Accident at work

[cal37]

Hi Paul,

They do in fact have a right to ask you to see a company doctor.However you can call into question any findings of that doctor as he will not have all your medical notes ( refuse permission for them to be handed to him ). Only your own GP and the hospital staff will know all the facts.

Yes the Regional manager can carry out the investigation, however if you feel that hes not impartial then make sure you state this in the disciplinary hearing and get it noted.

It is good grounds for appeal and if it was to go to a tribunal then it shows that they ignored your concerns etc.

[pt2537]

Hi Cal37

i spoke to the solicitor yesterday and she said i should question the motive for seeing the doctor, the reason she gave was that the company were indicating it was because i am off work sick, this is wrong as i returned to work on the on 2nd september prior to being suspended and i was able to carry out my work with no problem.my solicitor said that she would question why i need to see a doctor when my doctor has signed me fit for work .

the bit which i am argueing actually is in the letter it states " i confirm that i accept *********** may make whatever deductions deemed necessary in relation to this appointment from my salary and should i not attend the full cost will be deducted" i have issues with this and i am refusing to sign it at this stage.

i will say in the hearing (when they decide to get their fingers out and make the appointment) that im not happy with the manager carrying it out.

also something ive been thinking about is that if i am disciplined for this accident, only to then go to court and win my case where would that leave my employers? surely if they say i caused the accident and then cannot produce proof of that they are in the S**T especially if it goes to court and i win


anyway i will let you all know when i hear anything


regards
paul

[cal37]

Hi Paul,

Your solicitor makes a good point !! i never thought of that. I would never sign anything letting them make deductions from your pay.

Stick with it Paul i`m sure they are trying to deflect the issue so as to get out of paying damages to you.

Phil

[pt2537]

Hi Phil,


To be honest i cant see why they would even do that, after all any such personal injury claim would ultimatley be dealt with via the company insurance so why cause all these problems? its madness really.

still, im speaking to the union today regarding this appointment with the doctor and i will pass on to them all what the solicitors said and see what they have to say about it.


im still waiting for my employer to tell me when the next round of the disciplinary hearings is gonna take place too


i will let you all know what happens next



regards
paul

[patdavies]

Originally Posted by pt2537

To be honest i cant see why they would even do that, after all any such personal injury claim would ultimatley be dealt with via the company insurance so why cause all these problems? its madness really.

They will be liable to pay out up to the excess limit; if there is an insurance pay-out, they will be liable for higher premiums in the future.

[pt2537]

Hi pat

i appreciate what you are saying but in this instance the size of the claim is so small that it is highly unlikely to impact upon the company in a big way.


my employers are acting in such a way which has no other objective but to frustrate and delay things and to be honest its a straight forward personal injury claim which is being made over complicated by my employers

still, i suppose thats life and me and my solicitors will have to deal with it


regards
paul

[pt2537]

it just gets better and better...


i recieved an email this evening from the head of HR the levels of incompetnace within my company are truly breathtaking

this is what they said....


Dear Paul,

I write further to our conversation on 18th September 2007. At this time I informed you that I had received your message stating that you did not wish to attend the medical appointment that had been booked with you with HML on the advice of your solicitor and trade union representative.

I advised you that the HML appointment was not connected to the current disciplinary proceedings against you but was rather to ascertain your suitability to undertake the full range of duties in your current role in light of your recent accident.

You advised me that you were able to undertaken the full range of duties in your role as your doctor has signed you as fit for work, more so as you no longer had to lift newspaper bundles in the manner that you’d had to previously. I highlighted that over the proceeding few months you’d had several periods of absence owing to problems in your back and in light of this and you recent accident it would be prudent for us to obtain medical advise as to how your role may be affecting your health and what, if any, adjustments may need to be made in order to alleviate this.

I also advised you that should you not attend this appointment we would have no option but to make any necessary decisions with the information that we had to hand and this may not be advantageous to yourself as we would not be fully abreast to the facts of your case.

You informed me that you had taken note of my comments but would like to obtain advice from your solicitor before confirming whether you would be in attendance of the appointment. I would therefore ask that you provide a response by the 25th September 2007 to confirm whether you will be attending this appointment. This response is to be sent to ************who can be contacted by emailing her at the following address***************** ;you are already in possession of her telephone number.

Please note that I will be on annual leave from the 21st Sept, returning to work on 1st Oct. Any queries should therefore be forwarded to ******** in my absence.


my first thought was what a load of BOWLARKS. then i looked further into this the main bit is the piece ive highlighted in blue, on the 3rd Sept 2007 my regional manager filled in and signed a statement of truth on my loan payment protection insurance claim form, on this form it clearly states please confirm ALL periods of absence in the last 24 month. the last mention of my back injury was 2 may 2005 when i injured myself lifting a large bundle of papers. now then bearing in mind that my head of HR claims that ive had several periods of absense over the proceeding few months someone has got it wrong somewhere. the way i am reading this is that they are looking for any way they can find to get rid of me.

any opinions

regards
paul

[JonCris]

These people really are digging themselves into a hole.

Their letter is clearly meant to intimidate you. Speak to your solicitor & have him write to them advising them of their behaviour & how it may backfire on them should the matter come to trial

[pt2537]

Hi JonCris

Thanks for looking in on the thread

i have done as you suggested and emailed this to my solicitor so im awaiting her response


it does seem as though my employers are intent on digging themselves a large hole though doesnt it. everything they have done so far is very suspect in my opinion.

regards

paul

[cal37]

Their actions are strange to say the least. I wouldn’t mind betting its an ill trained HR person behind this, giving bad advice etc.

There are some great HR personal, who know their stuff however I have come across some that leave a lot to desire. At the end of the day an HR person is not an employment lawyer, their knowledge of employment law is basic, that’s why you should always seek proper legal advice in cases like yours.



Just pass on everything to your lawyer paul and sit back and enjoy.



Phil

[pt2537]

I would agree with you on the ill trained bit, however would you believe that this came direct from the Head of HR herself.

i think in my companies case the their knowledge of employment law could be written on the back of a ciggy packet. they really donot have any idea how to operate and thats not my opinion but a matter of fact which can be well backed with evidence


still im still suspended from work at the mo and i must say im enjoying the paid holiday that the company has given me



cheers for looking in on the thread phil


regards
paul

[cal37]

Hi Paul,

Yes I would believe it. Only last week I was in a tribunal and a head of HR person had to admit that the company failed in inform an employee in writing of their disciplinary hearing. This HR person said that they did tell his next door neighbour who is a co worker of the time/date and reason and thats all they had to do !!!.

Needless to say the company settled.

As i said there are some very good HR people and i would not want people to think all HR personnel are like the above but there are more and more people in HR who are like it.Seems to be a growing trend.



Phil

[pt2537]

Hi Phil,

well i dont htink any of the good HR people you refer to work for my company

im still waiting to hear when the disciplinary hearing will take place as i ve been suspended for ages with no contact at all from the company and to be honest the uncertainty is getting me down

still i will let you all know when i get a response from my employers


regards
paul

[Gogivit]

Im tagging along on this issue, is very interesting and I can't wait for the outcome