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discrimination at work; please help, advice needed before Monday!
zippy75
Posts: 108 Forumite
Can anyone help me? I have found myself in a horrendous position with a new employer.
I started a new job 5 weeks ago, having been on disability related benefit for almost six years. I was over the moon at getting myself this job, as although I have been volunteering all through the time I have been on disability benefit, it was so lovely to be working again and earning a wage. And the knowledge that my income would be topped up with disabled person’s Working Tax Credits, and Return To Work Credit, was going to make things less of a struggle for me.
I did a two day work trial for this employer, and during that time he expressed how he was more than happy with how I was doing, and that I could start properly the following Monday. Again, during my first week, apart from a few minor teething troubles, he expressed no concerns. I was keen, enthusiastic, and carried out my duties responsibly, and indeed he commented on this himself.
He was made aware that I had a disability at the interview, it was discussed at various points in my first week, and has been discussed since then on various occasions.
However, from the beginning of the second week, the employer started to behave in a bullying manner - making inappropriate comments, unjustified criticisms and behaving in ways that displayed discrimination on the grounds of my disability. It also became clear that he was not prepared to be accommodating on the issues of reasonable adjustments and ‘access to work’. The incidents are too numerous to go into here, but the CAB have informed me that I have a case for disability discrimination – and by extension if I were to resign, for constructive dismissal on those grounds.
The stress this has caused me made the symptoms of my disability (a disorder that involves chronic pain and chronic fatigue) worse, and I was forced to go off sick at the end of my third week. My doctor has since given me a sicknote citing stress, anxiety and worsening of my medical condition, which covers me until June 24th. I was delayed in getting the sicknote to the employer (ie after the 7 day self cert. period), but have since explained to him the reasons for this.
The employer is going to have a ‘disciplinary’ meeting on Monday morning, which I have informed him that I am not well enough to attend. He has cited the purpose of this meeting as being to discuss my not providing a sicknote, the possible reasons for my absence, and my ‘attitude’ to work which was discussed in ‘meeting’ a few weeks ago and in which he “gave me two weeks to show ‘improvement’”. The part about giving me two weeks to show improvement is a fabrication; at no point did he say that. He conducted the ‘meeting’ in a way that was utterly inappropriate and that the CAB advisor was shocked at. There is no written record or follow-up to this ‘meeting’. In any event, for the first week of this two week ‘improvement period’ he was away on holiday, and the second week was my first week off sick. (He has made fabrications on other occasions, both to myself and to third parties involved, both verbally and in writing.) He has also mentioned to a third party that he is going to be considering dismissing me (he has not mentioned on what grounds he is considering this). I have asked for a postponement of this meeting as a reasonable adjustment on the grounds of my disability. He has refused and said that the meeting will go ahead. He has been sending me aggressively toned letters and texts.
The CAB have made me an appointment to see an employment solicitor, but unfortunately the earliest appointment is not until July 2nd. Someone else at the CAB said I need to do a formal grievance letter regarding his behaviour, in the meantime. I have not done this yet, firstly because I have been so poorly for the last two weeks which has made it incredibly difficult to concentrate, and also because I have had to re-apply for disability benefit, and also Housing and Council Tax benefit, and chase GP appointments, which has been horrendously stressful and draining, so I simply have not had the time for anything else. I also realise this grievance letter has to be worded correctly. Ideally I would have liked the employment solicitor to help me with it, but things are now moving on so quickly that now I am wondering if it would be best to do the letter as best I can, and get someone to deliver it to the venue of this meeting on Monday, so that the employer can be presented with it at the meeting.
I have now finally acknowledged to myself that it will be impossible for me to go back to work for this employer. I have been advised for weeks that this is risking ruining my health after I have worked for so long to get myself ready and well enough to return to work. This is causing me a great deal of distress because, like many disabled people in my situation, I wanted to leave benefits and go into work to stay in work, and not return to benefits. (I am now applying for other jobs and hopefully will get another soon.)
