reducing working hours because of arthritis

Payless_2

I'm thinking about reducing my hours as the arthritis in my feet is getting so bad now. I presently work full time but want to go down to 3 days a week as I'm on my feet all day and the pain makes me so tired. I think I could afford to do this but are my employers obligated to allow it?

Levi-

they are not obligated but given that you are likely to be covered by the Equalities Act 2010 they would have to provide a very solid business reason for it not to be allowed (obviously a lot depends on size of business, resources etc). Fill out a Request for Flexible working, state you reasons, desired hours and submit it via HR. You should hear back promptly and can appeal if turned down.

dori2o

Payless - see this guide which is published by ACAS. It explains about the process of applying for flexible working and also discusses the 'Reasonable Adjustment ' argument as well.

http://www.acas.org.uk/media/pdf/p/6/Handling-requests-to-work-flexibly-in-a-reasonable-manner-an-Acas-guide.pdf

Payless_2

Thanks, Levi. It's a large organisation that I work for but, because of recent cutbacks, the workforce has been pared back to the bone. Also because of recent cutbacks I haven't mentioned how bad my arthritis is.

Is the Request for Flexible Working a common form or is it specific to individual companies?

theoretica

With cutbacks they might actually welcome paying you two days less.

Takeaway_Addict

Levi- wrote: »

they are not obligated but given that you are likely to be covered by the Equalities Act 2010 they would have to provide a very solid business reason for it not to be allowed (obviously a lot depends on size of business, resources etc). Fill out a Request for Flexible working, state you reasons, desired hours and submit it via HR. You should hear back promptly and can appeal if turned down.

I disagree.

Ultimately if the employer wants you to stay full time they will be able to find a reason to do so, if they are happy to allow you to change then again they will allow it.

The reasons the employer have to give are very broad and ultimately if the employer says no you would have to go to a tribunal which as it currently costs the OP is unlikely to do so.

dori2o

Takeaway_Addict wrote: »

I disagree.

Ultimately if the employer wants you to stay full time they will be able to find a reason to do so, if they are happy to allow you to change then again they will allow it.
If it is requested as a Reasonable Adjustment under the EA2010 then the employer cannot just dismiss it out of hand and give any old reason they pick out of a hat. As Levi says they have to take into account business size, costs, ease of making the adjustment, etc etc. The OP has already stated that it is a large organisation and therefore they may not be able to rely on a defence of cost or lack of staffing.

The reasons the employer have to give are very broad and ultimately if the employer says no you would have to go to a tribunal which as it currently costs the OP is unlikely to do so.

OP, one thing I would add is that an employer cannot be in breach of failing in their duty to make Reasonable Adjustments for thse who meet the definition of disabled as per the Equality Act 2010 if they are unaware of the illness/condition by which you match the definition.

So for example, if you put in the request to your employer stating that the reason is due to disability and the employer refuses this request, then you would be unlikely to win at a tribunal if you tried to claim disability discrimination on the grounds of failure to make reasonable adjustments.

If you are serious about this then approach your immediate manager/team leader/whoever it is your report to and ask for them to arrange time for you to have a meeting with them.

In this meeting disclose the issues you are having with Arthritis (when it started, how painful it is, how it affects you, and if necessary the meds you are on) and tell them that in order to be able to better manage the the condition you believe it would be better if you worked less hours/condensed week.

What I did was to tell my manager not just how this would benefit me, but also how it would benefit the business i.e. improved productivity, reduced absence, ability to make Doctors/hospital appointments outside of works time (you can go on one of the days you won't work), etc etc.

OP- are you in a union? If so it may be best getting some advice from them as they know your employer better than any of us on the forum do.

Also, if you are in a Union it would normally be the case that they would fund Tribunal Cases on your behalf if they believed that your case had a good possibility of success.

ohreally

Payless wrote: »

Is the Request for Flexible Working a common form or is it specific to individual companies?

Be careful of taking this route as any change agreed becomes a permanent change to your terms of employment.

As your employed in a large organisation do you have a pension that may be impacted by a reduction in earnings?

Payless_2

Yes, my pension will be impacted, Ohreally, but I can't see any other way round it. Ultimately, I'll need surgery on both of my feet and some serious time off but my GP is unwilling to recommend the surgery at the minute because if it goes wrong, it'll go very wrong, and I'm relatively young to have such bad osteoarthritis. He says that it may be better to wait for surgery until I'll unable to work at all. Surgery will stop the pain but may make my feet worse apparently.

I am in a union, dori2o. I was thinking of contacting them tomorrow but thought I'd pick the wise brains of you lot first. I have had health issues for the last couple of years which have meant a lot of time off sick. I'm to have unrelated surgery in 3 weeks time. What worries me is that my arthritis may be the excuse they are looking for to let me go. On the other hand, they may be very keen to oblige.

I'm not sure whether my arthritis qualifies me as being disabled. I don't like to think of myself as such and was shocked when my GP spoke of the deformities on my feet last week!!! I'm allergic to anti inflammatories and so take tramadol when the pain is very bad and that just makes me even more tired

dori2o

Payless wrote: »

Yes, my pension will be impacted, Ohreally, but I can't see any other way round it. Ultimately, I'll need surgery on both of my feet and some serious time off but my GP is unwilling to recommend the surgery at the minute because if it goes wrong, it'll go very wrong, and I'm relatively young to have such bad osteoarthritis. He says that it may be better to wait for surgery until I'll unable to work at all. Surgery will stop the pain but may make my feet worse apparently.

I am in a union, dori2o. I was thinking of contacting them tomorrow but thought I'd pick the wise brains of you lot first. I have had health issues for the last couple of years which have meant a lot of time off sick. I'm to have unrelated surgery in 3 weeks time. What worries me is that my arthritis may be the excuse they are looking for to let me go. On the other hand, they may be very keen to oblige.

I'm not sure whether my arthritis qualifies me as being disabled. I don't like to think of myself as such and was shocked when my GP spoke of the deformities on my feet last week!!! I'm allergic to anti inflammatories and so take tramadol when the pain is very bad and that just makes me even more tired

Payless, see here for the definition ofdisabled for the purposes of the Equality Act

https://www.gov.uk/definition-of-disability-under-equality-act-2010

You’re disabled under the Equality Act 2010 if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities.

This is the Act
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/section/6

ohreally

Payless wrote: »

Yes, my pension will be impacted, Ohreally, but I can't see any other way round it.

Since I don't know who your employer is - if you agree a reduction in working time ask your employer to freeze your pension at your current earnings and to re-start in the pension scheme when you reduce your earnings.

Speak with an appropriate steward or full-time union officer for advice on this before agreeing anything. If you get this wrong you may have a long time to rue poor decision making.