discrimination at work; please help, advice needed before Monday!

T800

zippy75 wrote: »

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...

Zippy

Rather than wait for the CAB's solicitor, why not find an employment lawyer in your local area? It is possible to claim for this on your house insurance policy. Or obtain the assistance of a no-win no fee solicitor.

zippy75

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.

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 .

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.

Thanks SarEl and Premier for your very wise advice; as I said I have come to the conclusion that I won't be going back there.

It's just that I have to work out the right way of ending the job, while still making sure I challenge the unnacceptable behaviour that has happened. And making sure my entitlements to benefits aren't messed up.

I have decided that I am definitely going to take solicitors advice on what he thinks is best; I'm not going to be a masochist about it if he thinks it isn't a good idea to take it to tribunal.

But obviously I'm going to feel a whole lot better about it when I get the benefits and HB and CTB situation sorted out. And even better than that when I get myself another job! This time I'm going to find myself an employer who is actually accountable to someone, rather than one who is too used to running the show and thinks they can get away with whatever they feel like.

Zippy

zippy75

T800 wrote: »

Rather than wait for the CAB's solicitor, why not find an employment lawyer in your local area? It is possible to claim for this on your house insurance policy. Or obtain the assistance of a no-win no fee solicitor.

I will have a think about that T800, but to be honest, there's no guarantee that any other solicitor I might find would be any better than the CAB's. And I don't know anyone who could make a personal recommendation. Also I need to concentrate on getting myself well (well, more well than I am now, anyway!) over the next few weeks rather than giving myself any more tasks to do!

Good tip about the house insurance thing though; ironically I was about to take out contents insurance with a legal assistance option a few weeks ago, but got distracted by all these work problems!

Zippy

dmg24

zippy75 wrote: »

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.

You will not be sanctioned if you go back on to sickness benefits.

T800 wrote: »

Rather than wait for the CAB's solicitor, why not find an employment lawyer in your local area? It is possible to claim for this on your house insurance policy. Or obtain the assistance of a no-win no fee solicitor.

Legal cover is only covered by insurance if you take out legal assistance as part of your policy. A no win no fee solicitor will not be interested in a case on an advice only basis. However, many sols offer a free initial appt.

zippy75

dmg24,

dmg24 wrote: »

You will not be sanctioned if you go back on to sickness benefits.

Thanks for this info dmg24,

Do you know if Income Support were supposed to do a rapid reclaim when I reclaimed when I went off sick a few weeks back?

I was told to ring new claims, I told them the situation, told them I had just come off Income Support with Incapacity Benefit Credits, and was put through a horrendous 55 minute interview while they filled out the form.

At every turn there was confusion; the lady kept saying things like "it says you're not entitled to IS (or it might have been IB) but we'll claim it anyway".

When I received the form to sign it was full of mistakes, like "you have not told us that you are unfit for work", and "you have told us that you are looking for work" (which I might actually have said - I was so stressed out by the end of the phonecall I could barely remember my own name).

I'm not sure how to deal with this form because I don't know if there's a 'right' way to correct the answers, or if there were mistakes in the way she asked the questions which might mean there were other options on the computer which now aren't on the form because of the answers she keyed in (I hope that makes sense). Or even if this was the right application at all (hence my question about the rapid reclaim).

I have asked every agency I can think of for help with the form this week, but all they say is 'just correct the mistakes and send it back', without listening to what I am asking.

I have not been able to concentrate at all to deal with the form, because I have been so poorly and have also had to deal with the employer's actions all week.

Do you have any thoughts?

Thanks

Zippy

ps. when you said I will not be sanctioned, did you mean that is the case even if I were to be dismissed?

Premier_2

zippy75 wrote: »

...This time I'm going to find myself an employer who is actually accountable to someone, rather than one who is too used to running the show and thinks they can get away with whatever they feel like.

Zippy

Best of luck in your hunt which may be a long and hard one if that is what you are seeking.

The management of most companies are there to 'run the show' and they are only usually accountable to their shareholders (who may or may not be one & the same)

zippy75

Premier wrote: »

Best of luck in your hunt which may be a long and hard one if that is what you are seeking.

The management of most companies are there to 'run the show' and they are only usually accountable to their shareholders (who may or may not be one & the same)

I think you may have misunderstood what I was getting at when I said that Premier...

What I mean is that this person runs their business with little regard for proper health and safety procedures, and barely any regard for human dignity, and has been getting away with that so is happy to keep doing it because they think it's fine, and there is literally no one to tell them it's not, because it's just him.

What I mean when I say

'This time I'm going to find myself an employer who is actually accountable to someone'

is - ideally to work for an employer (maybe in the public sector) where there are a lot of people working there and you have someone to turn to (like HR or someone else in the department) if and when things go wrong.

Hope that clears that up.

Zippy

T800

zippy75 wrote: »

I think you may have misunderstood what I was getting at when I said that Premier...

What I mean is that this person runs their business with little regard for proper health and safety procedures, and barely any regard for human dignity, and has been getting away with that so is happy to keep doing it because they think it's fine, and there is literally no one to tell them it's not, because it's just him.

What I mean when I say

'This time I'm going to find myself an employer who is actually accountable to someone'

is - ideally to work for an employer (maybe in the public sector) where there are a lot of people working there and you have someone to turn to (like HR or someone else in the department) if and when things go wrong.

Hope that clears that up.

Zippy

Ive worked in public sector civil servant roles for a few years, it is little different from corporate world. Some places are better than others but overall its a cruel world out there. There is the idea that we have employment laws to protect from bad employers but most of it is an illussion - if you try to demand your rights a big boot is ready to trample down upon you. Most people learn to just be quiet, grin and bear it for an "easy" life.