Terminal Illness ....going down to zero pay .

greendollar

Here's another one for you .

A colleague has just been informed , after a visit from his union rep , that as he will have been off sick for a year in Jan he will get no more pay (currently on half pay).

This colleague has been informed that he is terminally ill (cancer) and needs to get all his finances sorted as the union have basically told him its up to him to do .

He has had no contact from his employer regarding anything to do with his pay , if they are going to pay him off or anything .

What is he entitled to (22yrs service) ,or what should his employers be doing to help in what is obviously a very difficult time? and what should he be doing to get the ball rolling as time is of the essence here .

regards Greendollar

Oldernotwiser

Regardless of the situation at work, if he is expected to live for less than 6 months he should make an immediate application for DLA under the Special Rules.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/disabledpeople/financialsupport/dg_10011731

MrsManda

Will he be eligible for Statutory Sick Pay?

If he's not eligible for SSP he can claim Employment Support Allowance

MrRedundant

However from an employment perspective if he has exhausted all Occupational pay they can simply not pay him any further; In a situation like this they could go down the dismissal route but they probably figure there is no point in this as it will add costs and hassle to both parties when it will come to an end through natural occurence without this.

He will still be entitled to any DLA/SSP etc but this is his responsibility or his carers to check and arrange.

I know its not ideal but I dont think his employer have been too bad here; they could have forced him through a dismissal and all the hassle that goes with that simply to get him off the payroll now and a lot of companies probably would have.

greendollar

Thank you for your prompt replies ,

In his contract ( don't know exact details) he should be paid off , retired due to ill health and also entitled to 2 years full pay ...... there is obviously quite a lot of money involved . Having been employed by the same company and know how underhand they can be my fear is that they will avoid their responsibilites , I suppose he should write and ask to be retired on ill health and ask them to meet their obligations . Thanks again

Vader123

He has been medically retired? You never mentioned that in your first post, that changes things somewhat as there are policies on medical retirement.

Writing and contacting his union rep is a good place to start.

Vader

dmg24

greendollar wrote: »

Thank you for your prompt replies ,

In his contract ( don't know exact details) he should be paid off , retired due to ill health and also entitled to 2 years full pay ...... there is obviously quite a lot of money involved . Having been employed by the same company and know how underhand they can be my fear is that they will avoid their responsibilites , I suppose he should write and ask to be retired on ill health and ask them to meet their obligations . Thanks again

That is a very generous policy, but does he actually qualify for medical retirement?

Sambucus_Nigra

Before you advise him anything - please check that there isn't a 'death in service' policy - which could result in money for his dependents if he does die when still on the books. Actually, I'd consult an employment solicitor before he does anything.

MrRedundant

In the case you have said it really depends on the medical retirement policy. Without this it is hard to advise.

What does the policy say in regards to the requirements to meet a medical discharge. It is possible that an illness of this sort isn't seen as a medical discharge however its pretty impossible to say.

greendollar

Thanks again for the prompt replies ,

He's not been medically retired but I would assume being terminally ill he would meet the criteria , and yes SN there is a 'death in service ' payout if he's still on their books .
Best to dig a little deeper and find out his best options to see how much he(or rather his family) would get by the the way of a 'death in service ' payout or retiring on the grounds of ill health.

The trouble is he has had very little contact from the employer about their stance on the matter other than what he has been told that he will get nothing from January onwards .

SarEl

Sambucus_Nigra wrote: »

Before you advise him anything - please check that there isn't a 'death in service' policy - which could result in money for his dependents if he does die when still on the books. Actually, I'd consult an employment solicitor before he does anything.

I agree. Although the cheaper alternative might be to start with requesting the relevant policies and documents from HR if he doesn't have them. It's a tragic situation, but for the sake of any dependants he needs to know what his best option might be, because death in service policies can be exceedingly high, and worth far more than other payments.