withdrawal of offer of employment??

schristine06

Hi I hope someone can advise me on my rights. I worked for my local council as a carer for 16 yrs and was made redundant in March 2011.The 6 mths prior to my redundancy I had a period of sickness due to depression but overall my sickness record was exemplary. Since my redundancy I have worked continuously caring for an elderly gentleman which has involved me visiting him twice daily,every day for the past 20 months.
In June of this year i applied for a job as a night carer with my local council again in a different dept and was called in for an interview. In the interview i was very honest about the period of sickness i had and was informed by the interviewers that they would, understandably,have to investigate this before any offer of employment was made. A few days later i received a call offering me the position. I received a contract which stated that my employment was subject to me fulfilling the following requirements:
2 satisfactory refencences ( one of which was from a recent employer)
A clear CRB check
Clearance from the Councils Occupational Health Practitioner.
I received all of this but after 7 1/2 wks of waiting for a start date i received a call informing me that the offer was being withdrawn due to not being given medical clearance. I know for a fact that medical clearance was given as the HR dept informed me. After speaking to ACAS i lodged a formal grievance giving them 14 days to respond. That was 23 days ago! Whats my next step? I certainly do not want to leave it as i feel very strongly about the unfair way ive been treated!Thanks for listening.

LittleVoice

schristine06 wrote: »

Hi I hope someone can advise me on my rights. I worked for my local council as a carer for 16 yrs and was made redundant in March 2011.The 6 mths prior to my redundancy I had a period of sickness due to depression but overall my sickness record was exemplary. Since my redundancy I have worked continuously caring for an elderly gentleman which has involved me visiting him twice daily,every day for the past 20 months.
In June of this year i applied for a job as a night carer with my local council again in a different dept and was called in for an interview. In the interview i was very honest about the period of sickness i had and was informed by the interviewers that they would, understandably,have to investigate this before any offer of employment was made. A few days later i received a call offering me the position. I received a contract which stated that my employment was subject to me fulfilling the following requirements:
2 satisfactory refencences ( one of which was from a recent employer)
A clear CRB check
Clearance from the Councils Occupational Health Practitioner.
I received all of this but after 7 1/2 wks of waiting for a start date i received a call informing me that the offer was being withdrawn due to not being given medical clearance. I know for a fact that medical clearance was given as the HR dept informed me. After speaking to ACAS i lodged a formal grievance giving them 14 days to respond. That was 23 days ago! Whats my next step? I certainly do not want to leave it as i feel very strongly about the unfair way ive been treated!Thanks for listening.

Did you ever receive anything in writing saying the job offer was withdrawn and why?

How did you raise the grievance? Does the Council have a grievance procedure for job applicants? Normally grievance procedures are for employees.

Do you have anything in writing from HR to confirm that you had "medical clearance" or was that a phone call?

Is the "medical clearance" they are speaking of a satisfactory report from Occupational Health?

schristine06

Hi
Firstly no i didnt receive any notification of withdrawal in writing at all. I also do not have any written confirmation of medical clearance but have complete confidence in the fact that i can get this from the Occupational Health Dept.I initially had to fill out a health questionaire which stated at the end that i would either receive immediate clearance or be called in to a personal appointment with the OHP if there were any issues that needed addressing. I was informed by both the HR dept and my future Manager that clearance had been received only to be told 7 1/2 wks later that offer was being withdrawn due to no medical clearance due to period of sickness 2 yrs ago?? Thanks

LittleVoice

schristine06 wrote: »

Hi
Firstly no i didnt receive any notification of withdrawal in writing at all. I also do not have any written confirmation of medical clearance but have complete confidence in the fact that i can get this from the Occupational Health Dept.I initially had to fill out a health questionaire which stated at the end that i would either receive immediate clearance or be called in to a personal appointment with the OHP if there were any issues that needed addressing. I was informed by both the HR dept and my future Manager that clearance had been received only to be told 7 1/2 wks later that offer was being withdrawn due to no medical clearance due to period of sickness 2 yrs ago?? Thanks

Did they mention this when saying the offer was withdrawn?

And what grievance procedure were you following?

schristine06

Yes when offer was withdrawn they said it was due to sickness prior to my redundancy. The reason i raised a formal grievance was following advice i received from ACAS. I certainly would not pursue this if in anyway i felt they had a justifiable reason to have treated me the way they have.