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Suspended from work ....

NikNox
Posts: 347 Forumite
Hi all
I have posted before about my husband's place of work, and the difficulties he has had in the past with what is, essentially, bullying. He has been actively looking for a similar job for ages now, to no avail. And, better the devil you know, right? Especially when there's nothing else.
Well, in the past he has been disciplined for being off sick. He's been there 7 years now and it is a very very stressful job. He has IBS and had diverticulitis diagnosed last year on colonoscopy as he suffers repeated and prolonged bouts of diarrhoea and vomiting. When he's having a flare up of his IBS, he literally chucks up every 10 minutes or so, it really is quite horrible to see him going through that. Anyway, the company returned to work after the Xmas break on 2nd Jan. Over the following weekend he came down with a heavy cold/flu like illness, which also 'went' to him stomach and made him sick. He went to the bathroom to be sick, but collapsed and fell against the side of the bath and injured his ribs, and was in so much pain we had to call OOH. They suspected a broken rib, or badly bruised, both of which are equally painful and take the same amount of time to heal. The pain was so bad he was finding it hard to vomit, and had to take to bed on the following Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. On the Monday he got some antisickness tablets and codeine for the pain from the doctor, and on the Wednesday he saw another doctor because the pain wasn't being controlled. He was prescribed further pain relief and managed to go back to work on the Thursday and Friday, despite still feeling very nauseous and having to go to the bathroom every half an hour because of diarrhoea. He was sent to Coventry by his manager, which made him feel stressed, which exacerbated his IBS, which made his rib pain worse ... you get the picture!
The following Monday, Monday last week, he was very sick again. Up all night vomiting, retching and in quite a terrible state. Went to docs and got signed off for a week with vomiting. However, he felt well enough, with medication (antisickness tabs and codeine) to go back to work on the Friday, so he did. Monday just gone he had to have a meeting about his absence, at which he presented his sick note and was told it wasn't a proper illness, just a symptom, and not worth the paper it was written on. Great. He suspected that wouldn't be the end of it, got more stressed and on Wednesday and Thursday was being sick and having diarrhoea again. On Wednesday he had to actually show his line Manager the diarrhoea in the toilet pan because he didn't believe him. There have been mutterances under breath of management too, in his earshot. On Wednesday he was feeling so unwell, he said, in the office 'isn't it great that you feel so unwell yet you have to come to work because you're so damned scared of losing your job?' and followed it with 'the last time I felt this helpless was when I was at primary school and broke my sternum. I had both arms in slings and this kid was taking the mickey out of me so I headbutted him'. Apparently this comment has been construed as 'aggressive' and he was called into a meeting yesterday and suspended from work pending an investigation!!!! He was told not to tell anyone, including me, told not to speak to his colleagues or get any legal advice, and would receive a letter in the post. I have asked him if he's absolutely sure he didn't threaten anyone directly, and he assures me he did not. He's on meds that can cause agitation, restlessness, nervousness and dysphoria, so that hasn't helped his frame of mind, especially feeling he has to be at work when he is genuinely unwell.
To say we are worried is an understatement. He doesn't want to go back there, understandably, as this is just another example of him being singled out and bullied, despite him being one of the best workers they have (and have appraised him for). But, he recognises that if he doesn't get dismissed, he will have to go back until he finds something else.
Advice anyone?
I have posted before about my husband's place of work, and the difficulties he has had in the past with what is, essentially, bullying. He has been actively looking for a similar job for ages now, to no avail. And, better the devil you know, right? Especially when there's nothing else.
