injury at work - help with my rights please

[Naja]

Hi

 

I have been a beauty therapist now for over 5 years . I have been working at my current job for about 8 months . Just after Christmas i developed pains in my wrists , which has now been diagnosed as Carpal Tunnel for which i need an operation . Recovery time is between 4 - 8 weeks . Although initially i diidnt want the operation , i think i have no choice if i want it sorted .

 

I have told work and , their initial reaction was to look to maybe re-position me in a different job within the company , cleaning and receptionist part time were mentioned !. I have trained hard to get where i am as a beauty therapist and this is not what i want so i have made it clear i wish to stay as a beaty therapist but i will need to have the operation .

 

Although they have yet to come back properly to me , they are making noises about whether they can keep my job open or not if i have the operation , hence this is putting me in a pretty unpleasant and uncertain position .

 

What are my rights re this ? , im thinking as the injury has arisen working for this company they have very little option but to let me have the operation and then get back to my job as soon as possible ? Am i right ?

 

Can they actually put me out of a job because of this , or forcibly make me do something else within the company ?

 

Many thanks

[rps1969]

Many questions need answering to get anywhere with this, I should know, my claim has been going on for 5 years and about £10k in Solicitor fees and still is not settled.

 

You have not mentioned how you sustained your injury. If it is work related then this is an industrial injury issue, if not then I feel you would have to prove you are capable in doing your job after your op. If you can then great, if not then consider an alternative position offered by your employer as a gesture. But be warned, if you refuse then they are under no obligation to keep you.

 

If it is an industrial injury and they offer you a different position with the same pay then great, however if you do take action against your employer the the court would expect you to mitigate your losses. Yes you could be compensated for any loss in past and future pay, but then how would your relationship stand with your employer. You could end up with no job, the companies insurers making you go all over the place for medical opinions, which could go against you somewhat and even then and as i have said the court would expect that you seek employement in another job role regardless of what you have trained to be.

 

Its a long winded process if it is Job ralated injury as the more you claim for then the more experts you will have to see, and trust me they ask you lots of questions, and can and do file a report as if they are not talking about you at all.

 

My advice. Stick where you are, try and go back to your pro-op job.

 

Oh and you are aware that not all Carpal Tunnel ops are successful ?

[Sidewinder]

As stated above, much depends on whether you are claiming this as a work related injury, but if this is not the case then your employer may be deemed to be acting appropriately under the circumstances. It is perfectly natural for them to wish to retain your services, and under the DDA they would be obliged to make 'reasonable adjustments' to accommodate your return to work. I do not neccessarily agree that cleaning would be appropriate as I would imagine that this would place a degree of strain on your wrists, but Reception work may be OK. You could of course hold out to take the full time off post-op and resume your normal position, but equally they could refuse this and instigate capability procedures ahead of dismissal. If carried out correctly, with reasonable alternatives being offered, you would have very little scope to argue and may end up with no job at all.

 

Would a compromise (subject of course to qualified medical advice) not be to suggest a temporary change in duties to allow recovery with an assurance that you could resume your Beauty Therapist responsibilities once cleared to do so by your surgeon? If they value your work then they may accept this, engaging a replacement on a temporary basis during your convalescence.

[Naja]

Thankyou for your replies . Basically the injury to my wrist can only be from the massaging and beaty treatments i have been doing . Ive been doing beauty for 5 years and have been in my current job for 9 months this month . I hav only been having problems since Christmas with my wrist hurting .

 

I actually had no intention of claiming any kind of work related injury , all i wanted was for work to give me the time off to have the operation and then i would get back to work .

 

I am aware that all carpal tunnnel operations are not succesful but you can argue this with any operation . It should in theory solve my problem .

 

The talk of the receptionist job was part time wheras i am currently full time , i doubt the salary would be the same . I am shocked that i can be made out of a job because of all this .

 

What do i do ?

[rps1969]

Hi Naja

 

This is life I am affraid and if you cannot attribute the injury to your employer then I cannot see how you could progress.

 

Quite simply, if work gives you time off for the operation then all well and good. If they do not then I think this is poor. However, the point is and providing you can return to your pre-op job with no issues then all well that ends well, just don't EXPECT your employer to still employ you in another position with the same pay as this is not their duty.

 

I will shed some light on attributing an injury. There maybe guidelines for how long or often you can do your line of work and it is your employers responsability to ensure you do not suffer and guidelines are adhered too. If your employer takes/makes bookings for you that say for example sake should not be conducted for more than 30 minutes without a rest and your employer has booked you every hour for 8 hours then you could argue the case.

 

Like i said before, have your op and see how you are afterwards.