Capability dismissal or resign?

mrfoxy

Undervalued said:

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.

The last meeting I had they literally pressured me into agreeing a return. But upon that decision, I decided it is best to do the capability meeting again, as I didn’t feel confident or happy with the circumstances of the return. 

However they do have an occupational health scheme. My last OH was 31/12/2021 where it was deemed I wouldn’t be able to return for the foreseeable future however I was up to CBT session 3 out of 12 by that point. The current CBT I had hasn’t really helped my progress but I am now with a neighbourhood mental health team and awaiting other appointments, so I’m hoping this will help. 

Admittedly though, I am still struggling with aspects of symptoms of agoraphobia, such as leaving the house independently. 

MrsBrooks13

You need to establish what your pension scheme offers in terms of IHR. Is it a single tier system where eg you only need to be incapable of doing your own or a comparable job (in which case you CAN work again and still receive your pension) or is it multi tier in that you can’t do ANY job for either a set period of time or permanently.

You should also have a further OH assessment based on the current situation as to be recommended for IHR you may need to have exhausted all treatments for your conditions and your employer can state there are no further reasonable adjustments available to enable a sustained return to work. 

It’s a long process but worth it if you get it because even if you get the highest tier, as Marcon says they will just suspend your pension if you do eventually return to work. 

As others have said, resigning would not entitle you to benefits for some time, make getting another job possibly harder and you wouldn’t get access to your pension. So I see no benefit in this. 

mrfoxy

I’ll look into how my pension works this week. I know I haven’t put a lot into it in terms of contributions. 

Now I have argued that the pandemic has obviously delayed some of my treatments due to a backlog of appointments. 

But with the Community Mental Health team input and Neuropsychiatrist to come, could I argue that eventually I will be able to recover to be able to work?

But they are still threatening to fire me because they want a return date. It’s all very confusing to me, as obviously I’ve waited such a long time for my treatments. 

Yes it’s 15 months and a long time but that’s without intervention. 

Jillanddy

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. 

The information is correct - if you are dismissed you are entitled to notice pay - not compensation - which would amount to 12 weeks due to the length of service. Plus any accrued statutory holiday entitlement.

However, I am sorry but at this stage I think that whilst you should wait to be dismissed - in terms of potential future employment, it makes little difference under the circumstances - the employer isn't being unreasonable in wanting to terminate the employment. Of course they are going to try it on to get the "best deal" out of that that they can - so are you if you have any sense! The Equality Act is something of a red herring here - it is often vastly overrated in terms of any protections it may offer, and the reality is that if you cannot return to work then the Equality Act cannot help you. At best it only makes the employer consider whether any adjustments would help you return, and if it is possible to implement those adjustments then they should do so. It does not require them to to hold your job open for an unspecified period of time until you might be able to return, and 15 months is already far longer than many employers would have done so. 

You should certainly investigate your pension position, but even if there is an ill health provision (assuming this is an occupational pension scheme) it is quite likely that it wouldn't cover a circumstance where the health condition is such that a return to work in the future is very possible, and despite the length of your absence, that does seem possible.

Being blunt, whilst I appreciate that the pandemic has severely impacted on treatment times and options, that isn't your employers problem and so they aren't going to be held to account for that - they aren't required to take account of that, although, to be honest, it would appear that they have in letting this go on for so long. 

mrfoxy

What would happen to my pension then? I’m confused… would I lose it?

elsien

mrfoxy said:

What would happen to my pension then? I’m confused… would I lose it?

You would need to check the specific terms of your pension to see under what circumstances you can take it early due to ill health, and what would then happen if you were well enough to return to work.
The rules vary depending on your employer/scheme so that's what you need to be asking your specific work pension provider about. 

Undervalued

mrfoxy said:

What would happen to my pension then? I’m confused… would I lose it?

No, you can't lose it as a result of leaving your employment for whatever reason. You will have right to transfer it to another pension scheme or just leave it there, hopefully growing in value, until you reach pensionable age.

Most company pension schemes have some kind of insurance protection built in, should an employee be unable to continue working for heath grounds. However the terms vary greatly. They would certainly need a medical assessment as to what, if any, work you are likely to be able to do between now and the normal retirement age.

You need to study the pension documentation carefully.

Your union should be advising you on this.

mrfoxy

My Union rep hasn’t mentioned anything about my pension etc.

I actually feel like because of my conditions, I’m sort of weak and not finding the right solutions or help. 

Jillanddy

I have looked back over the thread, and I think that this:

"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. "

may be creating some assumptions that I don't think are actually in evidence. So we do need to clarify the point because the OP clearly doesn't really understand a lot here (not a criticism, just an observation). Do you actually have an occupational pension scheme? Because people are all assuming that you do but nowhere have you actually said that you do. All you have said is that you don't want to take ill-health retirement - and that has a specific meaning but I am not sure that (a) you have been or could be offered it or (b) that you are using the term in the way it is commonly understood (as being associated with an occupational or private pension scheme). And that you haven't paid a lot into it (which could mean that your pension scheme is the new state pension scheme as that hasn't been operating for very long). I would just assume that after so many years in employment an occupational pension would be worth more than the OP seems to think. If there is no occupational pension, then the entire "ill-health retirement" is a rabbit hole. 

mrfoxy

I think it’ll be a new state pension as I work for a supermarket and it was one of those designed that everyone has to have kind of thing.