Incapacity - quit or ask to be sacked?

PeggyMay

Hi

I feel I am not able to continue my job for much longer due to my increasingly poor health. I have an invisible fluctuating illness which will make it much harder for me to claim benefits, as the DWP struggles to cater for these conditions (to put it euphemistically). Question is, might I stand a better chance of my benefits application being accepted if I am sacked for incapacity, as opposed to resigning?

Please no judgments or criticisms, I just need practical advice. This is coming from someone who knows very well what a mess the benefits system is and how difficult it is to navigate, but who has never yet actually has to do it themselves.

Thank you

PeggyMay

Forgot to add, my question is not only about what might help my benefits claim more (quitting or being sacked for incapacity) but also whether I can actually ask my employer to sack me for incapacity, is that something people can do..?!?

Blatchford

Stating the obvious, it's hard to advise anyone about "an invisible fluctuating illness" and specifics matter. Generally, it is better to get sacked than it is to resign. And might be financially better too. But details could easily change that advice, so anything anyone says is a guess. Probably not even a good one. That's got nothing to do with judgements, it's got to do with facts. Either way you could struggle with benefits if you aren't, in your view, fit to work. Advice on how you might qualify, or stand a better chance of qualifying, depends on the actual facts of your situation.

Undervalued

The general advice in these situations is not to resign (obviously unless you have a more suitable job to go to).

It is normally best to be signed off sick and let the employer make all the moves towards a (in)capacity dismissal. You can usually drag this out for quite some time. If nothing else you continue to accrue paid holiday (roughly one day for every two weeks) all the time you remain on the payroll.

Dox

I'm assuming you have checked that your employer doesn't offer the sort of pension scheme that gives enhanced early retirement terms (which can be at any age if a qualified medical practitioner provides the requisite supporting evidence - you don't need to be 55 or more, as you would if you were in 'normal' health).

Have you also checked they don't offer any sort of long-term sick pay, often known as Permanent Health Insurance or Income Replacement?

t0rt0ise

Claiming benefits, presumably ESA will be just as difficult whether you resign or are sacked. You will have to show that you are incapable of doing any job, not just the one you've left. You will need medical evidence to do this. If your GP or specialist will back you up then you are fine, otherwise not.

Blatchford

There aren't that many employers that offer pensions are 55, and even those that do, or that offer ill health retirement, it is not as easy as "you need a doctor to say you are sick". In most schemes you must be incapable of any work, not just your normal work. The same is true of permanent health insurance. It is very unlikely that something described as an invisible fluctuating condition is going to qualify as a permanent barrier to any form of work. But as I said before, facts matter. It could be argued that cancer is an invisible fluctuating illness, but so is anxiety. The two things are obviously poles apart, but the former is entirely likely to get a very different "rating" for benefits and other health related decisions.

PeggyMay

Thanks for all the replies. My condition is pretty complex but essentially involves physical and mental aspects that have arisen as a direct result of very serious cancer and huge surgery I had a few years ago, and includes being immuno-compromised and having chronic fatigue that has been getting steadily worse over time and which I know I will only be able to recover from with proper rest, because working isn’t helping me. But try explaining that to DWP!

PeggyMay

My employer has made reasonable adjustments but they aren’t working for me. I cannot keep going in this job, it’s leaving me so knackered and I’m not getting a proper chance to build my health back up . I can’t just resign, for financial reasons, and having looked into it, I don’t think my job can sack me either. So I’m thinking of asking them if we can come to an agreement. Maybe they keep me on, on reduced hours/responsibilities, until they find someone to replace me. That gives me time to find a solution to my financial situation. I have no idea if thats a ‘thing’ that can be done though.

t0rt0ise

Reduced hours and/or responsibilities is or can be a reasonable adjustment. But I understand completely because I've just left my job for the same reason as you.

PeggyMay

Hi tortoise, thank you for your reply. I think if they made any further adjustments I’d be doing a different job from the one I was hired to do. And that would not really work for them. May I ask what happened with you leaving your job, did you resign? Are you getting any benefits? Thank you