama - do not cut your nose off to spite your face, if you are asked to be a receptionist consider it a) as a job b) that it is temporary and c) that it is harder for disabled people to find work if they are on the dole. If you are ridiculed by your colleagues, then keep a diary of what is said, by whom and when because it comes in very handy when you make a formal grievance. Mention Access to Work too because they can assist with adjustments and suggest ways of working which are less stressful on your eyes.

Weirdlittleman

Tama wrote: »

Thank you all, I talked with my boss this afternoon and she requested that I come into the office this week to discuss my options.
I'm a bit concerned however because there was mention of a need for someone to work part time on reception. No offence to receptionists, but there is no way I'm going to do that and be ridiculed by my colleagues that I've worked with for nearly 10 years. It would be too much to bare, I'd rather resign.

As long as your pay wasnt cut and your job was there when you were fit to return then you should jump at the option to work part days on reception and possibly work the rest of the day on your job if possible.

You need to realise you could be dismissed and if you dont make some concessions yourself you could be.

Annisele

Tama wrote: »

No offence to receptionists, but there is no way I'm going to do that and be ridiculed by my colleagues that I've worked with for nearly 10 years. It would be too much to bare, I'd rather resign.

Do you really think that your colleagues would "ridicule" you in that situation? Would you have ridiculed them if the situation had been reversed?

I have a suspicion that that might be your fear, rather than something your colleagues would actually do. If you've worked in the same place for ten years that would suggest that your colleagues aren't the nasty pieces of work that you suggest they might be.