Problem with company Changing their mind

[postmn]

Ok Just start with some background.

 

for the past two years 2014 & 2015 i have had relapses of prolapsed disks causing me to have long absences , after the last absence it was agreed that i would be covered under the disability act (or whatever its called now) also after i had my injections i had to have physio which the occupational health provided so i got back to work a lot quicker than if i had waited for the nhs .

 

Now on to this year i had to be signed of sick because my shoulder had frozen i cannot lift anything of with with one arm , doctor has put me on pain killers and on the list for physio for the shoulder which will allow me to return to worl .

 

When it was diagnosed i told my line manager to refer me to OH because the waiting list was 3 months and they could get me seen a lot earlier like last time , then when i spoke to them again after i was given another fitness note and again they saud they would .

 

Also the reason i need the referral is that they could arrange to gety me back to work in a different area not doing the repetitive actions which aggrevate it while i am waiting for physio or sending me to their physio .

 

The problem is when i go back i know i will face a meeting about my absence but i cannot afford to pay to go privte to jump the list also I cannot go back to full duties because even the gp said i would see you within a week again . So where do i go from here.

 

I am unable to go to OH without the referral but without Oh i can see me being signed off until i get the phsio from the NHS

Edited February 25, 2016 by honeybee13
Paras.

[Emmzzi]

Your manager is saying they will refer you to OH but it is slow happening, is that right?

[postmn]

Your manager is saying they will refer you to OH but it is slow happening, is that right?

no i want to be referred to oh because they can get me treatment sooner rather than later , the manager has not done anything about it . so my period of absense is longer than it should be

[ericsbrother]

then your manager si either failing to fulfil their duties or trying to engineer your dismissal on capability grounds. get a letter off saying that you want to return but cant, need referral from them to OH etc copied in to more senior manager. LM probably doesnt have the clout needed so polite push upstairss may well do the trick

[postmn]

I have a problem that will require me to ask for half days for a week due to the fact my father carer has to be looking after another person (sister who has just had had breast cancer and had the surgery to try and catch it so cant do anything ,

 

 

my sisters husband is coming out of respite care next week

he is in the latter stages of moter neorone desise and confined to a wheel chair and totally reliant on other people now to get him out of the chair etc .

 

 

i have to look after my father

 

 

but due to the hours i work he will be left for far too long up to 9 hours now until i can get back ,

 

 

now i want to request a week of half days starting from monday ( I do work saturday)

and i would be willing to hand back 2.5 days of holiday ,

 

 

but what would be the best way of approaching this since it is extremly short notice

[obiter dictum]

There is no automatic right to time off work. Your employer will have an "Other time off" procedure that deals with such things as urgent domestic distress, bereavement, emergency child care etc

 

The only sure way is if you have been designated an official carer and the person has a disability covered under the Equality Act 2010

[postmn]

o he does he suffers from copd so can only move about 10 to 20 feet from bed to louge and thats it as he has infection in his lungs atm as well . Not forgetting he cannot get to the bathroom so he has to use a commond and container .i did have a meeting with them over career issues a few month ago his

[obiter dictum]

Then if you have been designated his official carer and nobody else you can request resonable time off to care. It is called disability by association and it will be regarded as though you have the disability. If you are a postman contact the CWU and get the equality rep to handle it on your behalf

[Emmzzi]

or, you could pay for a carer to come in while you are at work. Emergency leave is usually to arrange the care, not do the caring.

[postmn]

we would do but the ones in my area are so un reliable and if they dont turn up he is left until i get home , otherwise i would .

[postmn]

i have had a lot of time off due to prolapsed disks in the lower back

since then it has been sorted ,

 

 

subsequently i have have had time off for a shoulder injury and tendon injury that are being controlled due to medication

however due to the amount of time off i was put on consideration for dismissal

which i dodged since i am a reliable and very good worker (his words not mine) .

 

 

fast forward to 6 months ago and i started getting severe pain the the knees and lower legs etc .

saw a GP and they refered me to physiotheropy which i had to wait meanwhile i had tapped out the pain killers and anti inflammatries .

 

Fast forward to 2 weeks ago and after a very bad night sleeping etc and had top take the day off to get a appointment on the day this GP (not my regular one )

gave me a amended duties note stating the problem which is the more walking i do the more inflammed the joints become later in the day .

had a return to work meeting with the manager and one of the first things he said you will not dodge another consideration for dismissal ,

and there is not the hours inside for you to work there needless to say he has allowed me inside but my ameneded duties note stops in 2 weeks .

