Salus meeting re possible ill health retirement

Apologies if this is in the wrong section. If so, I hope someone will kindly move it?

I have been off work 7 weeks and will meet the works' doctor next week - complicated issues - stress plus various physical conditions causing chronic severe pain in hands plus carpal tunnel, hearing loss, retinal issues etc and a new manager all adding up to hell at work.

I've just now had a letter saying that Salus are "helping out" and that I'll get no more than 40 minutes to discuss things. They haven't bothered to ask for a medical report. To complicate matters more my manager asked me if I would want to be considered for ill health retirement. Which I might if I knew what I'd have to live on and the pension place can't tell me until my employers contact them.

So my questions are
1. Is the retirement part likely to be the reason why Salus are there?
2. How do I approach this meeting? I would want to go for ill health if they gave me Tier 1 but if they offered Tier 2 I don't know if it would be enough to live on. Assuming they offer it at all.
3. What are they likely to be looking for? I'm nervous since they haven't even asked for permission to contact my GP.

Sorry for lengthy post. Hoping somebody can help!

Comments

  • xylophone
    xylophone Posts: 44,140
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post
    Forumite
    http://www.salus.co.uk/About/Pages/default.aspx
    What are they likely to be looking for?

    Checking your state of health against your ability to do the job?

    You have read your own scheme's literature concerning ill health retirement?
  • Sj62
    Sj62 Posts: 56 Forumite
    Thanks Xylophone. What I can find is more than a little confusing. I suppose really I'm wondering if Salus are the employers' version of DWP assessments - ie are they genuinely looking to support me or just to get me back to work as soon as they can. The anxiety is coming from the letter saying that they'll only give 40 minutes plus the fact that they haven't consulted my GP.

    If I had one clear cut condition it would probably be more straightforward but I've several moderate conditions that, together, make working a nightmare and utterly exhausting.

    For now I suppose I just have to take the fact that they brought up ill health retirement as a guideline and see where it goes.
  • I would suggest you contact whoever sent you the letter to clarify the purpose of the meeting and ask in what capacity Salus will be present.

    I would not get too stressed about the meeting at this stage as certainly the meeting should not be the place for surprises.

    If the discussion is going to be about your health then they would need your agreement to share this information with a third party ( Salus) beforehand.

    Any information from your GP would have to be at your request. Your employer or Salus are not able to access anything from your doctor unless you ask for it

    In the letter to you, have they mentioned if you are able to bring anyone with you such as a Union rep, colleague etc?

    If they are asking you whether you would interested in being considered for ill health retirement then it is perfectly reasonable to say that you have no opinion on this until you have all of the information available, eg, the amount of pension you would receive.

    You mention being off work for 7 weeks, when does your statement of fitness for work run out?
  • jamesd
    jamesd Posts: 26,103
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary
    Forumite
    edited 14 September 2017 at 4:42PM
    Salus are likely to look for reasons why you can continue to work in some way, somewhere, to help justify a lower or no ill health payment. Having a representative there who has knowledge of your medical record is likely to be helpful to you, since your own doctor's assessment won't have any money saving motive, just your health situation. Since health is the key issue, having a printed summary of your health conditions and their impact that you can hand over is likely to be useful, particularly if there is subsequently any need for an appeal process. One thing that seems to happen a lot in the DWP process is just missing things or missing or understating their effect. Harder to do or justify on appeal if it's all written down and handed over.

    A union rep with experience in this area is likely to be particularly helpful to you during a meeting like this.
  • Sj62
    Sj62 Posts: 56 Forumite
    peterr_ibg wrote: »
    I would suggest you contact whoever sent you the letter to clarify the purpose of the meeting and ask in what capacity Salus will be present.

    I would not get too stressed about the meeting at this stage as certainly the meeting should not be the place for surprises.

    If the discussion is going to be about your health then they would need your agreement to share this information with a third party ( Salus) beforehand.

    Any information from your GP would have to be at your request. Your employer or Salus are not able to access anything from your doctor unless you ask for it

    In the letter to you, have they mentioned if you are able to bring anyone with you such as a Union rep, colleague etc?

    If they are asking you whether you would interested in being considered for ill health retirement then it is perfectly reasonable to say that you have no opinion on this until you have all of the information available, eg, the amount of pension you would receive.

    You mention being off work for 7 weeks, when does your statement of fitness for work run out?

    Thanks Peter. I've been told that it's the standard appointment with the works doctor as I've been off long term and that Salus are currently "assisting" with these. Sounds odd. My fit note is in place until two days after the meeting and I'm hoping my GP will renew as, frankly, my health has improved tremendously by not being at work!
    jamesd wrote: »
    Salus are likely to look for reasons why you can continue to work in some way, somewhere, to help justify a lower or no ill health payment. Having a representative there who has knowledge of your medical record is likely to be helpful to you, since your own doctor's assessment won't have any money saving motive, just your health situation. Since health is the key issue, having a printed summary of your health conditions and their impact that you can hand over is likely to be useful, particularly if there is subsequently any need for an appeal process. One thing that seems to happen a lot in the DWP process is just missing things or missing or understating their effect. Harder to do or justify on appeal if it's all written down and handed over.

    A union rep with experience in this area is likely to be particularly helpful to you during a meeting like this.
    Thanks James. I hadn't thought of taking a list of conditions and their affect on me. I got a summary printout out from my GP for £10 which is about 15/16 pages long. Do you think it would be worth taking that with me as well?

    My partner is going with me. He's very good in these situations - calm, collected and sharp as a tack. He will pick up on anything they miss or misquote and won't let them bully me at all - that being a big problem in our organisation and the main reason I'm so jumpy about this meeting.
  • jamesd
    jamesd Posts: 26,103
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary
    Forumite
    Yes, and perhaps a version you can hand over that has irrelevant things blanked out.
  • Sj62
    Sj62 Posts: 56 Forumite
    Thanks JamesD
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 342.5K Banking & Borrowing
  • 249.9K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 449.4K Spending & Discounts
  • 234.6K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 607.1K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 172.8K Life & Family
  • 247.4K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 15.8K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards