multiple work issues, valium - citralopram - work stress - and tribunals.

sophiiee89

I work part time (16hrs a week) and have worked for the company for 2 years 4 months.

In the past year I have had around 7 absences within a year
absence 1: Migraine (I have a medical condition stated on application form and it is long term condition lasting for now 3 years)
absence 2: Flu
absence 3: Depression (2 weeks off - written Drs note)
absence 4: Migraine issue again for 1 day
absence 5: Half a day (left half way thru shift) again medical migraine issue tho had my eyes playing up at work so they were blurring and no one would ammend duties to help situation instead having me strain them by searching for small numbers across distances)
absence 6: 2 weeks with work-stress issue (again Dr note)
absence 7: 3 weeks off with work-stress issues (again Dr note)

Only absence 6/7 have been "paid" sickness's.

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I am currently still on my absence 7 , 3 week write off for work-stress and am beyond terrified to go back. Last time I went back after my 2 week stress I had 1 person who is Lead, singing relax and saying smile it will never happen. bla bla. In a "joke" way but 1 i took offensively considering me suffering from this stress is no laughing matter for me.
Contributing to recent work stress is the following:
1.Poor management and Lack of clarification (there is NO organisation!) every team member is in it for themselves, who can do the least work thing. (unfortunatly i seem to lose and end up lacky)
2.Pay cuts for no legitimate reasons. I am currently missing 8hrs and it is more the time i would have to spend working to earn the money that is the issue then the cut issue! This has been happening from Jan - Present pay.
3.Unfairly selected over other employees for the rubbish jobs.
4.I have previously asked to be moved out of department and be trained but seemingly been ignored.

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I have to go back Friday, my Dr says go back and if I need further time off if it gets too much after giving them the chance to sort my stress issues.

I have NEVER had such a bad feeling about going back to work ever, the thought of going in there terrifies me.! Im scared I wont be paid properly again Friday too and Im scared of accusations ill get for "making up" stress illness. I know I have to leave as I cant keep taking citralopram because of them and to make things worse i have been given valium for the day before work, which feels like a new low for me.

I genuinely feel like I am a good worker, I work hard and do the stuff no one else will. I work hard pull my weight and dont just fluff around (like others).

So..
Can I leave and take the company to an Employment tribunial (sp?) or not? I genuinely feel like I have no option but to leave for health reasons, stress reasons, work treatment reasons and payment reasons.

In our team of employee's certain people get the "good" jobs all the time, whereas the weaker 1s who dont argue or kick up a fuss are forgotten and left to pick up the buck (yes i am 1 of these people!)
recent example of this is a call for a boy to go onto shop floor but manager wouldnt let him go (dont know why!) and said they could have me instead (so i was selected to go even tho at the time of selection i was technically working , the boy wasn't!) I had an aching back for the rest of the day as clearly the guy on shop floor had asked for the guy cause it was a heavy-lifting job.

I feel my medical needs are ignored and in fact made out to be made up by me by management (even tho I know I would get total backing that i do suffer from a medical condition that causes migraines and have suffered work-stress).
What can I say/do when I return Friday? I just feel like i just cant do it!.
I am scared I will get addicted to valium and the fact I need to take valium to go to work is just ridiculous and really a very new low for me. Please can someone advise me what they would do.

I have a union I am joined too.

I am asking for advice on what to do work wise, how do-able constructive dismissal is or another type or tribunal especially on wages front.

sophiiee89

I am sorry if this does not make total sense my mind is really hazy and fuzzy at the moment

ILW

If you are the only one with issues about the management style, I would suggest you are just in the wrong job.

unlikelyheroine

Your level of absence in two years four months is extremely high. You have had five weeks off for work-related stress alone. I appreciate working life can be stressful but this is in the context of 16 hours a week isn't it, not twelve hour-days etc?

What would be your basis for a claim at employment tribunal? Have you made a formal request for the eight hours you believe you are owed? Could be just a mistake perhaps.

From what you describe it sounds possible that you may not be in the most sensitive working environment but there's nothing outrageous that your employers seem to have done to you. Asking you to vary your duties and declining your request to move department are probably not unreasonable where the employer has business reasons. You say you pull your weight more than others but do bear in mind you have had nearly two months off and someone will likely have needed to have covered your absence.

Is it possible for you to take a slight step back and see if you have the right perspective on it all?

Caroline_a

As has been said that's a huge absence record in such a short time. I don't know many companies that would keep you on to be honest, but I'm not sure why you think you should go to a tribunal. I would suggest that you look for another job if you feel it's not suitable for you, but try to be less sensitive - people can be unknowingly unkind and if they are having to cover for you while you take weeks off sick, you may have to expect some resentment.

Wyndham

Your self esteem is currrently really low, and because of that it all seems really hard to deal with. I've been there, so I know what I'm talking about. But, we need to unpick this a bit.