Another reason I have ‘dug in’ and tried my hardest to salvage the situation so I could go back to the job is because when I started the job I made a claim for Return To Work Credit (I am definitely entitled to it but they haven’t finished processing the claim yet). I planned to save this £40 a week, and in six months I would have enough for a bond and rent in advance on a flat. I need to move from where I am living now because due to my disability I find it very difficult to manage in certain areas of my day-to-day life, and I need to move to the area where my partner and friends live so that I can get support from them which would make it easier for me to cope. I have been terrified that I would end up losing part of the 52-week entitlement to RTWC in a situation where I had to leave employment within the first year, and therefore not be able to build up these essential savings. I have asked everyone I can think of what the rules on RTWC would be in my situation, and also rung the dedicated Return To Work Credit helpline, but I seem to be getting advice that is at worst confusing, and at best not ‘concrete’. Last night I found this information on the internet in a research report (at http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rports2005-2006/rrep353.pdf, page 14 of the report):
• If recipients stop one job and move to another within five weeks there is no
break in payment. People who finish one job and return to benefit can claim the
‘balance’ of the 52 weeks RTWC entitlement if they start work within 12 weeks
of returning to benefit. This is termed the ‘balance of time’ provision by Jobcentre
Plus. If people claim an incapacity benefit for more than 13 weeks, however,
‘balance of time’ no longer applies. Such people must make a new application
for RTWC, and if entitled thereby requalify for a full 52 weeks payments.
This seems a bit more reassuring; it seems to say that even if I leave this job and don’t get another one within 12 weeks (and go back to my incapacity benefit in the meantime), that I could then make a fresh claim on finding another job. Is there anyone who knows if this is definitely the case, because apart from trying to sort out the horrendous situation with the employer, this is my main worry; it’s eating away at me as I really need that money.
So my main questions are:
1. Grievance letter / dismissal: should I do this grievance letter and have it delivered to the disciplinary meeting on Monday morning, so the employer will read it then? What happens from then? Would he be able to dismiss me before he had responded to my grievance? Does anybody have links to good grievance letter templates?
2. Resigning / future employment tribunal claim: If I resign will it prejudice a future employment tribunal claim? Is it true that as long as you have submitted your grievance letter and allowed time (how long?) for the employer to respond you will have followed the correct procedure? Is it true that you don’t still have to be working for an employer to bring a claim? I am fairly certain that I am going to resign (giving his behaviour as the reason), but when is the best point to do it? I.e is it best to do it before this Thursday as that will be one week before my sicknote expires, therefore my last week of sickness will cover my statutory one week’s notice. (Is the statutory notice period one week if you haven’t been given a contract that specifies anything different – I have not been given a contract yet.)
3. The worries over the Return To Work Credit that I have written about above.
So sorry for the length of the post, but it’s a really complicated situation.
Any help anyone can give would be appreciated so much, as I am so poorly with the worry of it all. I hope it would also help any other people who may going through a similar nightmare to me at the moment.
Thanks again in advance
Zippy
I started a new job 5 weeks ago, having been on disability related benefit for almost six years. I was over the moon at getting myself this job, as although I have been volunteering all through the time I have been on disability benefit, it was so lovely to be working again and earning a wage. And the knowledge that my income would be topped up with disabled person’s Working Tax Credits, and Return To Work Credit, was going to make things less of a struggle for me.
I did a two day work trial for this employer, and during that time he expressed how he was more than happy with how I was doing, and that I could start properly the following Monday. Again, during my first week, apart from a few minor teething troubles, he expressed no concerns. I was keen, enthusiastic, and carried out my duties responsibly, and indeed he commented on this himself.
He was made aware that I had a disability at the interview, it was discussed at various points in my first week, and has been discussed since then on various occasions.
However, from the beginning of the second week, the employer started to behave in a bullying manner - making inappropriate comments, unjustified criticisms and behaving in ways that displayed discrimination on the grounds of my disability. It also became clear that he was not prepared to be accommodating on the issues of reasonable adjustments and ‘access to work’. The incidents are too numerous to go into here, but the CAB have informed me that I have a case for disability discrimination – and by extension if I were to resign, for constructive dismissal on those grounds.
The stress this has caused me made the symptoms of my disability (a disorder that involves chronic pain and chronic fatigue) worse, and I was forced to go off sick at the end of my third week. My doctor has since given me a sicknote citing stress, anxiety and worsening of my medical condition, which covers me until June 24th. I was delayed in getting the sicknote to the employer (ie after the 7 day self cert. period), but have since explained to him the reasons for this.
