please help - really worried

newcook

I hope there are some bods out there who can help.

OH has just been asked to hand in his notice - he has been off sick for a couple of weeks with depression and anxiety mainly caused by work (no work sick pay just ssp) but today was first day back.
not long after he arrived he got took into a meeting with his boss and director and basically told he needs to get himself sorted and once he is sorted he can apply for a job in another dept.

first of all - is there anything he/we can claim? I earn £16k - he did earn 18k

I am also really worried that we are going to lose our house because of this - we have only had the mortgage since August so I dont think we will be able to take a mortgage break.
next month moneywise was going to be tight anyway due to us only getting my wage plus OH ssp but I am really worried for the near future - we used our savings last year for the deposit on the house and buying furniture and stuff so don't even have a little fallback...

OH doesn't plan to be out of work for long but does agree that he needs to get himself sorted

thanks xx

flowerofscotland

Hi,

How long has your OH worked for his employer? Employment rights normally begin after 12 months employment.

Bit confused that they are asking him to hand in his notice - they need to terminate his employment. Have his employers followed the correct disciplinary procedures?

It's not my area of expertise but I think that if you leave a job voluntarily you don't qualify for JSA for a few weeks.

Good luck - hope something comes along

lexi

sorry to hear of your probs. my hubby was off work 6 yrs ago with severe depression. Work decided to let him go (cos they could) until i stepped in and asked if they could help as he had a very good record & had been there for 20 yrs. 2 wks later they gave him redundancy so perhaps your OH could try that? If not is it absolutely out of the question for him to try one of the other jobs they are talking about? Dont understand them asking for him to hand in his notice, as if he is in the right mind to make that decision. On the money front. My OH went on IB after finishing , but we didnt get any other help. No IS just child tax credit at £ 12 -15 quid a week. i was also on 16k a yr. good luck.

TOBRUK

I'm afraid I can't give any advice, but there is something very odd about this and whatever you do, don't let him give in his notice! You say he has only been off sick for a couple of weeks! What sort of employer asks you to jack it in after two weeks off sick!

He will not be able to claim benefit if he resigns, he must tell them that he will not give in his notice - if they want to get rid of him let them sack him. Perhaps they have no legal grounds to sack him ... they may be worried that if they do so they could facing unfair dismissal?

Something is not right here. I hope someone will be along to give you advise - who knows what they are talking about.
Good luck

seven-day-weekend

Do not let him give in his notice! Stay off sick and let them sack him. Meanwhile, get some help from the CAB.

jem170884

I agree dont let him quit!!! They must not have grounds to fire him and if they do then it IS UNFAIR DISMISSAL, this situation os obviously not helping his condition either so technically if they become un bearable then he would be able to claim CONSTRUCTIVE dismissal, as they have made his condition worse so he had no other option but to leave his job, depending on how long he has worked their he can take them to an employment tribunal. As long as you are not in your probationary period you can do this as I am in the process of doing so with no contract and 9 months employment behind me. If you are strapped for cash look online to see if you are entitled to legal aid or if not find a solicitor that will take you on contingency (no win, no fee) they will take a large chunk of the money but he will be compensated for loss of earnings and stress! Best of luck but you really do need to call round CAB and solicitors (who will be willing to see him 1st time for no payment) to see if there is anyone that can give you some proper legal advice. Also the jobcentre have an employment law department, give them a call on the jobcenter direct number and they can give you the correct number to call. This will also go on his records so if you did need to claim any benefits they will have the full story!

cattie

Unfortunately, they can claim that his illness is preventing him from carrying out his duties as efficiently as required & dismiss him on those grounds. But as others mention here, let them dismiss him. He shouldn't hand in his notice.

His best bet may well be to go back to the dr & get signed off & let the company go through the dismissal proceedure whilst he is off sick. This can't be doing his mental health much good, poor man.

Coupon-mad

Absolutely agree with others, DON'T let him hand in his notice, he doesn't have to just because they put pressure on him to do so.

If he hands in his notice I think he may not be able to claim Jobseekers' Allowance (is this still the case, as I think it was when OH was made redundant a few years ago).

I think they are trying to avoid the other 2 options they have as his employer:

1. Making him redundant and having to pay him redundancy money, or

2. Sacking him as he is unfit to do his job (lots of Personnel paperwork, takes time and they know they have to get this just right procedure-wise or he could then claim unfair dismissal).


Show your OH the above responses and don't let him hand in his notice. He should get to see his Doctor and explain how depressed and under pressure his job is making him feel (if he gets signed off and then they do sack him, at least he can claim benefits and/or unfair dismissal if they get it wrong. They deserve a claim against them IMHO from what has been posted here by the OP).

You would be well advised to also pay a visit to your local CAB. Maybe go together so you can both hear the advice and act on it as a united couple.

newcook

he has already handed in his notice and his boss has took him home - he has been given a kind of golden hand shake (copper plated?) in the fact he has been told not to worry about the mortgage...
have heard on the grapevine (we work for the same company) that another dept wants him to work there - its about 3k less that what he was on but virtually stress free. the job isn't available for about 2 weeks so will be able to take time off to get head together and also decide what he wants to do as he does enjoy working for the company.
starting to feel that there is a very fine line between !!!!!! and manure...!

thanks everyone for your input xx I was having visions of having to put the house on the market...

the company we work for are quite good in the sense that if you are a hard worker you get rewarded quite well and they rarely want to see people go - if they have to let people go they tend to pay them off and they would rather you resign than them sack you.

at least they have left the door open for him

Savvy_Sue

ACAS ......

wickedwitch_2

What kind of company makes an employee resign to work in a different department?

If your husband has worked for this company for over 12 months then he will lose all the employment rights protection he has accrued and will start again from scratch.

I seriously advise you to get some independent advice on this. Even though it may seem that the company is doing him a great favour and trying to help him, I suspect that there are other motives here. This sounds completely dodgy to me.