rights with a dissmissal due to health reason

scooper

my partner has been off work 2 times fo r the first time 1 and a half years ago then 6 months later off again for same reason till present day

he has a condition which is preventing him from doing this particular job,his employer has asked for doctors written information regarding this and weather he is able to continue with job,but he went last week and doc told him he wouldnt advice to go back,and to loof for something else.

where does he stand in regard to rights if he is dissmissed,he doesnt mind if he is,but doesnt want to resign as this would go against him in next job

will he get extra money plus his holiday and week in hand for being dissmised.

hope someone can help,not sure what to do!

Anarchist

You may want to get onto ACAS who will advise exactly what he is entitled to, however I would not expect good news.

Inability to perform your job due to health issues I believe is a valid reason for the termination of an employment contract. This will mean that your husband would not be entitled to anything. It will look worse if the employer terminates his employment as opposed to him resigning, but I don't think it needs to come to that. The employer will need to know if there is anything they can do to alleviate the health issue at work and will need to action anything that they can do to help, however if there is nothing they are able to do, to significantly aid the situation then there is no alternative but to end the employment.

He needs to speak to his employer. He needs to explain his situation, and discuss the potential for future time off due to health problems. If this is not acceptable to his employer then they both would benefit from negotiating him staying on until he can find alternative employment in a position that his health issue will not affect..

Although, I do not know the nature of his condition, but if it is a condition that could keep him from doing any job then he needs to be extremely careful as any mention of months at a time off work in the past/potential more time off will instantly turn any employer away. Be careful with references as well... as I believe they are allowed to inform on references previous amount of time absent through illness.

As mentioned first though, I would contact ACAS and discuss this with them. It's very important to act correctly on these sort of issues or it could cause trouble in the future.

Fleago

Scooper,

Depending on your OH's health problem it may be that he would be covered by the Disability Discrimination Act, which gives him extra rights in employment, not least of which is the requirement of the employer to make reasonable adjustments, for example, find him an alternative job. Have a look at the Disability Rights Commission website where there is lots of information and will give you and your OH an idea of whether the DDA is relevant.

I would also recommend getting your OH's Union involved, if he is in one, and, as Anarchist suggested, ACAS are a very good source of help.


Hope this helps,

Fleago

scooper

thankyou both for replying.

my husband has something that prevents him from doing this job as it requires him going up and down ladders etc,something he cannot do as he has something on his legs that night go into abcessess if knocked(it has a name but to complicated to go into!)anyway,he will be able to do a less manual job,and the only other jobs he could be offered are managers jobs which i dont think they would offer him!

he wants to leave to look for something elso that he cannot do,but is having trouble finding something to match his wage at the moment.

i have looke briefly at those websites ,will have a proper look later.

thanks again for your help,very appreciated

CFC

I'm no benefits expert, but my understanding (and a quick bit of research) is that if they sack him on capability grounds (ie no longer capable of physically performing this job) this will mean that he is entitled to benefits ie Jobseekers Allowance.

It is not treated the same as being sacked on conduct grounds or by resignation, in both these cases JSA can be stopped.

Mrs_Supersaver_1

Scooper, sorry to hear of your OH ill health probs.

Can't your OH be referred to Occupational Health for assessment? Or have the company asked for doctor's report on your OH?

It seems a long time to be off, and seems as if company can't be bothered, which is a shame.

Hope your OH recovers soon