Where do i go now?

davidcolett5

Hi all,

Posted this thread on sept 3rd and require a little more advice
[URL="https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/74740792#Comment_74740792[/URL]

Posted that on sep 3rd and on sept 8th went sick as i was taken to hospital with what turned out to be super high blood pressure and irregular heart beat which was after 6 weeks of tests put down to be caused by stress

Save a wall of text will bullet points the timeline

- Sept 8th i go sick, i was already under stress as per my previous post but on this day one of my staff members called and said he was hanging himself. That seemed to be the final straw for my stress levels/body and was taken to hospital later that night and signed off from this point

- Sept 10th Emailed HR and raised for grievance. This was acknowledged the same day and i was told to await a hearing date

- Oct 5th Emailed and called HR asking for a update. Was told someone would contact me but they did not

- Oct 16th Emailed and called again chasing up the hearing and was again told soemone would call me back which they did not

- Oct 18th Got a email from the head of HR saying she would not be able to hear my grievance unless i agreed to have it now as my doctor had said on one of my doctors notes i should avoid all work calls and emails. I pointed out this was for a two week period only when i first went sick and that the certificate was only when i had a heart monitor on ( they wanted to see what it did when i had zero work stress )

- Oct 25th Grieance hearing booked for 6th Nov

- Nov 3rd Grievance hearing cancelled by HR due to staff sickness. I was told to wait a few days for a new date to be set

- Nov 12th Emailed and called to ask about the new hearing date. Told i would be called back but never was

- Nov 16th Letter recieved booking new hearing date in for 26th nov

- Nov 26th Had hearing and voiced my issues. HR claimed they did not know i was still of sick which i find baffling and blamed payroll not sending them my certificates. I raised a issue that soemone was given my password for my work laptop and was able to access my own and my staffs date including my doctors notes.

I was told they usually have a offical answer to my grievance within 7 days but they asked for 14 days as my issues were a little more than they had expected. I agreed and told them my doctors note ran out on the 17th of december and my doctor was requesting a re adjustment plan for me to return to work. They said that was normal for them to do that anyway and i was told to await the outcome

- December 17th Called and emailed as i had heard nothing and my doctors note had ran out. Was told a message was pased to the head of HR and to wait. No email or call back

- December 21st Called and emailed again to be told person handling my issue was in the office and would contact me shortly. Explaind my doctor was requesting a plan to ease me back into work and was told that would be done. No call or email back

- December 28th Tried to make contact again but no one contacted me back ( they were at work tho i checked )

And now its now! not sure what else to do. I know they will say they are still investigating my concerns but can they really take this long? I have been off with no doctors note so i wont get any form of sick pay which is causing me to stress but i have no idea what to do next?

Also as a sidenote my employee handbook says my grievance should be heard within 14 days of being filed and a decision should be made within 7 days of that ( or 14 by consent ) and that timeframes should be "resonable and fair"

Any advice? Should i just take my attempts to show the doctor and get signed off again? I just hate the fact my sick pay is 1/3 less than my usual wage which will soon drop to 50% and im ready to get back into some form of work but getting no support to do so

Thanks for reading

Les79

Well, my initial thoughts are:


- If you are off sick with no fit note right now then it could be considered as unauthorised absence. Irrespective of whether or not sick pay has run out, you might be wise getting a note to cover your !!!.


- Speak to the likes of ACAS and see what they can advise.


- Did your doctor tick "not fit for work" or "may be fit for work" box? I ask as if it was "not fit for work" then that may explain why they have not thought about what reasonable adjustments could be made to support your return to work, simply because they haven't been told and the doctor has not given any advice.


- Also whether your concerns CAN be addressed whilst still allowing you to carry out the duties they need you to carry out. All well and good asking for "reasonable adjustments", but if it creeps into "unreasonable adjustments" then it may simply be that the job isn't for you. Important to consider that, even if it isn't the case.

System

Personally if I was in any job where I ended up ill because of stress I'd simply leave. No job is worth making yourself ill over, certainly not with something that can shorten your life.

Fireflyaway

I totally agree with Tarambor. I was off sick in the summer due to stress. Couldn't sleep, was over eating and drinking, felt sick etc. I could have made a fuss with HR because I believe I did have the grounds to. However when it came down to it I disliked the people, the work, the culture. Even if HR upheld my case, I would still have been unhappy.
Do you really think things will change enough for you to be happy? Part of me hates what I'm saying because none of us should have to be bullied, harassed or anything else that makes us want to quit work. However realistically often the situation is things won't change and you are best off putting your well-being first.
Quitting my horrid job was the best decision. I hope everything works out ok for you whatever you decide.

davidcolett5

Les79 wrote: »

Well, my initial thoughts are:


- If you are off sick with no fit note right now then it could be considered as unauthorised absence. Irrespective of whether or not sick pay has run out, you might be wise getting a note to cover your !!!.


- Did your doctor tick "not fit for work" or "may be fit for work" box? I ask as if it was "not fit for work" then that may explain why they have not thought about what reasonable adjustments could be made to support your return to work, simply because they haven't been told and the doctor has not given any advice.


- Also whether your concerns CAN be addressed whilst still allowing you to carry out the duties they need you to carry out. All well and good asking for "reasonable adjustments", but if it creeps into "unreasonable adjustments" then it may simply be that the job isn't for you. Important to consider that, even if it isn't the case.

Thanks for the reply. Had not even thought about the unauthorised absence possibility so i can not make contact with HR tomorrow i will go to the doctors and ask for a note and explain why ( i keep him in the loop anyway )

As regards to resonable adjustments i was doing two peoples jobs previous for almost a year which apparently caused some internal issue as according to HR that should not have been allowed for that length of time

Have emailed the director asking him to chase it up see if that gets any reply

eamon

To the OP. Make sure you have all your i's dotted and your t's crossed in all/any correspondence with HR and senior management. Don't give them any opportunity to evade over a technicality so go back to your GP and get a backdated Fit Note if possible.
I'm also in agreement with Fireflyaway. Is it a healthy place for you to be?