The employer is going to have a ‘disciplinary’ meeting on Monday morning, which I have informed him that I am not well enough to attend. He has cited the purpose of this meeting as being to discuss my not providing a sicknote, the possible reasons for my absence, and my ‘attitude’ to work which was discussed in ‘meeting’ a few weeks ago and in which he “gave me two weeks to show ‘improvement’”. The part about giving me two weeks to show improvement is a fabrication; at no point did he say that. He conducted the ‘meeting’ in a way that was utterly inappropriate and that the CAB advisor was shocked at. There is no written record or follow-up to this ‘meeting’. In any event, for the first week of this two week ‘improvement period’ he was away on holiday, and the second week was my first week off sick. (He has made fabrications on other occasions, both to myself and to third parties involved, both verbally and in writing.) He has also mentioned to a third party that he is going to be considering dismissing me (he has not mentioned on what grounds he is considering this). I have asked for a postponement of this meeting as a reasonable adjustment on the grounds of my disability. He has refused and said that the meeting will go ahead. He has been sending me aggressively toned letters and texts.
The CAB have made me an appointment to see an employment solicitor, but unfortunately the earliest appointment is not until July 2nd. Someone else at the CAB said I need to do a formal grievance letter regarding his behaviour, in the meantime. I have not done this yet, firstly because I have been so poorly for the last two weeks which has made it incredibly difficult to concentrate, and also because I have had to re-apply for disability benefit, and also Housing and Council Tax benefit, and chase GP appointments, which has been horrendously stressful and draining, so I simply have not had the time for anything else. I also realise this grievance letter has to be worded correctly. Ideally I would have liked the employment solicitor to help me with it, but things are now moving on so quickly that now I am wondering if it would be best to do the letter as best I can, and get someone to deliver it to the venue of this meeting on Monday, so that the employer can be presented with it at the meeting.
I have now finally acknowledged to myself that it will be impossible for me to go back to work for this employer. I have been advised for weeks that this is risking ruining my health after I have worked for so long to get myself ready and well enough to return to work. This is causing me a great deal of distress because, like many disabled people in my situation, I wanted to leave benefits and go into work to stay in work, and not return to benefits. (I am now applying for other jobs and hopefully will get another soon.)
Another reason I have ‘dug in’ and tried my hardest to salvage the situation so I could go back to the job is because when I started the job I made a claim for Return To Work Credit (I am definitely entitled to it but they haven’t finished processing the claim yet). I planned to save this £40 a week, and in six months I would have enough for a bond and rent in advance on a flat. I need to move from where I am living now because due to my disability I find it very difficult to manage in certain areas of my day-to-day life, and I need to move to the area where my partner and friends live so that I can get support from them which would make it easier for me to cope. I have been terrified that I would end up losing part of the 52-week entitlement to RTWC in a situation where I had to leave employment within the first year, and therefore not be able to build up these essential savings. I have asked everyone I can think of what the rules on RTWC would be in my situation, and also rung the dedicated Return To Work Credit helpline, but I seem to be getting advice that is at worst confusing, and at best not ‘concrete’. Last night I found this information on the internet in a research report (at http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rports2005-2006/rrep353.pdf, page 14 of the report):
• If recipients stop one job and move to another within five weeks there is no
break in payment. People who finish one job and return to benefit can claim the
‘balance’ of the 52 weeks RTWC entitlement if they start work within 12 weeks
of returning to benefit. This is termed the ‘balance of time’ provision by Jobcentre
Plus. If people claim an incapacity benefit for more than 13 weeks, however,
‘balance of time’ no longer applies. Such people must make a new application
for RTWC, and if entitled thereby requalify for a full 52 weeks payments.
This seems a bit more reassuring; it seems to say that even if I leave this job and don’t get another one within 12 weeks (and go back to my incapacity benefit in the meantime), that I could then make a fresh claim on finding another job. Is there anyone who knows if this is definitely the case, because apart from trying to sort out the horrendous situation with the employer, this is my main worry; it’s eating away at me as I really need that money.
So my main questions are:
1. Grievance letter / dismissal: should I do this grievance letter and have it delivered to the disciplinary meeting on Monday morning, so the employer will read it then? What happens from then? Would he be able to dismiss me before he had responded to my grievance? Does anybody have links to good grievance letter templates?
