Advice required regards employment situation rights - location of work

Undervalued

Mistermeaner said:

Hi grumpy chap thanks for comments , not sure it’s come full circle - I stood firm as I intended and the business accepted my position in the form of a flexible working arrangement based on me being assessed as disabled by occupational health. I therefore have a contract which is what I want and fff protection of being designated disabled - my employer has a legal obligation to make reasonable adjustments 

I agree it may be me who leaves but given the situation i don’t understand how this can occur without a payoff  - can you please elaborate as to the basis on which my employer could terminate my employment ? Thanks 

Five months ago, seven pages back in this thread I said.....

Nobody can stop any employer from firing somebody if they are so minded. The best an employment tribunal can do, many months down the line and after no end of grief, is to order them to pay some compensation. Generally that is far less than most people fondly imagine!

Nothing that has been posted since changes my opinion!

Mistermeaner

I get that …. However my contract requires they give me 6 months notice so gross misconduct aside that is the absolute bare minimum they must pay me surely?

also given there are no performance issues any dismissal as a result of all this would likely be seen as constructive- ie they can’t cite me not being on site enough as a reason given my contract, the flexible working arrangement and the fact I’m classed as disabled and therefore they are obliged to make reasonable adjustments 

I believe my position to be very strong - what am I missing ? 

Undervalued

Mistermeaner said:

I get that …. However my contract requires they give me 6 months notice so gross misconduct aside that is the absolute bare minimum they must pay me surely?

also given there are no performance issues any dismissal as a result of all this would likely be seen as constructive- ie they can’t cite me not being on site enough as a reason given my contract, the flexible working arrangement and the fact I’m classed as disabled and therefore they are obliged to make reasonable adjustments 

I believe my position to be very strong - what am I missing ? 

Less than three percent of constructive dismissal cases are won at tribunal!

Have you spoken to a solicitor who specialises in employment law? If so, have you done your absolute best to tell them both sides of the story without omitting anything that is "inconvenient"?

There is a saying that "a man who is is own advocate has a fool for his client".

You might have a case. Equally you might have an employer that fights such cases tooth and nail even though it would be far cheaper to settle. One of the country's largest supermarkets is that way inclined as they feel, overall, it is in their best interests. IIRC you are not a union member and do not have insurance cover? So you would be either funding your own lawyer (no you won't get costs even if you win) or presenting your own case.

Or, if you keep annoying them gently, they might just pay you off for the sake of an easy life. It happens.

Nobody here can tell you which is more likely.....

I'm, out.

Savvy_Sue

Mistermeaner said:

the fact I’m classed as disabled and therefore they are obliged to make reasonable adjustments 

I suspect it's already been said, but what constitutes a 'reasonable adjustment' is probably more limited than you might imagine. The employer may well be able to argue that even though you are sure you can do your job without being in the office more often than your contract says, it's no longer working for them (and never has for the problem manager). And OH can make recommendations, but these are not binding on the employer, any more than a GP's Fit Note would be. Fit Note says "light duties only" or "flexible hours" or "phased return" - employer says no, it's all or nothing. 

Mistermeaner

Hi sue i get that but my work has agreed to my flexible working request- time in the office / remote working is no longer an issue they can bring up. 

To expand ; the company has agreed that due my being disabled they have accepted my request to (a) only be in the office 2 days a week (b) only be at the remote site every other week and (c) to allow teams options for meetings and not insist on face to face 

if then senior manager so and so books 3 meetings in a week, one Tuesday one Wednesday and one Thursday all face to face with no teams option then the company cannot raise issue with me not being able to attend them all

squirrelpie

One option you could consider, if you still have no written confirmation from the company as to what has been agreed, is to write and confirm your understanding of what has been agreed and send it to them. If they reply you will know for sure; if there's no reply after a reasonable time, I think you can take it as agreed. I would send it to HR with a copy to your manager. At some later time you could also send a copy to the problem manager.

Savvy_Sue

And you could also at some point ask what you should do / how you should respond if meetings have been scheduled on three separate days, and that the Teams option is not being offered. 

Do these meetings involve several people, or just you and one other? I will say that having one person on Teams while every one else is in the same room has never worked particularly well for me, especially if there's more than about 2 others in that room!