Dad fell at work, had stroke later in week, didn't return to work verbal resignation accepted advice

pramsay13

You can't have it both ways.
If your dad is a doddery old man and needs someone to advocate on his behalf he shouldn't be working.
If he's able to work he's also able to make decisions about when he works and when he will take time off or even resign.
If they phoned a family member to discuss he could quite rightly make a big fuss out of them doing so and in some cases it would be illegal. 

prettypennies

My Dad is not a 'doddery old man' he was a fit and able man who has worked solidly throughout his life as an engineer and thoroughly enjoyed his job. He is one of life's grafters. A gentle giant who has mentored many apprentices over his career. He is a quiet man who would never wish to cause a fuss. He has worked for his present company for 4 years directly and several years beforehand as a subcontractor. He has suffered a brain injury due to his stroke that has affected his ability to make informed decisions on his own behalf and it is possible that the initial accident/incident was linked to his stroke. As he sustained an accident at work that was deemed as requiring hospital treatment and subsequently did not return to work within 7 days would be a reportable incident. As a first aider myself, if a member of staff reported sustaining a head injury, and refused hospital investigation, I would be concerned about allowing them to go home on their own without adequate follow up. I understand that I may be approaching this from a best practice rather than legal obligation standpoint.
My father is making steady recovery, but it was made clear to his work at the time of his hospital discharge, that he was recovering from a significant brain injury ( he had a DOLS in place whilst in hospital) and because of that, I had been appointed to manage his affairs. He may well not recover enough to return to work or ultimately have the desire to do so, but should have been given sufficient time to recuperate and come to the decision when he was in a better position to do so.

oh_really

The employer has duties placed on the under 2(1) of the health & safety act, to ensure the health and safety of their employees, they may also be in breach of sec 2 (2) for failing to provide safe access and egress to the place of work and a safe working environment together with an adequate level of supervision.

This should have been reported to the enforcing authority (HSE) by the quickest practicble means, tel or email and written report within 10 days.

Are you aware if an investigation has been conducted and if a report has been made to the enforcing authority?

I'd also help your dad prosecute a grievence over the lack of clarity around the employment terminating as atm this all sounds he said she said to get him off the employers hands.

Is there a trade union safety rep on site? Is your dad a union member?

https://www.hse.gov.uk/contact/concerns.htm

https://webcommunities.hse.gov.uk/connect.ti/concernsform/answerQuestionnaire?qid=594147

Marcon

prettypennies said:

on Friday 31st July my 72 year old Dad had a stroke and was hospitalised for over 3 weeks. It later transpired that the Monday previously, he had fallen at work. No one from his work contacted me (I am next of kin).

I asked for my call to be returned and for any communication to go via me as my dad had memory loss, confusion and speech difficulties due to the stroke. My call was not returned.

There has been no written correspondence following the accident, leave from work or termination of his contract. Not so much as a get well card. My Dad worked throughout lockdown despite being over 70. He was really proud of being a keyworker and the fact that his engineering firm were making ventilator parts. I would have hoped that he would have been treated with a bit more compassion.

I can completely understand where you're coming from, but if your dad has had a stroke and can't speak properly, he is surely in no fit state to return to work in the foreseeable future. If HR believed he'd resigned, it is entirely reasonable for them to have accepted the resignation rather than adding to the misery by insisting on a written communication from a man who probably can't write at present.

You say you would have 'expected' them to contact you to confirm his intentions. These days employers can't win. Constrained by data protection, confidentiality and just about every other non-humane bit of legislation imaginable, they can't liaise with their employee's nearest and dearest without having 999 forms signed in triplicate (by a possibly wholly incapacitated employee) giving consent. Sending a get well card would probably invalidate their employer's insurance policy.

Legislation triumphs again over human compassion.

KatrinaWaves

They didn’t send him home alone, they drove him home and called and spoke to him the next day when he complained about issues with his knees.

they didn’t just send him home with a head injury and forgot about him. 

prettypennies

I have their second hand version of events, not what was recorded on the accident report. A colleague of his recalls my dad saying he had hit his head on the day of the accident. Obviously, I have no way of ascertaining my Dad's level of consciousness understanding during the follow up call. I would be very uncomfortable discharging a member of staff in my care following a head injury without ensuring they were being adequately monitored. 