2. Resigning / future employment tribunal claim: If I resign will it prejudice a future employment tribunal claim? Is it true that as long as you have submitted your grievance letter and allowed time (how long?) for the employer to respond you will have followed the correct procedure? Is it true that you don’t still have to be working for an employer to bring a claim? I am fairly certain that I am going to resign (giving his behaviour as the reason), but when is the best point to do it? I.e is it best to do it before this Thursday as that will be one week before my sicknote expires, therefore my last week of sickness will cover my statutory one week’s notice. (Is the statutory notice period one week if you haven’t been given a contract that specifies anything different – I have not been given a contract yet.)
3. The worries over the Return To Work Credit that I have written about above.
So sorry for the length of the post, but it’s a really complicated situation.
Any help anyone can give would be appreciated so much, as I am so poorly with the worry of it all. I hope it would also help any other people who may going through a similar nightmare to me at the moment.
Thanks again in advance
Zippy
That money talks
I won't deny.
I heard it once,
It said "Goodbye"
I won't deny.
I heard it once,
It said "Goodbye"
0
Comments
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This is typical of the poor advice on complex employment law issues that CAB frequently give. Although it isn't all that complex to be honest. CAB are very good at some things - employment law is not, as a general rule, one of them. You have only worked there a matter of weeks. You therefore cannot claim constructive dismissal (or for that matter, unfair dismissal) because you require 52 weeks employment in an establishment to do so. At best, your only claim on dismissal would be wrongful dismissal if you were dismissed without notice, assuming that no gross misconduct is involved (which I assume it isn't). The award for wrongful dismissal is solely any notice pay due.
In terms of the alleged discrimination, such cases are not straightforward, and you really do need to see what the solicitor says. In discrimination cases, the initial burden of proof is on you, the claimant, to demonstrate to the tribunal that the employer has acted in a way which may be considered discriminatory. If you can do so, then the burden of proof shifts to the employer to show that they have not discriminated. This does make it harder to win discrimination cases, and much will depend upon what evidence or witnesses you have - and any witnesses will have to appear at tribunal, so if they are colleagues, this may not be realistic - they may refise to attend, and if ordered to do so may well lie. People occasionally surprise me by appearing against their own employer and taking a moral stance - but not often enough for me to bet my shirt on it.
You can certainly submit a grievance, and should do so immediately - you should also have asked for a postponement of the disciplinary in writing on the basis of doctors advice that you are unfit. Right now doing this latter thing is crucial, as it may be one of the few things you can absolutely evidence. Failure to postpone or make reasonable adjustments to a disciplinary is "good" from your point of view, so you want all the evidence on this you can get.
In terms of the grievance, you really don't need a template although you will probably find one if you google it. A grievance is nothing more than a complaint, and writing it in your own words is better than trying to be clever or legal about it. However, and I don't want to be negative but this is realistic, tribunals tend to place less weight on grievances about things which have only been raised after a disciplinary meeting has been called. You must do it anyway, but just be aware that on its own it has little merit in terms of any potential case - it will be the evidence and/or witnesses you can provide which will make or break a case.0 -
Thanks for your advice SarEl,You can certainly submit a grievance, and should do so immediately - you should also have asked for a postponement of the disciplinary in writing on the basis of doctors advice that you are unfit. Right now doing this latter thing is crucial, as it may be one of the few things you can absolutely evidence. Failure to postpone or make reasonable adjustments to a disciplinary is "good" from your point of view, so you want all the evidence on this you can get.
I did ask for the postponement in writing – I rang ACAS the day he informed me the meeting would go ahead on Monday, and the guy said to ask for the postponement as a reasonable adjustment on the grounds of my disability. I did also say to them that he was insisting it go ahead while I was off sick but the guy didn’t seem to put any importance on that and just said to make sure that I asked for postponement as a reasonable adjustment on disability grounds.
I had my letter requesting the postponement hand delivered to him on Thursday and he acknowledged it by text the following day, and letter the day after (today). This was where all the aggressive stuff I referred to (words spelt in capital letters – equivalent in texts to shouting, and fabrications about what I had supposedly agreed to, but hadn’t) come in. This text and letter are where he refuses to postpone and says that it will be unreasonable if I do not attend.
I am now drafting another letter requesting postponement again, and will put in something like:
I am requesting, again, that the disciplinary meeting you have called for Monday June 14th be postponed. I am requesting this postponement on the following grounds:
·The symptoms of my disability (name of my condition) have worsened due to incidents at work, and the stress this has caused me.
·I have been advised by my doctor that I am not fit for work. A disciplinary meeting constitutes a part of my employment and it follows therefore that I am not fit to attend
·I am also requesting postponement of the meeting as a reasonable adjustment on the grounds of my disability
Does this sound OK?
