Local Government Retirement Pension Ill Health Retirement Mental Health

lawtcrav

I have been trying to access my local government pension on ill (mental) health grounds since 2005. I have an extremely complex and chronic psychiatric condition dating back to childhood and have been deemed to be psychiatrically disabled as per the DDA and EqA by an eminent professor in psychiatry, who also certifies I am entitled to an ill health pension from 2005. However, although my claim has been the subject of a successful complaint to the pension's ombudsman my local authority has never had me examined by a psychiatrist. I have only ever been seen by physicians and this has allowed them throughout to reject my claim.
I am now claiming indirect discrimination in an ET against my ex employer and its agents and a failure to make reasonable adjustments because it has yet again had me examined by a physician, who is also in their pay. The LA uses the doctor's company for medicals all the time.
Please all you legal eagles out there consider this. Am I being discriminated against either directly or indirectly on the grounds of my particular (mental) disability. Is it too simple an argument to say that a person with a physical condition has the right to be examined by a physician, so a person with mental health problems has the right to be examined by a psychiatrist or psychologist, especially if it is in relation to employment.
Does my action lie in an employment tribunal or elsewhere. Any other comments or advice would be welcomed.

Loughton_Monkey

This is not really a 'legal' forum at all. You might care to try the Employment forum.

I can give you just my unauthoritative opinion, and that is that your difficulty probably lies more with your ET and the legal side of things. You see it is impossible to leave a company for two reasons. [E.g. you can be made redundant, or you can be retired on grounds of ill-health, but not both].

Since you refer to your 'ex' employer, I assume termination (for reasons unknown to us) has already happened. If and when this decision can be overturned, I suspect you could be free, then, to persue early retirement on the grounds of ill-health. However, your reference to activity in 2005 implies to me (I may be wrong) that you did indeed try that route, while you were employed, and it failed despite appeals to the Ombudsman. It would be very difficult, I think, to obtain much useful response/advice on this forum regarding complex medical/job issues going back 5 years.

Sorry not to be of more help. The only other small observation I have relates to your statement that the illness dates back to childhood. If this were not disclosed at the time of employment, then I think retirement through ill-health on a 'pre-existing' condition is always going to be extremely difficult.