Can I get sacked due to arthritis?

EnPointe

singhini said:

OP - you asked "can i get sacked due to arthritis?"

Seems the answer is YES

speak to @Savvy_Sue and @EnPointe who hopefully will provide better guidance 

I think Sue's  expansion on my answer sums it up. There is a point at which there are no (more) reasonable adaptations to a role  , and at that point  redeployment into a different role ( which may be lower graded  and lower paid )  or  termination of employment on capability grounds are the only options  that  remain available 

Marcon

singhini said:

lisyloo said:

singhini said:

Marcon said:

singhini said:

Roadtonowhere100121 said:

I have arthritis in my ankle and it flares up making it impossible to walk on. I am currently working from home and one day a week in the office but there are rumours office days will increase to three days. Obviously the more I walk, the more chance I have of it flaring up. I am frightened that I won’t be able to make it into the office every week due to my arthritis flaring up 

I have arthritis
Has it been medically confirmed or is this self diagnosed?
Also is your employer aware of your condition or are they unaware to the extent it impacts you? (I'm assuming they are aware of your condition as each time you have a flare-up you should not be working but should be on sick leave). 

Why is arthritis in the ankle a barrier to working from home?

If their arthritis has flared up they are ill
Are you saying an employee should work if their ill?

If the illness does not prevent the employee working or make their condition worse then they should carry on.

Lets try an exmaple.
I recently had breathing difficulties which may be asthma.
I can work perfectly well from my desk so there is no reason why I should not work from home.

One day it was sufficiently bad that I did not think I could work from the office (walking to the office from car, walking around the office), so I made arrangements to work from home.

Do you think we should all slope off when we have a broken nail? Of course not.
It all comes down to the impact the illness has on the work and the work on the illness.
If you work from home in a chair, sometimes you can work perfectly well without impacting your illness.

In this particular case, if pain relief works and the person can sit in a chair and home then why should they not work from home?

If the illness does not prevent the employee working or make their condition worse then they should carry on.
And what if the illness does prevent them? (which is what im saying)

I recently had breathing difficulties which may be asthma.
That's your choice to work while your not totally 100% 
You say "Maybe Asthma" have you had this checked out? (in your example you seem to have had a second flare which prevented you from going into the office so you really should have this checked out).
Once you have officially had it checked out, you should also inform your employer so they have an understanding of your condition and to what extent it limits you (different people will be impacted differently so by telling them they will have a better understanding).

Do you think we should all slope off when we have a broken nail?
No, but the OP does not have a broken nail but arthritis which can and does prevent people from working from time to time if they have a serious flare up (to compare arthritis to a broken nail shows you don't understand the condition)

It all comes down to the impact the illness has on the work and the work on the illness.
Exactly. if the flare up impacts the person so they cant work then they shouldn't (they shouldn't be forced to or feel under pressure to)

It all comes down to the impact the illness has on the work and the work on the illness.
And that's also true if working in an office which is the issue for the OP (there not worried about working from home, but going to the office 3 times a week). 

In this particular case, if pain relief works and the person can sit in a chair and home then why should they not work from home?
This case is about having to go to the office three times a week and not once a week. Also we don't know if the pain relief works becoz in this particular case the OP never stated if they were on medication. They never stated the type of arthritis, nor the extent it impacts them either.  This case is nothing to do with working from home.

This case is everything to do with working from home!

When in a hole...

singhini

Marcon said:

singhini said:

lisyloo said:

singhini said:

Marcon said:

singhini said:

Roadtonowhere100121 said:

I have arthritis in my ankle and it flares up making it impossible to walk on. I am currently working from home and one day a week in the office but there are rumours office days will increase to three days. Obviously the more I walk, the more chance I have of it flaring up. I am frightened that I won’t be able to make it into the office every week due to my arthritis flaring up 

I have arthritis
Has it been medically confirmed or is this self diagnosed?
Also is your employer aware of your condition or are they unaware to the extent it impacts you? (I'm assuming they are aware of your condition as each time you have a flare-up you should not be working but should be on sick leave). 

