Occupational Health referrals.....ATOS

dori2o

Hi,

Has anyone here attended an occupational health referral conducted by ATOS.

My employer is referring me again (5th time in 6 years) but where the referrals used to be dealt with by Capita Healthcare Solutions, it is now dealt with via ATOS.

Currently I am covered under the Equalities Act (formerly DDA) based on the opinion of the doctor I last saw at Capita.

My condition has worsened since then, but with the stories regarding the unfairness of the ESA assessments conducvted by ATOS, I am worried that when I go and see the new doctor, they will say that in their opinion I will not be covered by the EA. This would remove the adjustments and the protection I am currently afforded by being covered under the act, with the only sure way to get a binding decision is to go via a tribunal.

Any advice is appreciated.

Googlewhacker

why are they sending you to the OH for the 5th time in 6 years? Are you having excessive time off or are they just doing it on a yearly basis?

dori2o

Googlewhacker wrote: »

why are they sending you to the OH for the 5th time in 6 years? Are you having excessive time off or are they just doing it on a yearly basis?

It's due to time off.

19 occassions sick totalling 507 days in the past 6 years.

Googlewhacker

Wow! That is a lot of time (32% of your total working time), you have to be understanding in that their patience is could be wearing thin...

I would say you would still covered by the equality act and if the OH says you are not then you should be able to get your doctor to say in their opinion it is covered and then get the company to go for a third opinion/

The company could look at going down capability routes though because this is ongoing. Hopefully not because it seems they have been very patient so far.

I would suggest if you are in a union get some proper advice and if not in a union maybe look at seeing a solicitor?

dori2o

Googlewhacker wrote: »

Wow! That is a lot of time (32% of your total working time), you have to be understanding in that their patience is could be wearing thin...

I would say you would still covered by the equality act and if the OH says you are not then you should be able to get your doctor to say in their opinion it is covered and then get the company to go for a third opinion/

The company could look at going down capability routes though because this is ongoing. Hopefully not because it seems they have been very patient so far.

I would suggest if you are in a union get some proper advice and if not in a union maybe look at seeing a solicitor?

I appreciate that I have been afforded a lot of leeway with my absences, and I know that one day this is going to result in me leaving my employment one way or another.

The employer asked about capabilities on the last referral and were told by the doctor in his report that my attendance is unlikely to improve and will probably get worse due to the degenerative nature of the condition, unless there is a breakthrough in medical research related to my condition. They also asked about ill health retirement, but the doctor dismissed it out of hand.

I am in the Union, so when it comes to the referral they are more than willing to go with me and will prepare me for it as they did last time.

Googlewhacker

dori2o wrote: »

I appreciate that I have been afforded a lot of leeway with my absences, and I know that one day this is going to result in me leaving my employment one way or another.

The employer asked about capabilities on the last referral and were told by the doctor in his report that my attendance is unlikely to improve and will probably get worse due to the degenerative nature of the condition, unless there is a breakthrough in medical research related to my condition. They also asked about ill health retirement, but the doctor dismissed it out of hand.

I am in the Union, so when it comes to the referral they are more than willing to go with me and will prepare me for it as they did last time.

Only you know how your employer is but ultimately I think you need to prepare for the worst in that they will sometime start to look to dismiss you on capability grounds and they have shown themselves to be very reasonable or just naive from the information you have given.

I'm surprised the union are not giving you more information on this possibility.

dori2o

Googlewhacker wrote: »

Only you know how your employer is but ultimately I think you need to prepare for the worst in that they will sometime start to look to dismiss you on capability grounds and they have shown themselves to be very reasonable or just naive from the information you have given.

I'm surprised the union are not giving you more information on this possibility.

I'm aware of the capability/ill health retirement options as this has been discussed at length, but my concerns surround the new OHA contract with ATOS which commences on 1st February.

Googlewhacker

Then your union should be able to provide you with the information you need, if your contact doesn't then go higher up the chain.

copa_feela

dori2o wrote: »

I'm aware of the capability/ill health retirement options as this has been discussed at length, but my concerns surround the new OHA contract with ATOS which commences on 1st February.

The OH Dept at ATOS is entirely separately from the division that does DWP medicals.

Yorkie1

Quite a few years ago now, but when I saw ATOS people for an OH requirement they were fine. On the other hand, a colleague says they knew less about her (pretty rare) condition than she did.

Uncertain

Yorkie1 wrote: »

On the other hand, a colleague says they knew less about her (pretty rare) condition than she did.

Well that is not entirely surprising. The OH physician's role is to advise the employer how the person's condition may affect their work. It is not to diagnose or treat the condition.