Occupational Health Refferal

pope

Because I have 20 years service and a long standing employee could I have a discussion with employer in regards to Reasonable adjustment being they keep my job open untill I have recovered. I just want to be nice to employer I would hate to mention to them that if they do dismiss me I will be going down the tribunal line.? 

elsien

It’s not about being nice to them.  Dismissing you does not automatically qualify you to go to tribunal. As long as their processes are fair, you would have no grounds to do so.
You’ve been off about seven months already haven’t you? Do you have any idea how long it might be till you are fit to work again? 

Undervalued

pope said:

When my employer asked me refferal to OH I consented. But after reading about it OH may ask me for release of medical records. Which I am not going to be confortable with I understand that I can ask only the relevant notes or some of them to be released to OH. But i still don't feel confortable with it. In my opinion I have been supplying sicknotes from my GP and still am. The employer has called me in to work for welfare meetings 9 times and I have been compliant with them. I am waiting surgery and this is what I have told my employer untill my surgery is done and of course I have recovered I can't return to work.

I have read online about employer dissmissing employee due to not consenting to OH. And if not that on I'll health capability grounds. I have also read definitions about disability which I do feel I do come under the equality act as disabled. 

My question is that can a employer actually dissmiss me when I come under the disability aquality act in regards to reasnable adjustments I don't think there are any I have been employed by them for 20 years now.?

The answer to any "can they dismiss" question is yes. Nobody can prevent them from doing so. The question you are really asking is "If they dismiss me, will I be able to claim compensation"?

The disability aspect may complicate matters but it could still be legally fair to dismiss.

Refusing your employer's medical expert (i.e. "OH") access to the information they need will not help you case one little bit. The information will only be shared "medical professional to medical professional". Depend on what they learn, OH will advise your employer as to the employment implications. They have a duty not to disclose personal medical information unless it is essential to do so,

BrassicWoman

pope said:

Because I have 20 years service and a long standing employee could I have a discussion with employer in regards to Reasonable adjustment being they keep my job open untill I have recovered. I just want to be nice to employer I would hate to mention to them that if they do dismiss me I will be going down the tribunal line.? 

If you cannot do the job, then you can't. Why would that go to tribunal?

I am not sure your concept of reasonable would be accepted by a judge - it's them as decides at the end of the day.

Bobbobbobingalong

pope said:

Because I have 20 years service and a long standing employee could I have a discussion with employer in regards to Reasonable adjustment being they keep my job open untill I have recovered. I just want to be nice to employer I would hate to mention to them that if they do dismiss me I will be going down the tribunal line.? 

And how long would that be? Would it be reasonable for them to wait a year, two years or ten?

Some employers provide schemes that offer what is referred to as a long term disability programme or such. In essence, they would pay you a percentage of your salary to keep you on the books - it's an insurance scheme, underwritten by an insurer and is time limited in payment, say five years. That gives some latitude for employees to get themselves better to the point where they can go back to work when ready, but, you relinquish your role meaning redundancy will never apply and if you exhaust the plan (ie:- it runs it's course) you are terminated on the grounds of capability. Do you enjoy such a benefit with your employer?

pope

elsien said:

It’s not about being nice to them.  Dismissing you does not automatically qualify you to go to tribunal. As long as their processes are fair, you would have no grounds to do so.
You’ve been off about seven months already haven’t you? Do you have any idea how long it might be till you are fit to work again? 

No I have no idea how long it will be before I will be returning to work. I am chasing the hospital for my surgery but can't be given a date I take it due to NHS difficulty with funding.

pope

Bobbobbobingalong said:

pope said:

Because I have 20 years service and a long standing employee could I have a discussion with employer in regards to Reasonable adjustment being they keep my job open untill I have recovered. I just want to be nice to employer I would hate to mention to them that if they do dismiss me I will be going down the tribunal line.? 

And how long would that be? Would it be reasonable for them to wait a year, two years or ten?

Some employers provide schemes that offer what is referred to as a long term disability programme or such. In essence, they would pay you a percentage of your salary to keep you on the books - it's an insurance scheme, underwritten by an insurer and is time limited in payment, say five years. That gives some latitude for employees to get themselves better to the point where they can go back to work when ready, but, you relinquish your role meaning redundancy will never apply and if you exhaust the plan (ie:- it runs it's course) you are terminated on the grounds of capability. Do you enjoy such a benefit with your employer?

I don't think my employer has anything like that in place. Well I have never heared of it in 20 years.

pope

BrassicWoman said:

pope said:

Because I have 20 years service and a long standing employee could I have a discussion with employer in regards to Reasonable adjustment being they keep my job open untill I have recovered. I just want to be nice to employer I would hate to mention to them that if they do dismiss me I will be going down the tribunal line.? 

If you cannot do the job, then you can't. Why would that go to tribunal?

I am not sure your concept of reasonable would be accepted by a judge - it's them as decides at the end of the day.

I would not take my employer to tribunal to cause them misery and compensation ££ it will actually be to get my job back. I just don't want to loose my job. Being on the waiting list for surgery could mean waiting months in my opinion it should be urgent surgery so I can start getting my life back on track again. But in the NHS eyes it's non urgent. Like I have said it could take months to get a date for surgery and then recovery which I know is going to take 6 months. 

I really am stuck in this situation I wish I had private health care cover would of been sorted out by now.

elsien

If you go to tribunal and if you win (which are huge ifs given that the employer so far is carrying out the correct processes in involving occupational health), the employer cannot be forced to take you back if they do not wish to do so. 

I appreciate that after 20 years you feel you are owed something, but the employer has given a decent amount of time already to see what is happening with you and you are now saying that it could be months for your surgery and further 6 months to recover. 
From a business point of view, they can't wait indefinitely. 
You seem to be hanging onto the fact that any dismissal will be unfair and you will get compensation. It really isn't that simple. 

Undervalued

pope said:

BrassicWoman said:

pope said:

Because I have 20 years service and a long standing employee could I have a discussion with employer in regards to Reasonable adjustment being they keep my job open untill I have recovered. I just want to be nice to employer I would hate to mention to them that if they do dismiss me I will be going down the tribunal line.? 

If you cannot do the job, then you can't. Why would that go to tribunal?

I am not sure your concept of reasonable would be accepted by a judge - it's them as decides at the end of the day.

I would not take my employer to tribunal to cause them misery and compensation ££ it will actually be to get my job back. I just don't want to loose my job. Being on the waiting list for surgery could mean waiting months in my opinion it should be urgent surgery so I can start getting my life back on track again. But in the NHS eyes it's non urgent. Like I have said it could take months to get a date for surgery and then recovery which I know is going to take 6 months. 

I really am stuck in this situation I wish I had private health care cover would of been sorted out by now.

But you won't.
 
Whilst you might (or might not) have a valid claim a tribunal is virtually powerless to ensure you "get your job back".

Theoretically they can "order" it (or at least they could in the past - I am getting out of date) but it virtually never happened. The only sanction if the employer refused was a little extra compensation based on a few weeks pay. The can't order it in the sense of imposing a criminal penalty or a repeating amount of compensation until they comply.

If the employment relationship has broken down to the point that an employer has been taken to a tribunal and lost can you imagine what it would be like working there afterwards?

Whilst it is possible you may have a claim, given the disability aspects, as I think I said in one of you previous threads reasonable adjustments do not go anything like as far as many people imagine. The fact that many employers, to their credit, go the extra mile that doesn't meant that they legally have to. Some don't. Have you had any sound legal advice that what your are seeking is likely to be considered, legally speaking, reasonable?

Just because you wish it doesn't make it so.