1) where is the work stress coming from? You mentioned about being made fun of, but that was after you went back the first time, so something else must have caused it in the first place. If it's about being given the rubbish jobs, well, I'm sorry, but we all have some of that going on. I'm not clear from your post what the nub of the issue is.
2) has your employer made any effort to talk to you about the issues and to look at ways to improve the situation. I'd say that if you were off with work related stress then you should have had a back to work interview to discuss why. Did that happen? If it did, has any action been taken?
3) it's very difficult to win a tribunal, and it takes a lot of effort to go through the process. You need to be sure of your ground if you are going to take this route, and again, I'm not clear what the issues are here, so it's difficult to advise. But do you have the fight for the process?
4) are you looking at other jobs? In itself, that's a stressful process too, but if you are so unhappy, then I think you probably need to get out.
5) this may not apply, but I know when I was at my low, I felt as if everyone was plotting against me. I now know that they weren't, but at the time it was very real. It's easy for me to say 'are you sure', but if you can ask that question it may help?

Good luck, it's tough....

Walstri

Any reasonable employer would sack you.

1.Poor management and Lack of clarification (there is NO organisation!) every team member is in it for themselves, who can do the least work thing. (unfortunatly i seem to lose and end up lacky)

There's nothing wrong with a competitive work environment.

2.Pay cuts for no legitimate reasons. I am currently missing 8hrs and it is more the time i would have to spend working to earn the money that is the issue then the cut issue! This has been happening from Jan - Present pay.

Perhaps it's because you took more time off work than you're entitled to?

3.Unfairly selected over other employees for the rubbish jobs.

Same as below.

4.I have previously asked to be moved out of department and be trained but seemingly been ignored.

You keep having excuses for not turning up to work. How can you expect any manager to be willing to train you? You're not reliable, simply put. It's better to give training and more difficult work to employees who are willing to commit, not those doing 16hrs a week and keeps taking time off.

End of the day they're running a business. It's not charity where they must prioritise your health and convenience over business needs.

dickydonkin

Walstri wrote: »

Any reasonable employer would sack you.

1.Poor management and Lack of clarification (there is NO organisation!) every team member is in it for themselves, who can do the least work thing. (unfortunatly i seem to lose and end up lacky)

There's nothing wrong with a competitive work environment.

2.Pay cuts for no legitimate reasons. I am currently missing 8hrs and it is more the time i would have to spend working to earn the money that is the issue then the cut issue! This has been happening from Jan - Present pay.

Perhaps it's because you took more time off work than you're entitled to?

3.Unfairly selected over other employees for the rubbish jobs.

Same as below.

4.I have previously asked to be moved out of department and be trained but seemingly been ignored.

You keep having excuses for not turning up to work. How can you expect any manager to be willing to train you? You're not reliable, simply put. It's better to give training and more difficult work to employees who are willing to commit, not those doing 16hrs a week and keeps taking time off.

End of the day they're running a business. It's not charity where they must prioritise your health and convenience over business needs.

Actually a business that prioritises the health, safety and welfare of their workers will reap the benefits of better morale, less time lost and just a better place to work - a benefit being less stress!

Ignore it at your peril.

I have been where the OP is and it's not a nice place, however, it is difficult to comment on an individuals situation - and many on here should be sympathetic - not making unhelpful comments.

The OP really needs to discuss this problem with her employer and doctor or the situation will manifest.

Incidentally, I resolved my 'problem' by leaving the company, perhaps something the OP should consider, although I do appreciate her head will be all over the place and it may be difficult to be rational in her current situation.

Walstri

dickydonkin wrote: »

Actually a business that prioritises the health, safety and welfare of their workers will reap the benefits of better morale, less time lost and just a better place to work - a benefit being less stress!

Ignore it at your peril.

I have been where the OP is and it's not a nice place, however, it is difficult to comment on an individuals situation - and many on here should be sympathetic - not making unhelpful comments.

The OP really needs to discuss this problem with her employer and doctor or the situation will manifest.

Incidentally, I resolved my 'problem' by leaving the company, perhaps something the OP should consider, although I do appreciate her head will be all over the place and it may be difficult to be rational in her current situation.

Should be don't ignore at your peril. OP's been off for over 8 weeks already and this habbit will continue. It isn't fair on others when someone this unreliable is asking to be trained, or they have to constantly cover for OP during absences. Best course of action to improve team morale is replace OP with someone who doesn't keeps taking time off work. Don't see how a work environment that bends it way back for one employee will help with morale, but a company that replaces OP with someone more reliable, someone you can count on to share your workload with is one that's an ideal workplace.

ILW

Public sector tend to look after their own people first. Hence high levels of absence and never getting anything done properly.

The OPs place of work seems be quite buzzy and slightly aggresive. Some thrive on it but not all.

mum2one

from someone that took a company to tribunal (although this was a few years ago) it was one of the most stressful times of my life, and something I would not recommend unless u have a 100% water tight case.

Proving unfair constructive dismissal - (you have resigned for what the company has done) is hard to prove and hard to win.

I ended up taking an out of court settlement with no liability, but it didn't make up for what I went through, with the job and the stress of the tribunals

have you been through company procedures, from what I have read, it really seems the job is not for you, I would look for something else, I know its not easy, but you have to put your health 1st. x