Dismissed due to bad performance & Mental Health

Undervalued

Habib2342 said:

General_Grant said:

Habib2342 said:

thanks  i'm about to send an email off to his ex HR dept to see if they're willing to have a chat about the circumstances regarding his dismissal  and see if there's anything to be learnt / how he can better protect himself against any issues going forward . If they are, great, if they're not, I'll leave it there and move on. 

Should it not be the employee themselves who contacts HR?
Are you already involved formally with the employer?
(Sorry if you covered this in your OP.)

I've had previous communications with them about him back in October and my brother has given permission for me to speak to them. The very nature of his condition means he is not always honest and truthful about things so I need to go to source to find out what has happened.

Surely being honest and truthful is a fundamental requirement for any employee? A medical condition that causes this problem should have been fully disclosed to the employer. Has your brother sought advice for any of the charities that specialise in helping people with mental health conditions find appropriate employment?

Any lawyer advising the employer would caution them against engaging with you, particularly now he has been dismissed. 

BrilliantButScary

Was your brother late in having his depot injection?, or has there been a change in dose, as both of these could have an impact on his mental health state. Has he been under any stress recently?

Does your brother have a Care Co-ordinator, or does he just attend the Depot Clinic? Although neither, will give/share information with you, without your brother's consent, you can give/share information with them if you have concerns about his current mental health state.

It is worth contacting the Community Mental Health Team to see if they have Employment Support Advisors. They might not be able to help with the current situation, but will be able to help with the employment situation going forward.

Is your brother in receipt of PIP? 

EnPointe

Habib2342 said:

14 months

No, the employer or ex-employer was not aware of his condition. 

so under  two and no Occy health assessment   or even informing the employer that  they have a disability 

under 2 years  limited rights 

not informing  on appointment about the disability means  harder to  assert that disability discrimination has taken place , even if they were aware of the disability dishonesty,  and questions over integrity and probity may be grounds  to   take disciplinary action 

Ksw3

I haven't been dismissed by an employer but did suffer from a MH condition that required hospitalisation and affected my ability to work. I was helped back to work by the Richmond Fellowship (a charity now called Waythrough) they assigned me an advocate and they attended my work meetings to discuss my return and helped me consider all my options. I can't praise them highly enough. 

When I left that role for another (very much in recovery) I disclosed my condition to HR/occupational health as part of the onboarding process, who gave me an assessment, they agreed I was well,no adjustments needed and that they would keep my condition on file in case I needed their support in the future. My manager was not involved in this at all (to date anyway) so I've not had to worry about what he thinks of me, the stigma etc. It'd probably feel very different in a smaller company. 

Undervalued

Ksw3 said:

I haven't been dismissed by an employer but did suffer from a MH condition that required hospitalisation and affected my ability to work. I was helped back to work by the Richmond Fellowship (a charity now called Waythrough) they assigned me an advocate and they attended my work meetings to discuss my return and helped me consider all my options. I can't praise them highly enough. 

When I left that role for another (very much in recovery) I disclosed my condition to HR/occupational health as part of the onboarding process, who gave me an assessment, they agreed I was well,no adjustments needed and that they would keep my condition on file in case I needed their support in the future. My manager was not involved in this at all (to date anyway) so I've not had to worry about what he thinks of me, the stigma etc. It'd probably feel very different in a smaller company. 

I am pleased that worked out well for you. I have heard good things from a number of sources about the Richmond Fellowship (as was) and suggested them a number of times in other threads on this forum.

It does sound however that you benefited from having understanding employers but sadly not all are. Yes there are certain legal protections for those with disabilities but, in the real world, if you have to battle the employer it is always going to be difficult, particularly with MH conditions.

Also, as you suggest at the end, dealing with this sort of issue is often easier in a large organisation than if you work for a small business.

elsien

And even if the OP’s brother had disclosed their mental health condition, and it did qualify as a disability under the equality act, they can still be dismissed on capability or other grounds. It may just take a little longer. 

Probably be too late now as you may already have contacted HR, but it has to be your brother’s decision about whether to disclose his mental health diagnosis or not. That is not something you can make a unilateral decision about on his behalf. 

Habib2342

well the discplinary pack came through . I said he should appeal, i mean what's he got to lose at this stage ? Main argument revolves around the lack of disclosure of his mental health condition and reasons why he did not disclose this. He's agreed to this and will send the appeal letter this morning.

Undervalued

Do you really believe that is going to help him?

Very, very few internal appeals are won. Even if he did win do you really think he could return to the company with "a clean sheet of paper" and build a long term working relationship that works for both sides?

Habib2342

not a clean sheet, but maybe a final written warning with a referral to occupational health to help manage his condition. The organisation prides itself on caring values, well surely this is an opportunity to show it.  Sure plenty of people have withheld information about themselves from others for genuine reasons. No one is a saint. 

Like I said , nothing to lose at this stage. if he loses, suck it up and move on....

lincroft1710

Habib2342 said:

 

Like I said , nothing to lose at this stage. if he loses, suck it up and move on....

Actually there could be something to lose.


If the employer is annoyed by bro appealing a neutral reference could turn into a (truthful) negative one