Dismissal due to stress

Colinw63

General query - I have been off work for several months due to stress, to cut a long story short, I have just had my final hearing and I am now on notice of dismissal. I have appealed the decision.

Two weeks prior to my final hearing, I discovered that my out of office email was already stating that I had left the company. Obviously this added to my stress and anxiety.

As I am going to be without any income soon, I am wondering if i have a case to make a financial claim against the company regarding the apparent decision to let me go weeks before the final hearing had taken place?

I should add that two years ago I voluntarily changed role and took a pay cut of several thousand pounds in order to reduce my stress.....in effect, the stress increased as the new management were more inflexible to my work life balance care needs. In retrospect i should not have changed my role.

Any advice is appreciated as I am at my wits end

JayRitchie

Dunno but make sure you have evidence (timestamped) of the out of office.

custardy

You were off work for several months.
What were the aims of the 'hearings'?
Were you expecting to be back at work?

JReacher1

From your post it sounds like you have been suffering stress for several years, a new role was given to you two years ago and unfortunately things haven’t improved.

You have since been off work for several months.

I don’t think dismissal should have come as a surprise and I think the company would win any dispute. The out of office could have simply been a mistake and I am unsure whether that in itself is enough to demonstrate the decision was made before the final hearing.

I would concentrate on getting better

Colinw63

A little more background, I changed my role to help with care needs of an elderly relative. Work were not very supportive when I needed time off, this was due to my management role so I suggested I changed role to a less responsible position. Whilst at the time I would say that I was suffering stress like symptoms (and had been for several months), I did not take any time off in my more senior position.
In over 25 years I have rarely been off sick and never for stress until this instance. I had suffered from insomnia for several years and tended to work relatively long hours but that was my choice.
I initially went off sick due to flu like symptoms but everything spiralled out of control, weight loss, sickness, migraines etc.
I have gone through the official attendance management meetings (that I used to have to do for other members of staff) and due to the nature of the organisation, I fully expected to be finished as my doctor said I could not return to work.
I had hoped for more of a delay though as I am only part way through counselling sessions which had been organised by our HR team.

Crazy_Jamie

Colinw63 wrote: »

A little more background, I changed my role to help with care needs of an elderly relative. Work were not very supportive when I needed time off, this was due to my management role so I suggested I changed role to a less responsible position. Whilst at the time I would say that I was suffering stress like symptoms (and had been for several months), I did not take any time off in my more senior position.
In over 25 years I have rarely been off sick and never for stress until this instance. I had suffered from insomnia for several years and tended to work relatively long hours but that was my choice.
I initially went off sick due to flu like symptoms but everything spiralled out of control, weight loss, sickness, migraines etc.
I have gone through the official attendance management meetings (that I used to have to do for other members of staff) and due to the nature of the organisation, I fully expected to be finished as my doctor said I could not return to work.
I had hoped for more of a delay though as I am only part way through counselling sessions which had been organised by our HR team.

Assuming that your appeal fails, your redress is an unfair dismissal claim through the Employment Tribunal. It's a difficult and sometimes lengthy process that should not be undertaken lightly, but it is an option.

In this case your employer will say that you were fairly dismissed on the ground of capability, which is a potentially fair reason for dismissal. Whether or not the dismissal was fair will depend on a variety of factors. There are a number of steps that employers are expected to take before dismissing someone for capability. For example, they should obtain an up to date medical opinion, consult with the employee, and explore alternatives to the current role if the employee is not going to be fit to return to it. The extent to which they have to do those things depends on the specifics.

Broadly it's very difficult for anyone to provide a view on prospects on the basis of the limited information given on an internet forum. Being off work 'several months' is quite a short length of time to trigger a capability dismissal, and may suggest that the company has rushed things to a degree. However, your doctor saying you would not be fit to return to work is not promising, and it sounds like they (possibly fairly) concluded that you would not be able to return to work in the foreseeable future based on that. Certainly if you were resigned to that fact it perhaps speaks to how clear the evidence was. The out of office could be relevant, but could be a red herring. Either way it doesn't change the fact of the doctor's opinion. That's not to say that you have no chance at all. As I say, we have nowhere near the full picture and there could well be something relevant in the background that you haven't mentioned that increases your prospects. But from what you've written, you may be in some difficulty with a tribunal claim.

Undervalued

^^^^^^ Excellent post!

The only additional point I would make is that companies can vary enormously in how promptly, or otherwise, they move down the capability route. Being at the quicker end of the scale is not necessarily in itself unlawful. As Jamie has said, clear medical advice that you will be unlikely to be able to return can be a valid reason to proceed swiftly.

If you have a contractual entitlement to company sick pay the firm may well be obliged to pay your full entitlement even if you employment ends sooner. There is case law to support this however, keep in mind, the majority of company sick pay schemes are discretionary.

Comms69

Colinw63 wrote: »

General query - I have been off work for several months due to stress, to cut a long story short, I have just had my final hearing and I am now on notice of dismissal. I have appealed the decision.

Two weeks prior to my final hearing, I discovered that my out of office email was already stating that I had left the company. Obviously this added to my stress and anxiety.

As I am going to be without any income soon, I am wondering if i have a case to make a financial claim against the company regarding the apparent decision to let me go weeks before the final hearing had taken place? How long have you worked there?

I should add that two years ago I voluntarily changed role and took a pay cut of several thousand pounds in order to reduce my stress.....in effect, the stress increased as the new management were more inflexible to my work life balance care needs. In retrospect i should not have changed my role.

Any advice is appreciated as I am at my wits end

If you cant do the job, you will get sacked. You don't mention any likely return date, and to be honest, it sounds like you have no intention of returning.


Are you in a union~?

Colinw63

I wanted to return but the doctor advised against it. I told my employer this. The Union just advised to appeal the decision.
I have worked for the company in a few different positions for just over 25 years.
It was ok until we had a takeover, then a restructure which reduced the workforce. The new management style was a lot more aggressive than the previous regime. I understand that since I went off my replacement has recently gone off as well.

Comms69

Colinw63 wrote: »

I wanted to return but the doctor advised against it. I told my employer this. The Union just advised to appeal the decision.
I have worked for the company in a few different positions for just over 25 years.
It was ok until we had a takeover, then a restructure which reduced the workforce. The new management style was a lot more aggressive than the previous regime. I understand that since I went off my replacement has recently gone off as well.

Well you cant really blame the employer for dismissing you if you aren't coming back?

Undervalued

Colinw63 wrote: »

I wanted to return but the doctor advised against it. I told my employer this. The Union just advised to appeal the decision.
I have worked for the company in a few different positions for just over 25 years.
It was ok until we had a takeover, then a restructure which reduced the workforce. The new management style was a lot more aggressive than the previous regime. I understand that since I went off my replacement has recently gone off as well.

With hindsight you could have probably strung this out for quite a bit longer. I am afraid that doen't help you now but for the benefit of anybody else reading....

Beyond what the doctor wrote on the fit note, you didn't have to tell them what his confidential professional advice was. Eventually the employer would have either had to ask you to see an occupational health specialist or seek your permission to get (and pay for) a proper report from you own doctor. By the time you have exercised your right to see it first and maybe requested changes etc this can all take many months.