Im receiving some long term treatment for a year - what are my rights in terms of pay

nicechap

invisibility wrote: »

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How do I know if I meet the criteria for reasonable adjustment? I can't see how I could possibly not be allowed to go to my treatment that my psychiatrist, mental health nurse and doctor have all agreed is vital for me. I'm not even talking about the pay now.

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What do you think reasonable adjustments mean? Will you need a ramp? Higher volume telephone? orthopaedic chair?


I doubt very much it means a paid day off a week.

You haven't checked what the employer thinks reasonable adjustments are yet, and its their view that counts.

Maybe asking for a 4 day week contract might be the best way forward (your take home pay won't be reduced by a fifth as you'll likely to be paying full tax on the fifth day element from April - and get a tax refund if you start between now and end of March).

invisibility

Do you think I could ask if they'd let me make up the hours on the other days? 8-6 monday, Wednesday, Thursday, 8-5 on Friday = 7 hours made up? Long days don't bother me I'm used to it from teaching.

Nicki

This is quite a good description of what counts as a disability and what your potential rights are if you have a qualifying disability. It doesn't mean you have an automatic right to time off for treatment or flexible working however, just that it may be reasonable for your employer to do so. Everything will be looked at on a case by case basis

https://worksmart.org.uk/health-advice/health-and-safety/disability-rights

Just because your mental health professionals think you'd find this course helpful however doesn't mean you have a qualifying disability or that your employer needs to accommodate this. The fact you've been waiting for 18 months already tends to suggest this isn't anything time critical or life saving even given the poor state of mental health provision in the U.K.

soolin

I echo some of the suggestions above, I think an employer is more likely to look favourably on a request (and it can only be a request not a demand) to go down to 4 days a weekonce treatment starts. Whilst the public sector is beginning to work towards the private sector schemes for time out , ie more managed illness and appointment absences and a faster time limit on hitting limits to time out generally, the one thing the public sector is still good at is allowing less than full time working.

4 days a week will obviously mean a cut in your pay, assuming they allow it, but it will mean less stress for you and a chance to do both the job you want and the course of treatment your medical professionals think would be useful.

TELLIT01

There are a number of things which might create difficulties. If there are training programmes being arranged, those can't be modified to fit in with the absences of a single attendee. When we were on training we were told that anybody missing more than 3 sessions (8 week training period) would be removed from the training and would have to attend at a later date. How that would affect employment for somebody who knows they won't be able to attend a training course for a year is open to question.
If you are accepted for employment in the knowledge of your treatment, it will almost certainly be unpaid. Even if training is on the job rather than class based, I don't see how you would be able to make up the hours. Somebody is going to be training you and they can't really be expected to change their hours to suit a new starter.
Comments have been made about a new starter making themselves unpopular by taking time off. I've known many people need to take time away from work for medical treatment and it hasn't caused bad feeling in any office I've been in. We had one lady undergoing radiotherapy, and far from causing bad feeling, we had a rota for people to take her to the hospital because she didn't drive.

Savvy_Sue

invisibility wrote: »

I didn't get chance to declare during the recruitment

no, because it would have been against the law for them to ask the question!

invisibility wrote: »

but I have in the pre employment checks - I ticked the box that said I am due to receive treatment. Are they allowed to withdraw my offer based on this?

I suspect that they are. They can certainly ask more questions about what the treatment involves - after all, a day off to have your tubes tied is obviously less of an issue than regular time off each week for a year. Did you give any indication of what the treatment involved or what it was for?

[Deleted User]

Yes I remember the council I started at once worked around 'core hours'
and in fact as there wasn't enough seats for bums, if you were permanent then flexible working was definitely order of the day, sorry I didn't read the handbook to know how appointments were handled because I wasn't there long enough but my experience of places that like to have 'meetings about meetings' is normally quite flexible going.

Anyway if it is nearer the 6 months away then that will least give you time to settle in and put your case to them so good luck.

invisibility

I definitely meet the definition of disabled according to that link, I don't know if that makes any difference.

And no it had nowhere on the form for me to put further details. Just a tick box. I suspect the details will come with occupational health.

Sorry for no quotes I'm on my mobile and it's being awkward with quoting.

I am willing to make up the hours, I'll put that forward first. If not I'll ask about four day part time week. It could be absolutely ages until my treatment starts, I'm just trying to plan ahead. At the same time I could get a letter next week.

Callie22

I work in the Civil Service (sort of ..) and where I work quite a few people work 'compressed hours' - they do their set number of hours per week but over four days instead of five. It's not unusual and could be a compromise if it's offered in your workplace. However it is pretty arduous, in the sense that it means some very long days, especially if you have a long commute too.

BorisThomson

Nicki wrote: »

Just because your mental health professionals think you'd find this course helpful however doesn't mean you have a qualifying disability or that your employer needs to accommodate this. The fact you've been waiting for 18 months already tends to suggest this isn't anything time critical or life saving even given the poor state of mental health provision in the U.K.

18 months is nothing in mental health waiting lists! In my Trust CBT is an 18 month wait (six weeks only), and DBT and Step 4 Psychotherapy are three years. Those waits don't start until you've been accepted on to the waiting list, so add another six months to that.

What is time critical in mental health terms is not reflected by waiting list length, but by funds available. No funds, no treatment, however unwell you are.

OP, time off for appointments can be a reasonable adjustment. Half a day off each week is very unlikely to be a RA, paid or not, unless you have agreed an alternative way to meet your contracted hours. Speak to occupational health when they get in touch, they'll be able to discuss what might be appropriate and liaise with your department.