Why is arthritis in the ankle a barrier to working from home?

If their arthritis has flared up they are ill
Are you saying an employee should work if their ill?

If the illness does not prevent the employee working or make their condition worse then they should carry on.

Lets try an exmaple.
I recently had breathing difficulties which may be asthma.
I can work perfectly well from my desk so there is no reason why I should not work from home.

One day it was sufficiently bad that I did not think I could work from the office (walking to the office from car, walking around the office), so I made arrangements to work from home.

Do you think we should all slope off when we have a broken nail? Of course not.
It all comes down to the impact the illness has on the work and the work on the illness.
If you work from home in a chair, sometimes you can work perfectly well without impacting your illness.

In this particular case, if pain relief works and the person can sit in a chair and home then why should they not work from home?

If the illness does not prevent the employee working or make their condition worse then they should carry on.
And what if the illness does prevent them? (which is what im saying)

I recently had breathing difficulties which may be asthma.
That's your choice to work while your not totally 100% 
You say "Maybe Asthma" have you had this checked out? (in your example you seem to have had a second flare which prevented you from going into the office so you really should have this checked out).
Once you have officially had it checked out, you should also inform your employer so they have an understanding of your condition and to what extent it limits you (different people will be impacted differently so by telling them they will have a better understanding).

Do you think we should all slope off when we have a broken nail?
No, but the OP does not have a broken nail but arthritis which can and does prevent people from working from time to time if they have a serious flare up (to compare arthritis to a broken nail shows you don't understand the condition)

It all comes down to the impact the illness has on the work and the work on the illness.
Exactly. if the flare up impacts the person so they cant work then they shouldn't (they shouldn't be forced to or feel under pressure to)

It all comes down to the impact the illness has on the work and the work on the illness.
And that's also true if working in an office which is the issue for the OP (there not worried about working from home, but going to the office 3 times a week). 

In this particular case, if pain relief works and the person can sit in a chair and home then why should they not work from home?
This case is about having to go to the office three times a week and not once a week. Also we don't know if the pain relief works becoz in this particular case the OP never stated if they were on medication. They never stated the type of arthritis, nor the extent it impacts them either.  This case is nothing to do with working from home.

This case is everything to do with working from home!

When in a hole...

with working from home!
"I have arthritis in my ankle and it flares up making it impossible to walk on. I am currently working from home and one day a week in the office but there are rumours office days will increase to three days. Obviously the more I walk, the more chance I have of it flaring up. I am frightened that I won’t be able to make it into the office every week due to my arthritis flaring up"

lisyloo

singhini - you seem to be wanting an argument, picking apart my post when we agree.

The person will have trouble working at the office and working from home is a possibility - maybe a reasonable adjustment.
What exactly is your point?

singhini

I took your post apart bcoz i felt you were the one spoiling for a fight with me when you commented on my post (Apologies).

 

I'm still waiting to hear from the OP with regards to the diagnosis; that is, is the arthritis a confirmed medical condition or is it self diagnosed and what awareness does the employer already have. 

When i read the OP's opening post i get the impression they don't want to go into the office 3 days a week (that's the issue, the arthritis is the justification)
The 3 days a week is just a rumour at this stage (no hard evidence)
The OP states "Obviously the more I walk, the more chance I have of it flaring up" (That's not necessarily so. Walking can improve stiffness, strengthen muscle and improve bone health).

As it stands (or you could say how i see it), we currently don't know if the arthritis is self diagnosed or medically diagnosed. We don't know which form of arthritis they have nor if they are on medication or if they have communicated anything to their employer about their condition historically.

OP, any chance we can get abit more info so we can help. 

 

sheramber

Don’t expect any answers or more info as OP makes a habit of starting threads but not returning to them.

robatwork

sheramber said:

Don’t expect any answers or more info as OP makes a habit of starting threads but not returning to them.

Indeed... the panda approach