My Employer Looking to Finish Me after 27 years

Whenlife

Hi
Ive worked for my employer for just over 27 years but unfortunately I’ve been off work with ill health for over 2 years.  I was lucky that my employer has an insurance scheme that paid me a percentage of my pay for the last 2 years.  

This has now come to an end and they want to pay me one years holiday pay in my next pay at the end of March.  Is this normal ?   I haven’t received any other holiday pay off them for the previous year, should have I ?

They haven’t terminated my employment yet but have mentioned that HR will be sending me a letter soon to arrange a meeting to discuss where we’re going, so I guess this will be it.

i cannot return to work as i have multiple things wrong with me, I’m around 6 years off retirement age.  I do have work pensions with a retirement age of 65.

Do you know what, if anything I will be entitled to ?  or what to expect ?

any help would be appreciated as I don’t have a clue.

many thanks

elsien

You should have accrued holiday pay at the statutory holiday level for the time you are off sick. 

They will be following their long-term sickness policy, if there is one, so you probably need to ask for a copy of that. The meeting will be to look at whether there is any way you can start to get back to work, which, in some circumstances might involve an occupational health referral. If you think there’s no chance you can go back then that’s not going to be a route worth exploring.
Following this, legally they can terminate your employment on capability grounds, and all you would be entitled to would be any notice and holiday pay. 

Whenlife

elsien said:

You should have accrued holiday pay at the statutory holiday level for the time you are off sick. 

They will be following their long-term sickness policy, if there is one, so you probably need to ask for a copy of that. The meeting will be to look at whether there is any way you can start to get back to work, which, in some circumstances might involve an occupational health referral. If you think there’s no chance you can go back then that’s not going to be a route worth exploring.
Following this, legally they can terminate your employment on capability grounds, and all you would be entitled to would be any notice and holiday pay. 

Thank you for your reply.

i will ask about the other holiday pay they owe me and ask for their long term sickness policy.

Unfortunately it will be impossible for me to return to work due to my health.

i was hoping they will finish me on medical grounds so I can claim my workplace pension in full, it that is a thing that is possible these days.

you mention ‘any notice’. do you know what this would be ?

many thanks 

theoretica

Depending on your pension, there might be options for early retirement on health grounds.  Worth looking at all the options for when you can access your pension and how much it would be reduced for taking it early.   Also looking at what benefits you will be entitled to (which may vary depending on what you do about your pension).  turn2us is a good starting place for checking benefits.

TELLIT01

Many pensions, with the exception of the State Pension, can be taken early - generally after age 55 now, although taking it early will probably affect the amount you get every month.

Whenlife

theoretica said:

Depending on your pension, there might be options for early retirement on health grounds.  Worth looking at all the options for when you can access your pension and how much it would be reduced for taking it early.   Also looking at what benefits you will be entitled to (which may vary depending on what you do about your pension).  turn2us is a good starting place for checking benefits.

Thank you, I will.

Whenlife

TELLIT01 said:

Many pensions, with the exception of the State Pension, can be taken early - generally after age 55 now, although taking it early will probably affect the amount you get every month.

TELLIT01 said:

Many pensions, with the exception of the State Pension, can be taken early - generally after age 55 now, although taking it early will probably affect the amount you get every month.

Thank you.

Jude57

Whenlife said:

elsien said:

You should have accrued holiday pay at the statutory holiday level for the time you are off sick. 

They will be following their long-term sickness policy, if there is one, so you probably need to ask for a copy of that. The meeting will be to look at whether there is any way you can start to get back to work, which, in some circumstances might involve an occupational health referral. If you think there’s no chance you can go back then that’s not going to be a route worth exploring.
Following this, legally they can terminate your employment on capability grounds, and all you would be entitled to would be any notice and holiday pay. 

Thank you for your reply.

i will ask about the other holiday pay they owe me and ask for their long term sickness policy.

Unfortunately it will be impossible for me to return to work due to my health.

i was hoping they will finish me on medical grounds so I can claim my workplace pension in full, it that is a thing that is possible these days.

you mention ‘any notice’. do you know what this would be ?

many thanks 

Whenlife said:

elsien said:

You should have accrued holiday pay at the statutory holiday level for the time you are off sick. 

They will be following their long-term sickness policy, if there is one, so you probably need to ask for a copy of that. The meeting will be to look at whether there is any way you can start to get back to work, which, in some circumstances might involve an occupational health referral. If you think there’s no chance you can go back then that’s not going to be a route worth exploring.
Following this, legally they can terminate your employment on capability grounds, and all you would be entitled to would be any notice and holiday pay. 

Thank you for your reply.

i will ask about the other holiday pay they owe me and ask for their long term sickness policy.