KatrinaWaves

That’s the thing though, you have no idea what happened. Do you think his employer should have forced him to go to someone else’s home instead of go his own home, alone? 

he may have been absolutely fine, lucid, not showing any signs of concussion and their first aided was satisfied he was okay. The stroke is not necessarily related... 

prettypennies

Marcon said:

prettypennies said:

on Friday 31st July my 72 year old Dad had a stroke and was hospitalised for over 3 weeks. It later transpired that the Monday previously, he had fallen at work. No one from his work contacted me (I am next of kin).

I asked for my call to be returned and for any communication to go via me as my dad had memory loss, confusion and speech difficulties due to the stroke. My call was not returned.

There has been no written correspondence following the accident, leave from work or termination of his contract. Not so much as a get well card. My Dad worked throughout lockdown despite being over 70. He was really proud of being a keyworker and the fact that his engineering firm were making ventilator parts. I would have hoped that he would have been treated with a bit more compassion.

I can completely understand where you're coming from, but if your dad has had a stroke and can't speak properly, he is surely in no fit state to return to work in the foreseeable future. If HR believed he'd resigned, it is entirely reasonable for them to have accepted the resignation rather than adding to the misery by insisting on a written communication from a man who probably can't write at present.

You say you would have 'expected' them to contact you to confirm his intentions. These days employers can't win. Constrained by data protection, confidentiality and just about every other non-humane bit of legislation imaginable, they can't liaise with their employee's nearest and dearest without having 999 forms signed in triplicate (by a possibly wholly incapacitated employee) giving consent. Sending a get well card would probably invalidate their employer's insurance policy.

Legislation triumphs again over human compassion.

Thank you for your response. My Dad's contract states that resignation should be received in writing, so it would have been reasonable for them to have at least written to him after his verbal resignation to confirm the resignation rather than just sending his P45 with no cover letter. Stroke recovery is different for every patient and disability can be acute or chronic. My Dad's understanding has improved markedly since his discharge as has his speech. He may well not want to return to work but was entitled to the time to recover and make that decision when he was required to do so. 

thebrexitunicorn

It isn’t clear whether your Dad spoke with his manager before or after the message you left, explaining his condition. Is it the case that you know that he did not have the capacity to make the decision, informed the employer and that the employer disregarded this information?  It might be worth putting this in writing to the employer (or your father doing so if he is sufficiently recovered)  stating that you believe he should be entitled to time to recover and to make an informed decision  before the ‘resignation’ is acted upon.  I assume at this point you would also like your father to receive sick pay from the company as would be his right as an employee.   If this is the case include it in your communication.  It may be helpful to discuss the matter with an employment law solicitor, if there is no satisfactory response and you and your father want to understand his options. Even if your father did resign the company was aware soon after of the full situation. It is not a clear cut resignation. 

prettypennies

thebrexitunicorn said:

It isn’t clear whether your Dad spoke with his manager before or after the message you left, explaining his condition. Is it the case that you know that he did not have the capacity to make the decision, informed the employer and that the employer disregarded this information?  It might be worth putting this in writing to the employer (or your father doing so if he is sufficiently recovered)  stating that you believe he should be entitled to time to recover and to make an informed decision  before the ‘resignation’ is acted upon.  I assume at this point you would also like your father to receive sick pay from the company as would be his right as an employee.   If this is the case include it in your communication.  It may be helpful to discuss the matter with an employment law solicitor, if there is no satisfactory response and you and your father want to understand his options. Even if your father did resign the company was aware soon after of the full situation. It is not a clear cut resignation. 

His line manager spoke to him after I had spoken to the HR manager explaining my father's condition at the time. When my father had the conversation with his line manager, he did not have the capacity to make the decision to resign. The line of communication between HR and shop floor appears to have been affected due to some departments working from home due to the Covid situation. You are correct in your assumption that I believe my father should have been afforded the right as an employee to receive sick pay until he was sufficiently recovered to make an informed decision or was deemed permanently unfit to work.