Well, in the past he has been disciplined for being off sick. He's been there 7 years now and it is a very very stressful job. He has IBS and had diverticulitis diagnosed last year on colonoscopy as he suffers repeated and prolonged bouts of diarrhoea and vomiting. When he's having a flare up of his IBS, he literally chucks up every 10 minutes or so, it really is quite horrible to see him going through that. Anyway, the company returned to work after the Xmas break on 2nd Jan. Over the following weekend he came down with a heavy cold/flu like illness, which also 'went' to him stomach and made him sick. He went to the bathroom to be sick, but collapsed and fell against the side of the bath and injured his ribs, and was in so much pain we had to call OOH. They suspected a broken rib, or badly bruised, both of which are equally painful and take the same amount of time to heal. The pain was so bad he was finding it hard to vomit, and had to take to bed on the following Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. On the Monday he got some antisickness tablets and codeine for the pain from the doctor, and on the Wednesday he saw another doctor because the pain wasn't being controlled. He was prescribed further pain relief and managed to go back to work on the Thursday and Friday, despite still feeling very nauseous and having to go to the bathroom every half an hour because of diarrhoea. He was sent to Coventry by his manager, which made him feel stressed, which exacerbated his IBS, which made his rib pain worse ... you get the picture!
The following Monday, Monday last week, he was very sick again. Up all night vomiting, retching and in quite a terrible state. Went to docs and got signed off for a week with vomiting. However, he felt well enough, with medication (antisickness tabs and codeine) to go back to work on the Friday, so he did. Monday just gone he had to have a meeting about his absence, at which he presented his sick note and was told it wasn't a proper illness, just a symptom, and not worth the paper it was written on. Great. He suspected that wouldn't be the end of it, got more stressed and on Wednesday and Thursday was being sick and having diarrhoea again. On Wednesday he had to actually show his line Manager the diarrhoea in the toilet pan because he didn't believe him. There have been mutterances under breath of management too, in his earshot. On Wednesday he was feeling so unwell, he said, in the office 'isn't it great that you feel so unwell yet you have to come to work because you're so damned scared of losing your job?' and followed it with 'the last time I felt this helpless was when I was at primary school and broke my sternum. I had both arms in slings and this kid was taking the mickey out of me so I headbutted him'. Apparently this comment has been construed as 'aggressive' and he was called into a meeting yesterday and suspended from work pending an investigation!!!! He was told not to tell anyone, including me, told not to speak to his colleagues or get any legal advice, and would receive a letter in the post. I have asked him if he's absolutely sure he didn't threaten anyone directly, and he assures me he did not. He's on meds that can cause agitation, restlessness, nervousness and dysphoria, so that hasn't helped his frame of mind, especially feeling he has to be at work when he is genuinely unwell.
To say we are worried is an understatement. He doesn't want to go back there, understandably, as this is just another example of him being singled out and bullied, despite him being one of the best workers they have (and have appraised him for). But, he recognises that if he doesn't get dismissed, he will have to go back until he finds something else.
Advice anyone?
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Comments
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There are two separate issues here, the bullying, which may be disability related, and the outburst. Has he issued a grievance about the bullying?
I can understand the employer's reaction to his outburst, it does come across as threatening - in effect he was saying he assaulted the last person that tried to intimidate him, and as he was feeling the same way now he could do the same. Is he arguing that it was not intended in that way, or that his medication meant he was not lucid?0 -
I lose any sympathy I ever had for the employer when they say something stupid like 'don't tell anyone, including your partner, that you have been suspended'. Unbelievable!Ex board guide. Signature now changed (if you know, you know).0
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There are grievances, yes, against the manager who reported him for being aggressive, same said manager who he showed the diarrhoea to and said his sick note wasn't worth the paper it was written on.
He did not intend to come across as aggressive & meant the comment anecdotally, but with how ill he was feeling, plus the worry of possibly losing his job due to illness & the meds he probably wasn't in his right mind.
Should point out that these grievances haven't been made formally, yet. My husband doesn't believe in squealing!0 -
A grievance is not 'squealing', he has shot himself in the foot by not doing this earlier. Whatever he does now is likely to be viewed as retaliatory.