Unfortunately it will be impossible for me to return to work due to my health.

i was hoping they will finish me on medical grounds so I can claim my workplace pension in full, it that is a thing that is possible these days.

you mention ‘any notice’. do you know what this would be ?

many thanks 

I'm assuming you're not a Union member? If you are, you should speak to your workplace representative or District Officer as soon as possible for support.

Otherwise, I just want to clarify that most pension schemes will require proof that you're unable to work at ANY job before they'll agree to release the full amount of your pension with no deductions for claiming it early. The terms of your pension scheme are up to the pension provider, not your employer, so your starting point should be to look at your scheme's conditions for ill-health retirement. Ask them for a forecast of what you would receive if you claimed your pension early, without qualifying for ill-health retirement. That would at least give you an idea of where you would be financially. You won't qualify for top ups via Pension Credit but could qualify for Council Tax reduction and/or a reduction in rent based on your income. I agree that, depending on what health conditions you have, you could be entitled to disability benefits which could top up your occupational pension, even if you don't qualify for ill-health retirement. Disability benefits aren't means tested but you may have to reapply every couple of years and some disability benefits stop once you reach State Pension age because your State Pension replaces them.

Unfortunately, it's likely that your employer will be looking at how to deal with your ongoing absence. Have you had a referral by your employer to Occupational Health? If not, this is something you should request as soon as possible. OH are independent medical professionals who, although funded by the employer, are impartial. Their role is to assess whether, even with reasonable adjustments, you would be capable in the foreseeable future of returning to the full requirements of your original role and if not, whether another type of role would be possible for you to do. For example, if your job requires heavy lifting and you have a back condition, could you do a job that doesn't require heavy lifting, such as an office job where you can be seated? Reasonable adjustments aren't as wide-ranging as people imagine and certainly don't go as far as most people imagine. They have to be reasonable for the employer, so, for example, if you're unable to lift heavy items, it's not reasonable to expect the employer to give that part of your job to another person, but it might be reasonable to redeploy you to a different job. Your employer may not have such a role available or be able to provide the adjustments which would be needed, in which case they could dismiss you lawfully on the grounds of capability. If they do so, that in itself doesn't automatically mean your pension scheme will grant full payment on the grounds of ill health but it's additional information they might consider. 

If you have letters from a consultant setting out your condition/conditions and how they are expected to progress, that's also useful information. Your GP's opinion isn't likely to be very helpful because they're not experts in your condition, nor are they occupational health experts. Your pension scheme will want, as a minimum, reports from a consultant and Occupational Health confirming that your condition will not improve in the next 6/7 years and that, as a result of your ill health, you will be unable to carry out ANY paid work. These reports will also help support your disability benefits claim.

I'm sorry you're going through such a difficult time but there is life after early retirement, even with chronic health issues and I wish you well.

General_Grant

What percentage of your normal salary has the insurance been paying?  It may be that paid holiday is included in that.

Unless your employment contract specified longer notice, with 27 years service you would be entitled to 12 weeks notice.  

Marcon

Jude57 said:

Whenlife said:

elsien said:

You should have accrued holiday pay at the statutory holiday level for the time you are off sick. 

They will be following their long-term sickness policy, if there is one, so you probably need to ask for a copy of that. The meeting will be to look at whether there is any way you can start to get back to work, which, in some circumstances might involve an occupational health referral. If you think there’s no chance you can go back then that’s not going to be a route worth exploring.
Following this, legally they can terminate your employment on capability grounds, and all you would be entitled to would be any notice and holiday pay. 

Thank you for your reply.

i will ask about the other holiday pay they owe me and ask for their long term sickness policy.

Unfortunately it will be impossible for me to return to work due to my health.

i was hoping they will finish me on medical grounds so I can claim my workplace pension in full, it that is a thing that is possible these days.

you mention ‘any notice’. do you know what this would be ?

many thanks 

Otherwise, I just want to clarify that most pension schemes will require proof that you're unable to work at ANY job before they'll agree to release the full amount of your pension with no deductions for claiming it early. The terms of your pension scheme are up to the pension provider, not your employer, so your starting point should be to look at your scheme's conditions for ill-health retirement. Ask them for a forecast of what you would receive if you claimed your pension early, without qualifying for ill-health retirement.

The terms of the pension scheme are very much up to the employer and/or trustees if it's a trust based defined benefit scheme in the private sector, particularly when it comes to paying out enhanced ill health early retirement pensions! OP would need to meet the definition of 'ill health' under the rules of the scheme, and that definition varies considerably from one scheme to another.

If it's a defined contribution scheme, ill health early retirement is really only relevant if the member is below the minimum pension age (currently 55, rising to 57 in 2028). Medical evidence is needed to pay at a younger age - and that's an HMRC requirement.  There are no 'reductions' for early payment with a DC scheme, but don't let that mislead you. If you take it earlier than expected, then (a) the pot is likely to be smaller and (b) if you buy an annuity it will be lower because it will be payable for a longer period.

Certainly a point OP needs to raise during their discussions with HR.