I am also now trying to compose a grievance letter but it is looking terribly long winded.
I am wondering whether to date the letter to the day before his text announcing Monday's meeting. I am also wondering whether to put in the grievance letter something about having wanted to submit a grievance before now, but I have been too unwell because of the sickness my doctor has confirmed (which is true). I will putting in information about incidents that can be confirmed by photos and CCTV amongst others, and that obviously happened before the meeting was called, but I'm thinking what I want to do is make it clear in writing that I had grounds to make this grievance before now, and I also want to make sure that he has sight of the grievance before this meeting that I cannot be present at, goes ahead.
Hope that makes sense.
ZippyThat money talks
I won't deny.
I heard it once,
It said "Goodbye"0 -
This all sounds fine except for one point. And it is kind of crucial. Being signed off sick from your mormal work does not mean you don't have to go to a disciplinary - that isn't "normal work". In your case your doctor should have stated clearly that you were also not fit to deal with the disciplinary, and if he or she didn't you are technically not covered to refuse to attend. However, given that you have a clear and long history of disability then this may be taken into less consideration than it might otherwise be if the case gets to tribunal.
But do not backdate the letter - be honest, because it won't help you to be dishonest. Many people don't submit their grievnaces early enough - sad but true. But whatever happens, when it comes to a tribunal (if it does) they can actually spot lies pretty well. Generally because lots of people lie a lot in tribunals, so you do get good at spotting it. Most people are not as good at lying as they like to think. And a few days here or there now won't help you any.
Don't worry about long-winded or anything else. Say what you need to say.
I don't want to put you off in any way at all here, but I do believe it's best to tell people the truth. I've already explained that discrimination claims aren't easy and why. The honest truth is that the majority of claimants loose their cases. You haven't worked there very long, and whilst I don't know any details of what you are claiming, I know exactly what the employer will claim, and without very solid evidence (and I would lay bets that the CCTV you refer to is already gone) you face a long and difficult battle for what is probably not going to be a huge award if you win. Most people think that tribunals make huge payouts - especially for discrimination. The truth is a long way off that. The last published annual statistics for disability discrimination cases say that the median award (that's a true average -adjusted to take into account the off the scale awards you read about in the papers which almost nobody gets!) is just over £7k. Remember - that's if you win, and there aren't any guarantees you will. The best case scenario is to convince the employer you will fight and hope to God that he has no taste for the costs of fighting back. That way he will offer a settlement to finish the claim. Your solicitor will be able to give you advice on all this in more detail.0 -
Seriously, think about moving on.
You've only been there 5 weeks and it obviously isn't working out. Sometimes that happens ... it often takes more than just a couple of days to know if a job is right for both parties. By hanging on, you'll just prolong your pain & suffering ... and to be honest I doubt the situation will ever really change in the future.
That may or may not be the legal position that grants you your full legal rights, but is probably the best advice. To battle on is without doubt going to increase your stress levels, and that by your own admission will cause you chronic pain.
Best of luck for the future. I'm sure you'll find somewhere much more sympathetic to your disabilities where you'll really enjoy working without the stress you are currently experiencing, and you'll look back in the happy knowledge of what destiny provided
. "Now to trolling as a concept. .... Personally, I've always found it a little sad that people choose to spend such a large proportion of their lives in this way but they do, and we have to deal with it." - MSE Forum Manager 6th July 20100 -
Premier has a very vaild point and you should definitely give it serious consideration. That is why I advise people that tribunals are far from easy places, and there are never (or rarely) any guarantees of winning. It's a hard balance to make - people have legal rights and have the right to fight if they believe their rights have been ignored, so I don't want to put someone off doing just that; but at the same time, nobody should think that it is easy. There are consequences to starting a case - they can get very nasty and stressful and you cannot be assured that there will be a win at the end of it. But at the same time, such decisions have to be yours, and people here can only advise, so that advice is best when it is balanced with pro's and con's. I wouldn't suggest rushing into anything - putting in the request for a postponment and/or grievance is good common sense, but neither commit you to anything. Then see what the solicitor has to say, and if he or she thinks you have a good enough case, think about whether that is what you want to do considering all the aspects, such as the stress and effort required, and the chances that even if you eventally win (tribunals can take several months or longer to be listed) you may only win a small amount - perhaps a few £100's. Then you can make a rational judgement about how worthwhile it is to you.0
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The others have given good advice and I cannot really add any more to what they have said other than to agree with them. You havent been there very long and it is probably better for you to leave - I am not saying this in a nasty way as things are likely to get worse rather than better between you and your employer.
