Help with employers and illness

bettyboo333

Please please can somebody help me I work for the largest organisation in this country!! should be the caring employer you can quess who?? I currently work 22.5 hrs but the job is extremely stressfull. I have brittle type 1 diabetes and is very hard to control at times 2 months ago I was involved in a car accident due to me having a hypoglyceamic attack which came out of the blue...I 'm devastated!! my gp signed me off til now so that I could get over the injuries and try and get my illness under some kind of control. Back in work this week and my boss has not been understnding at all. I'm unable to drive at present awaiting DVLA decision but have tried to sort out majority of my working duties to be done from my clinic...but my boss is not happy with this. They are trying to get me to state that I'm not fit for work and they are now harrassing me to do this have got the union involved but they still try and visit me at home and unarranged visits at work to hassle me to cave in. All the stress is not helping my illness at all and I'm feeling very low at the moment. What could I do if they force me to stop working or reduce my hours??? we struggle financially as we are and I could not afford to loose any pay!! can anybody advise me at all?????

macalacka

firstly calm down, your employer is only doing what any other employer would do, home visits and meetings at work are reasonable. If you do not feel they are at work then you are not fit to be at work.

be as reasonable, helpful and informative as you can with your employer.

Emmzi

Well, the reality is that they do not have to pay you indefinitely so if you are going to be off for a while you may need to plan for the worst.

Re: unannounced visits. keep them on the doorstep while you call your rep and ask for guidance?

Have you seen occupational health and what did they suggest?

bettyboo333

Emmzi wrote: »

Well, the reality is that they do not have to pay you indefinitely so if you are going to be off for a while you may need to plan for the worst.

Re: unannounced visits. keep them on the doorstep while you call your rep and ask for guidance?

Have you seen occupational health and what did they suggest?

Have seen Occupational health and they have suggested measures that my bosses should do to help but nothing has been done i.e office where there are other people just in case I have a hypo etc, Occuational Health don't have much else to say

McKneff

Im a bit confused, are yuo working or not.

What is wrong with admitting you are not fit for work yet.

Surely yo are sending in fit notes from your doctor to say you are not fit for work yet

Stop stressing about it. Read your contract as to what sick pay you are entitled to.

Emmzi

so it is down to whether boss can implement adjustments in a way that is fair to others in the workforce etc. (as in, it is not reasonable to chance someone else's job to accommodate you if it inconveniences the other person, etc)

Are these adjustment for now or forever?

If there is no way you can do your contracted job, and no alternative job for you, then you have your answer. Even the Equality Act (which may apply if your condition has serious impact on day to day life + expected last last for 12+ months) doesn't say the employer has to move heaven and earth for you. If your normal job is home visits, then a clinic based job does not fulfil those requirements.

bettyboo333

Emmzi wrote: »

so it is down to whether boss can implement adjustments in a way that is fair to others in the workforce etc. (as in, it is not reasonable to chance someone else's job to accommodate you if it inconveniences the other person, etc)

Are these adjustment for now or forever?

If there is no way you can do your contracted job, and no alternative job for you, then you have your answer. Even the Equality Act (which may apply if your condition has serious impact on day to day life + expected last last for 12+ months) doesn't say the employer has to move heaven and earth for you. If your normal job is home visits, then a clinic based job does not fulfil those requirements.

I come under the Disability and discrimination act and I thought that meant I had rights and that my employer have to make adjustments to acomadate this. I am hoping my liscence will only be revoked for 6 months...I am in work returned this week do not want to be off

bettyboo333

McKneff wrote: »

Im a bit confused, are yuo working or not.

What is wrong with admitting you are not fit for work yet.

Surely yo are sending in fit notes from your doctor to say you are not fit for work yet

Stop stressing about it. Read your contract as to what sick pay you are entitled to.

I feel that I am fit for work at this moment my bosses are trying to get me to admit that I am not fit to work long term so that they can dismiss me....I'm a costly employee in their eyes!! However I have managed to cover all my working duties without the need to drive

Emmzi

They have to make "reasonable" adjustments. Not every possible adjustment, o for example hiring you a car and driver would not be reasonable, even of it made you able to work.

There is no strict definition of reasonable in law, but to my mind if you have a job with driving, and you can't drive, then no adjustment is going to make that reasonable.

I'd start thinking more "how can I do some of my job" rather than "my rights", because you don't have as many as you think. I know that sounds harsh, but it'll be how your boss is thinking.

bettyboo333

Emmzi wrote: »

They have to make "reasonable" adjustments. Not every possible adjustment, o for example hiring you a car and driver would not be reasonable, even of it made you able to work.

There is no strict definition of reasonable in law, but to my mind if you have a job with driving, and you can't drive, then no adjustment is going to make that reasonable.

I'd start thinking more "how can I do some of my job" rather than "my rights", because you don't have as many as you think. I know that sounds harsh, but it'll be how your boss is thinking.

Very harsh hoping for some support not harsh comments let me quess you work for the same organisation!! and my work is not predominently dependant on driving

Emmzi

No, I don't, I work in HR for a different large employer, and I've been on both sides of the table. I can't tell you it will all be ok, because it might not be. I'm just trying to tell it like it is. I'm sorry it isn't great news for you, but I would seriously be thinking about the very most I could manage to do, not the letter of the law - because the law may not protect you. I'd rather you knew that than be mollycoddled.

And the NHS is renowned for taking a very tough line on sick absence. So you need a rotweiller of a union rep, to show you have made every possible adjustment yourself, and have a reasonable list of easy things your boss can do to help. With that, there may be a chance.