 

I see my gp today to get a orthopaedic referal to a specilist since he cant do anything with it ,

as you most people know referals take a long time last person who had a referral it took 4 months

i woudl be looking at 6 months monimun of ameded duties and im a realist i cannot see the company agreeing to that ,

i would go off sick and then trigger the consideration for dismaissal and then what happens next

 

Because also i an at the aged that you find it difficauolt to find another job also due to my illnesses etc

i canot see a company emplying me for a physical job , too much of a risk

[Emmzzi]

here's the question that matters: are you able to do the job you are employed to do? Your employer is a business and needs workers to work. If you cannot then harsh as it is, they need you to make room for someone who can.

 

If you are not, are you able to do ANY job now? clearly, as you are on amended duties. This tells us you are not a candidiate for ill health retiral.

 

I would

a) investigate benefits you may be entitled to and

b) get that CV dusted off and look for a desk job

 

If you are a memeber of the union have a chat too, they may have a view on amended duties and other units that have vacancies suitable for you

[postmn]

I ams am a realist as well I know at the end of the day if I cannot do my job they will get rid of me ,

however at the moment we are unable to say whether I would be able to return to normal duties due to the fact we are waiting for the specialist appointment ,

 

 

yes I cannot afford to go private or other wise I would to speeded the process up .

 

 

the only one that they can offer at the moment its a considerable car journey which would add around a hour+ to my journey time . Iwill have to see what happens I think

Edited June 12, 2017 by postmn
additional information

[sangie5952]

Are you aware of the NHS chose and book system? Many people are not.

Within the system there will, in fact, be referrals to private hospitals under NHS terms

- and as a rule private hospitals get to see you much quicker.

 

 

Around my area, for example, major surgery that takes a year to get in the NHS hospitals is done and dusted in the local private hospital in about four months! Many GPs and CCGs do not promote choose and book, but it is your right. You are entitled to attend any specialist or hospital registered on the scheme, anywhere in the country.

 

I would also point out that your legal right is to START consultant led treatment within 18 weeks of a referral. If this does not happen then there are ways to enforce treatment starting which can include private treatment.

 

Oddly, although all this information is on the internet, it can be difficult to find if you don't know to look for it!

[ericsbrother]

are you in a company pension scheme?

Many have rules concering ill-health retirement so if you are you need to get a copy of the rules and ask about whether you fit into the early retirement criteria.

 

 

Most schmes now say you must be permanently incapable of doing ANY work but some refer to being incapable fo doing your job or offer a part pension based upon the percentage of duties you can no longer do.

 

 

If the scheme is unclear on this you can ask the Pensions Advisory service to offer an opinion on the wording.

Mkae sure that your employer is aware that you would wish to consider this optino if it is there.

[postmn]

well had a meeting today and it appears they are going to wait fir the specialist referral to see what happens

[postmn]

I have for the past 2 weeks been trying to get hold of my sick record since I have been told I have used up all my sick days the company will pay for ,

 

If I do SAR my company I think it is a case of using a sledgehammer to crack a nut .

 

Its because my sick pay works on A 4 year rolling cycle and I need to know all the dates

[postmn]

I have been on long term sick waiting for a operation since I am unable to do my complete job .

I was on very powerful painkillers .

 

Fast forward to last Tuesday and I get a phone call from my line manager saying you will be on SSP from Monday ,

Is it possible you can get to work on limited duties .

This is what I wanted them to say

 

 

I went to the GP and she agreed apart from some restrictions .

phoned up work and told them on Thursday

 

 

he said I will have to talk to Hr to sort it out

come Monday NO answer

 

 

again I have to call

what has happened is his boss has said he does not want me back until after the operation since I would be coming back and then going off .

Biggest problem is I am out of sick days and I do not believe they spoke to occupational Health at all and just made the decision

 

I cannot survive on £80 week for the next 2 months which is the best possible return to work after the op in mid oct

[Emmzzi]

Hi, who have you asked, and do you not have copies of your doctors lines etc? and SSP from pay slips.

[Emmzzi]

WRITE to HR. Create an audit trail.

[dx100uk]

several related threads merged for complete history

 

 

dx

[postmn]

well I do have the option of raising a grevience which I think I will have to do

[Emmzzi]

well I do have the option of raising a grevience which I think I will have to do

 

Why do that before you have WRITTEN to HR?

[postmn]

quite simply hr would take there merry time over it where as if I raise a grievous there is a very strict timetable

[Emmzzi]

quite simply hr would take there merry time over it where as if I raise a grievous there is a very strict timetable

 

When your coat is already on a shoogly peg, there's no point tugging the peg to see if it falls out.

 

You should have all of these records yourself.