He can argue mitigation with regard to his outburst, but I would expect the worst, it really was not the thing to say. However if they acknowledge there has been bullying they may be willing to offer a compromise agreement, so he leaves by mutual agreement with an agreed reference.0 -
He's not even sure it's that comment because they wouldn't tell him, they said it would be in the letter they would post out to him, so he's just guessing really & is certain he didn't say anything else.0
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Just checked out the HSE websites description of symptoms of stress at work in men - emotional symptoms include sensitivity, tearfulness & aggressiveness. Physical symptoms, long term include IBS. Each time my husband has visited the GP regardung his gastrointestinal symptoms the GP has indicated stress. as the cause. So, off sick with IBS, get interrogated about it when back at work, been previously threatened with the sack so therefore that threat s hanging over an already stressed employee, who is still suffering sickness & diarrhoea - if my husbands comment (if it is that comment) was construed as aggressive, that's a symptom of the stress hes already under. Surely it would be foolhardy of them to dismiss him, especially with GP support of his work related stress?0
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the employer is thinking, this guy is forever taking days off due to sickness therefore he isn't going to be available for work at some point or a reliable productive member of staff; what can we do about this?
then there is your husband health problems, even if he did stay it wouldn't help his overall health having to force himself to go back to work in order to keep his job, the stress of it all will be contributing to his health problems. i don't know what you can do about the diahorrea/vomiting it's a tricky one this.
i've had severe diahorrea for years, i actually move hundreds of miles away to help my condition which did help. i try my best to eliminate any problem foods, as that is another factor in this, but its the stress of a situation that sets it off the most and lasts for a whole month.
I don't know i could handle working for an employer that knows i have constant illness problems and that there is a threat of getting rid of me, i'd feel uncomfortable about what they must be feeling, but i think if his condition worsens that may have to reconsider his work situation.
I would definitely look at changing jobs, take a look at your finances and see what other jobs he could do instead, it may help his health problems by leaving his job.
I'm sorry i cannot offer any real help but wish you the best of luck.My Signature is MY OWN!!0 -
Thank you, he has been looking for another job for some time now, but we do accept our finances may need to take a hit so he can leave. He's actually not off sick that much, certainly not as much as other colleagues, and his stress is exacerbated because he is, seemingly, treated differently.
He's tried diet changes, had tests for coeliac disease (negative) & finally a colonoscopy last year (which involves a heavduty laxative the day before & they insisted he went into work!)., which showed diverticulitis. He's also seen a gastroenterologist who diagnosed IBS. When he told his manager, he said it wasn't a condition because he had asked his wife, who is a vet!!0 -
Hi again all,
Well, nothing in post today so we still don't know fully what the issue is. Phoned ACAS, and they said that the employer doesn't have to let the employee know anything unless they take formal action, in which case they would have to outline it all in a letter. Spoke at length to the advisor, who thought that my husband had grounds for grievance, and advised he uses the time off work constructively to write a formal letter outlining his grievance. He said it could possibly be viewed as retaliation, but equally could be mitigating, and if formal, would have to be investigated legally as he is still employed by them. But, and this is where it gets interesting, he questioned him about his IBS and asked if it was an illness that when flaring up, is debilitating and affects his quality of life, to which my husband answered yes, it was, as when it flares up and is exacerbated by stress he is literally on the toilet either being sick or having diarrhoea every 10-15 minutes, slowing down to every half an hour or so as his system becomes empty. Even when his system is clear, he still retches all the time. He explained that he was feeling like this at work when he made the comment that he thinks they could have construed as aggressive. The ACAS advisor said something we've never thought of - the IBS could be construed as a disability as it has been diagnosed and is recorded on his medical records, because it causes debilitation and affects his quality of life adversely, and carries on for lengths of time, ie a week or two at a time. When my husband is at home and ill with the IBS he cannot leave the bedroom because it's next to the bathroom and he cannot function in any way whatsoever. He loses considerable amounts of weight with it, cannot eat or drink (not even fluids which are necessary to stop dehydration) and becomes very weak.
So, we are going to construct a formal grievance to be sent to them in the post on Monday, and will speak to our GP about the IBS being a disability - but, does anyone know who decides an illness is a disability?0 -
As ACAS have described plus if it has or is likely to last for 12 months or more!Mortgage, we're getting there with the end in sight £6587 07/23, otherwise free of the debt thanks to MSE help!0
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