Settlement agreement when off sick

KayJay

Oh, and the request for Early Ill Health Retirement goes through your employer, not the pension company, so contact HR. Also most (not all) companies put the employee back onto full pay whilst EIHR is being progressed.

jintyb

KayJay wrote: »

Yes, you absolutely should contact your Union. They should be supporting and representing you through this. I think you should be considering Early Ill Health Retirement. You have two conditions that would be considered and it would certainly be the answer to assist financially. Do this before you access any pensions! Google EIHR and look at the different tiers. If you have been off for the length of time you have, then you have a good chance of success.

Hi, thank you for your reply and great advice.
I have requested a meeting with my HR dept and contacted my union and they are going send a rep to accompany me. I have also informed my employer that I intend to appeal the insurance company's decision to cease payment. My GP is preparing a report ( at my reqest) of current state of health for me to take. UNUM (the insurance company) only considered reports up until May 2015. My contract of emplyment states that for long term sickness I would be paid 60% of salary until retirement or age 65 ( I am 56) subject to terms and conditions. I have at no time been informed of the T&Cs. I beleive the issue lies between my employer and UNUM as they are the client, not me. UNUM will not discuss anything with me at all.
I am so stressed out with this that it is making me more ill! I have had to get an emergency appt with my consultant this week because my Crohns is so aggravated.

DaisyS

Before you do anything else look at the terms of the company insurance sickness benefit. I was similarly off for an extended period with cancer and my company had a policy with Unum. The idea was that, as you say, Unum paid the firm, who then paid me. It was half pay in my case.

However, because I was having ongoing treatment I decided to take my pension at 57 as well as redundancy.

I was very pleased and surprised that the Unum policy covered me for two years and I was able to get 18 months of half pay after I had left the company. There were occasional forms to complete for Unum but they weren't particularly difficult.

You should also see if you can get ESA on a contributory basis which you should be able to if you have been working for a number of years. This is a benefit which isn't means tested so my doctor completed a form and cancer is one of those illnesses where you tick a box to say this is what you've had and then your doctor completes a page on the form with details. I haven't needed any medical as I'm now on the longer term ESA. I do lose a little of it as company pensions are taken into account but I still get £177 per fortnight.

Good luck with it and do make that insurance policy your first investigation.

jintyb

I realise it is a long time since I posted here, this is still an ongoing issue. My employer is appealing UNUMs decision to cease paying my Long term disability on my behalf. The deadline for the appeal submission was 5 Nov.
I am still waitng for a decision. UNUM said they hadnt received med records from my GP , but when I checked the GP has records of the dates the info was sent and recd by UNUM, They are now requesting further information ie up to date records , which obviously takes time. In the meantime I am receiving no pay pending the apoeal outcome. I took ann leave in Oct to give me some money, but other than my ESA I have nothing coming in. I had to cash in some of my pension pot to cover monthly outgoings. Is this legal? I spoke with my union legal people, they said to raise a formal grievance. I feel my I shoukd be getting paid as I am employed by my company not UNUM, yet they are calling the shots!
This whole thing is really stressing me out. I have been so ill, particularly these last six months due to a compromised immune system, and I niw have pnuemonia and pleurisy.
I dont want to resign. I want to be paid off. I am still under contract and my contractual benefits such as pension contributions are stll bring paid for me.
Can anyone offer any advice? Thanks

getmore4less

You could ask for the accumulated holiday pay if money is tight but there may be an impact on benefits.

DaisyS

I think you should be pressing your HR department very strongly to sort this out. I have to say that after I took redundancy the firm then allowed me to deal with Unum and I found them very reasonable. I had breast cancer and then a reconstruction op and once Unum found I was having reconstruction they said they would pay up to the end of their agreement as I wouldn't be able to look for work at that time. If I was you, I would be sending recorded delivery letters to the firm and copying them to Unum on a twice weekly basis, until they sort it out.

BobQ

jintyb wrote: »

I realise it is a long time since I posted here, this is still an ongoing issue. My employer is appealing UNUMs decision to cease paying my Long term disability on my behalf. The deadline for the appeal submission was 5 Nov.
I am still waitng for a decision. UNUM said they hadnt received med records from my GP , but when I checked the GP has records of the dates the info was sent and recd by UNUM, They are now requesting further information ie up to date records , which obviously takes time. In the meantime I am receiving no pay pending the apoeal outcome. I took ann leave in Oct to give me some money, but other than my ESA I have nothing coming in. I had to cash in some of my pension pot to cover monthly outgoings. Is this legal? I spoke with my union legal people, they said to raise a formal grievance. I feel my I shoukd be getting paid as I am employed by my company not UNUM, yet they are calling the shots!
This whole thing is really stressing me out. I have been so ill, particularly these last six months due to a compromised immune system, and I niw have pnuemonia and pleurisy.
I dont want to resign. I want to be paid off. I am still under contract and my contractual benefits such as pension contributions are stll bring paid for me.
Can anyone offer any advice? Thanks

Your union have given you good advice. You may have employment rights that you can exercise at an Employment Tribunal but that usually goes more smoothly if you first exhaust the employer's grievance process. They cannot just defer to an insurance policy. Your contact is with your employer.

There is not much point being in a union if you do not take the advice they offer so raise a grievance as they advise. They are really best placed to advise you. Also if anyone is trampling over your employment rights they should be able to provide legal advice and support at any tribunal.

Re settlement agreements the following link may help

http://www.acas.org.uk/media/pdf/o/a/Settlement_agreements_(the_Acas_Guide)JULY2013.pdf

But remember any agreement you reach is that (an agreement between you and the employer which you do not have to accept). A settlement agreement is usually undertaken as a discussion in confidence, but you are entitled to have a TU rep present to advise you. You should not be telling the employer you "want" a settlement agreement but you can ask them whether they are interested in making you such an offer.

vlad

One thing i see no mention of OP is PIP (which has replaced dla), might be worth looking into?