Capability dismissal or resign?

mrfoxy

Hello all,

I started having seizures in November 2020, then a year of medical tests and operations which left me traumatised to be honest. Anyway I developed agoraphobia and depression. My anxiety has been severe to the point of Panic Disorder. Now my doctor thinks I may have Aspergers. 

Anyway, I have been off work for 15 months and my company are thinking about dismissing me due to capability. But I do want to work again in the future when I’m better. The job itself contributed to me being unwell, as it was working night shifts. I’m not sure if they can facilitate a move onto days and I’m not sure I’m well enough to pick myself up at the moment with my conditions. 

Is it better to be dismissed ill health or resign? I know people will say resign but then I would lose the compensation if you can call it that with a company I worked for for 17 years. 

Please help

Marcon

mrfoxy said:

Hello all,

I started having seizures in November 2020, then a year of medical tests and operations which left me traumatised to be honest. Anyway I developed agoraphobia and depression. My anxiety has been severe to the point of Panic Disorder. Now my doctor thinks I may have Aspergers. 

Anyway, I have been off work for 15 months and my company are thinking about dismissing me due to capability. But I do want to work again in the future when I’m better. The job itself contributed to me being unwell, as it was working night shifts. I’m not sure if they can facilitate a move onto days and I’m not sure I’m well enough to pick myself up at the moment with my conditions. 

Is it better to be dismissed ill health or resign? I know people will say resign but then I would lose the compensation if you can call it that with a company I worked for for 17 years. 

Please help

People aren't necessarily going to say resign. If you do that, you'd have to explain to a future employer why you resigned, so it's hard to see why that would be in your interests.

It's not unreasonable for a company to be considering dismissal if you've been off sick for 15 months, unless there is a reasonable prospect of your making a recovery in the foreseeable future such that you can return to some sort of employment with them. If there isn't, then they may not have any other options. Given your long service with them, hopefully they would consider re-employing you once your various health conditions improve.

Two points to check with them: that they don't have any sort of permanent health insurance (aka salary replacement - nothing to do with private medical cover) which would pay out while you continue to be off sick; and that you don't qualify for any sort of ill health early retirement.

elsien

mrfoxy said:

Hello all,

I started having seizures in November 2020, then a year of medical tests and operations which left me traumatised to be honest. Anyway I developed agoraphobia and depression. My anxiety has been severe to the point of Panic Disorder. Now my doctor thinks I may have Aspergers. 

Anyway, I have been off work for 15 months and my company are thinking about dismissing me due to capability. But I do want to work again in the future when I’m better. The job itself contributed to me being unwell, as it was working night shifts. I’m not sure if they can facilitate a move onto days and I’m not sure I’m well enough to pick myself up at the moment with my conditions. 

Is it better to be dismissed ill health or resign? I know people will say resign but then I would lose the compensation if you can call it that with a company I worked for for 17 years. 

Please help

What compensation are you expecting to get from them? This isn’t redundancy as your job is still there, so it would generally be the normal notice and accrued holidays, if they did dismiss on capability grounds. 

purplelady99

If you do resign and then need to claim benefits this will impact on your ability to claim as you will be classed as having left a job by your own choice. I think it’s a 6 month wait. However if you are dismissed then you could claim benefits without having to wait. 

As has already been suggested check out about ill health retirement options. 

mrfoxy

I am going to be having some neuropsychiatry and I’m with a neighbourhood mental health team, so that will involve more treatment. I recently had CBT but it didn’t really work. 

I don’t want to retire ill health, as this means I’ll never working again, right? I’d like to eventually have a job when I recover. 

In terms of compensation, I’ve been told if I’m dismissed on capability, then I will be paid up to a maximum of 12 weeks for every year I’ve been there, so I would be paid 12 weeks as I’ve been there 17-18 years. 

I want to also add, I’ve been off for 15 months because for 8 of those months they didn’t bother sending me to occupational health. I’ve only recently heard of constructive dismissal. But they haven’t followed their own policies and procedures only up until recently when management structure has finally realised I’m long-term absence. 

I did notify them by phone about their lack of following their own policies and procedures. Now I’m wishing I had put a grievance in but due to my mental health being poor I sometimes lack the motivation to get things done obviously. I really wish I had sought help from friends too or my Union rep. 

elsien

Who has told you that you'll get up to 12 weeks pay? The company you work for or someone else?
What age range are you in? Leaving a job due to ill health doesn't mean that you won't work again - just that you may need to look at jobs elsewhere when you are ready to do so again.
I can empathise with the grievance side of things - I stepped down from a job when I was off work with ill-health. It was only in retrospect it occurred to me that the company could have done things very differently. But you have to be well enough to go down the grievance route and that isn't always the case. 
Is your union rep involved now - if not then perhaps that could be your starting point.

mrfoxy

The company I work for. They almost encouraged me tbh to resign at one point, which is naughty. I don’t think they even realise I’m covered under the disability discrimination act or equality act. 

Union Rep involved but not sure how experienced he is tbh in terms of this kind of stuff. 

MalMonroe

Hi, have you contacted Acas at all?

They may be able to give you some advice and help -  https://www.acas.org.uk/search?keys=dismissal+ill+health

You can also phone them. You could also try phoning Citizens Advice, they may also be able to help.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/resources-and-tools/search-navigation-tools/Search/?q=dismissal+because+of+health&c=SERP-PUBLIC

JCS1

MalMonroe said:

Hi, have you contacted Acas at all?

They may be able to give you some advice and help -  https://www.acas.org.uk/search?keys=dismissal+ill+health

You can also phone them. You could also try phoning Citizens Advice, they may also be able to help.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/resources-and-tools/search-navigation-tools/Search/?q=dismissal+because+of+health&c=SERP-PUBLIC

ACAS are not allowed to give advice, they are an impartial service.

Undervalued

mrfoxy said:

The company I work for. They almost encouraged me tbh to resign at one point, which is naughty. I don’t think they even realise I’m covered under the disability discrimination act or equality act. 

Union Rep involved but not sure how experienced he is tbh in terms of this kind of stuff. 

Have you told them and requested any "reasonable adjustments"?

They are not expected to be medically qualified, so unless your disability is such that should be obvious to a layman they could well be excused (legally) for not being aware.

Marcon

mrfoxy said:

I don’t want to retire ill health, as this means I’ll never working again, right? I’d like to eventually have a job when I recover. 

Not necessarily. Depends on the rules of your pension scheme. It may be that any pension awarded could be reviewed/reduced/suspended if you work again, but that's all.