When applying for jobs look a businesses with the Two Ticks scheme - they are positive about disabled people. As for Access to Work, you contact them yourself as opposed to the employer doing that for you and as you have only been there 5 weeks Access to Work would bear the whole cost of any reasonable adjustment - after this time the employer has to pay a proportion.
Not all employers are the same so don't let this experience put you off.
By all means submit a grievance - send it to his boss or to your HR Dept and be honest don't start backdating letters etc - put in the letter the time frame of when the 'discrimation' started and note down the text message that he sent to you (I am hoping that you didnt delete it).
Good luck and I hope you feel better soon.0 -
There are some excellent points here, but I don't think I saw the one that I think is important. Quite regardless of whether you win in a discrimination claim, you need to ask "will it cause me problems if I don't bring one?". I don't know the specifics of how it works, but right now, you need to check whether there is any danger that being 'sacked' (albeit on almost certainly spurious grounds) will impact on your rights to benefit. If there is, you have to be a pain in your former employer's backside.Mortgage started on 22.5.09 : £129,600Overpayments to date: £3000June grocery challenge: 400/6000
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And the OP in dire need of advice is where?0
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The others have given good advice and I cannot really add any more to what they have said other than to agree with them. You havent been there very long and it is probably better for you to leave - I am not saying this in a nasty way as things are likely to get worse rather than better between you and your employer.
When applying for jobs look a businesses with the Two Ticks scheme - they are positive about disabled people. As for Access to Work, you contact them yourself as opposed to the employer doing that for you and as you have only been there 5 weeks Access to Work would bear the whole cost of any reasonable adjustment - after this time the employer has to pay a proportion.
Not all employers are the same so don't let this experience put you off.
By all means submit a grievance - send it to his boss or to your HR Dept and be honest don't start backdating letters etc - put in the letter the time frame of when the 'discrimation' started and note down the text message that he sent to you (I am hoping that you didnt delete it).
Good luck and I hope you feel better soon.
Thanks Horace - I know about the 2 ticks scheme and I'm going to be doing a (unpaid) work placement soon with a user of the scheme - it will hopefully get me a bit more acquainted with the world of work again, and also experience of working in an environment where it's common practice to treat people like human beings and with respect. I think that I've been in volunteering so long, around people and organisations with good attitudes on equality and fairness, that it's come as a massive shock to the system to be confronted with a person like this, the kind of person I'd normally go out of my way to avoid.
I am doing my grievance letter now - he is the boss unfortunately (one man band) so I've no choice other than to send it to him. I will be referring to the time frame and also to the texts (I didn't delete them).
ZippyThat money talks
I won't deny.
I heard it once,
It said "Goodbye"0 -
There are some excellent points here, but I don't think I saw the one that I think is important. Quite regardless of whether you win in a discrimination claim, you need to ask "will it cause me problems if I don't bring one?". I don't know the specifics of how it works, but right now, you need to check whether there is any danger that being 'sacked' (albeit on almost certainly spurious grounds) will impact on your rights to benefit. If there is, you have to be a pain in your former employer's backside.
Thanks for that interesting point kunekune.
Hopefully it 'shouldn't' be an issue. I had been on long term Income Support 'on the grounds of incapacity' (isn't that a lovely turn of phrase?!) and so supposedly will return to that at the same rate under the 104-week linking rule. Indeed I have had to make a new claim for it from the time I went off sick because I wasn't entitled to SSP because of the same rule.
I say 'shouldn't' be an issue because from past experience with JobCentrePlus / DWP I always worry that if something can go wrong, it will...But we just have to get on with it, don't we?
I do actually wonder though having said that whether it would be better for me to leave (after I've submitted the grievance of course) rather than be dismissed. I don't actually know how the letter from JCP was worded - it may have been something along the lines of 'if you need to leave your job through sickness'... I'll have to check.
Ideally I'd like to see the solicitor in 2 1/2 weeks and get his advice on that before I do anything, but goodness knows what this employer will do in the meantime...
ZippyThat money talks
I won't deny.
I heard it once,
It said "Goodbye"0
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