How to resign while on long term sick leave

TrixieB

I have been off work for some months no with no chance of return in the foreseeable future.

My firm have stopped paying SSP now, they are starting to go down the dismissal for being medically unfit road.

I have just found out I am not entitled to any ESA cont or inc. so I may as well resign, I can't see any benefit dragging it along any further, wasting their money on occ therapist asssessments and my time on attending them when we all know what the outcome is going to be, was pre-ordained anyway as they would find any excuse to dismiss me as my face doesn't fit

I have holiday pay accrued having not taken any this year, 11/12ths if I leave it til the 1st Dec and also a lieu day - not sure what happens with that.

I'm also not sure what happens with notice pay when you are off sick and not receieving SSP, I have to give one weeks notice. Will I be paid this at my normal rate or will I get nothing? Also does the week have to run Monday-Friday? Can't find anything in handbook addressing this.
I cannot ask my manager as for one thing he barely knows anything himself - not being sour grapes at all btw, he simply doesn't know employment law at all, even the basics! - and I have a feeling he would give me duff info to make me lose out on money.

I would be really grateful for any advice as to wether I am doing the right thing here as well as answers to the above.

And if anyone is bored enough help to word my letter? It's taken me an hour almost to put this post together as pills i am on don't help the thought process much!

Googlewhacker

You will be paid all accrued holiday and your notice period as full.

I could understand resigning if the company have been a good company and you don't want them to incur more costs but utlimately if they have been not great then why not just sit tight and keep accruing holiday?

McKneff

Hello Trixie,
What is the nature of your illness, what does your GP say about you getting bck to work in the future.

The general consensus on here is to let them dismiss you, you are accruing holiday pay.

Uncertain

I would agree entirely with the above.

Apart from a brief feel good factor from being free of the company it does not make any sense to resign in your circumstances.

Sit tight, let the company make all the moves and respond to each step as s-l-o-w-l-y as reasonable possible.

If nothing else you are accruing paid holiday so you are, in effect, getting full pay for one day every two weeks.

Sometimes, under these circumstances, a firm will offer a compromise agreement. They certainly don't have to but some companies get nervous about capability dismissals and like to protect themselves against any possibility of a claim.

G51shopaholic

Who told you you couldn't get ESA?

I was off sick and when sick pay finished applied for ESA and was granted Support Group status.

My employer waited a year and then dismissed me on medical grounds. i was happy with this as i got 4 weeks FULL notice & holiday pay.

If your sick pay has ended then you ARE entitled to ESA.

jetplane

I take it that when you say that you are not entitled to Income Based or Contributionary Based ESA it is becasue you either have a partner who is earning or have not paid enough NI contributions? If not have you been to a medical, have you appealed?

Don't resign, you are not thinking clearly. I agree with the other posters let your employer do their worst. If they really are that ignorant of employment law they might make a mistake.

Another angle is that you may actually get a referral or treatment that you need through one of these occ health assessments. It might take a whole lot longer if you need to start again with your GP.

I don't know what your illness is but an occ health assessment may find that you are covered by disability discrimination and your employer may be able to make reasonable adjustments.

There may even be someone on here who can advise how you can release your holiday pay.

Uncertain

jetplane wrote: »

There may even be someone on here who can advise how you can release your holiday pay.

You can't insist on it I'm afraid. The firm may well agree to pay it as they (presumably) realise they will have to pay it sooner or later but they could refuse. Also it may concentrate their minds on resolving the issue. Maybe best not to poke the bear.

Just to be clear, the OP cannot lose their statutory holiday entitlement as a result of being off sick. If the firm won't pay it at the moment it just carries over and keeps accruing. Normal end of holiday year rules etc don't apply.

If the OP gets any additional holiday over and above the statutory minimum of 28 days then the firm can apply pretty much any rules they like to this part and the OP may well lose it.

Uncertain

G51shopaholic wrote: »

If your sick pay has ended then you ARE entitled to ESA.

No sorry that is far too sweeping.

There can be quite a number of circumstances where it is not available and we do not have anything like enough information to know in this case.

skintandscared_2

Would resigning have more of an impact on future benefits than being dismissed? i.e. would there be a sanction on claiming after resigning, but not after being dismissed?

Uncertain

skintandscared wrote: »

Would resigning have more of an impact on future benefits than being dismissed? i.e. would there be a sanction on claiming after resigning, but not after being dismissed?

Probably not if the OP has medical evidence to back up her reason for resigning.

However you can only claim JSA if you are actively seeking work and, by the sound of it, she is not fit enough to do so at the moment.

My advice remains very firmly to sit tight.

TrixieB

hello

to answer some points -

No chance I could go back to this kind of position again when am well for physical reasons and nothing alternative/adjustments they could make for me in the company.

I have had my 28 weeks SSP.

I have applied for ESA and got the no letter today - I was self employed during some of the applicable years and haven't paid enough stamps. I have posted another thread about this which I will check in a min as to when I could reapply for ESA.

Treatments etc well in hand, no need for Occ health to get invloved, NHS have been fab and on the ball.