Work Worries

[N1kk1B]

Hi everyone,

I've recently been off work due to work related stress. This is as a result of my employer not taking into account my heart condition, even though I had an occupational health assessment (after 12 months of keeping on at them) and them having received my medical notes and a letter from my Cardiologist, so I've now had to get my union involved.

I'm currently waiting to hear the outcome after a grievance meeting took place last week. I'm really stressed and finding the wait excruciatingly painful. I feel that the odds are favorable for me as they have broken every rule in the book and not taken the advice of the medical advisers, but I'm still worried about what the outcome will be.

Has anyone else been through this process or something similar?

Thanks, Nicola.

[MyAbu]

Hi Nicola,

I have had similar issues, and am sick of giving explanations to people who don’t understand the nature of any illness. They make you feel as if you have brought this upon yourself - in my case I know that I became diabetic and developed a heart condition because of the high levels of stress that I experienced at work . Constant hostility and lack of support generate a lot of stress and stress is the silent killer. Your OH should have declared you as coming under ‘ protected characteristics category’. You have done the right thing by going to the union. Your case can go up to the tribunal if it is badly handled by your employer- the compensation can be quite monumental and your employer should be worried about that.

One day my boss said something very illuminating “that the government in recent times had passed on the burden or managing the mentally and physically ill people onto the employer to lessen its own burden and responsibility.Now the cost of illness is borne by employers and organisations.” This may be absolutely right as an observation but shows the callousness with which human suffering is handled - it’s just a policy or a statistic. There are some interesting programmes by BBC Radio 4 on employment law and firing employees- you can get some knowledge from these. The stress they are causing you is criminal in its liability as it is having a direct adverse effect on your health.

Really sorry that you are going through this - what really helped me was CBT- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy- Ask your GP to send you for this - you will cope with stress better after CBT.

Best - S

[N1kk1B in reply to MyAbu]

Hi MyAbu, you have conveyed exactly how I feel. Until someone is faced with conditions such as ours, they will never fully understand the impact it has on our lives in general which is then worsened by continued and prolonged stress.

I'll have a look at your recommendations.

Thank you so much for your response 🙂

[Bicyclist]

Talk to your union about taking them to an Employment Tribunal, sounds like you have a case against them for them not following their own procedures. They should be making reasonable adjustments for you if necessary and not leaving you to stress with a probability of making your condition worse. They have a duty of care which they should exercise.

[N1kk1B in reply to Bicyclist]

Hello and thank you for your response.

I'm just awaiting a decision from my employer and then I will seek advice from my union on how to proceed from there.

I think that the biggest problem is that I have always been someone to just get on with it and was always the first to pick up the slack, but my body just won't allow me to run on those kind of stress levels anymore and they just can't get their head around it. I've had 2 admissions to A&E in the last year due to my stress levels hitting an unmanageable point whilst at work and it having an adverse effect on my heart.

It has been a constant battle since my diagnosis.

[MyAbu in reply to N1kk1B]

Hang in there, it’s hard for eager workers to develop a thick skin but do consider CBT, it really has changed me - the stress is still there but my responses to it have changed. Remember they can’t fire you before doing a capability - not as long as EU employment laws are still in place. Deal with what is the root cause of your fear and flight response/ once you have learnt to deal with it - your coping mechanism will kick in. All best - and we are here for each other . X

[Bingo88]

Hello. N1kk1B. Sorry to hear your having a hard time in more ways than 1. Sadly employers i have had only think about the end result Money. Please try to not get stressed. You said you have a good case anyway. Plus with the union on your side. Things should get sorted. And as someone mentioned always Tribunial. Take care Brian

[N1kk1B in reply to Bingo88]

Thank you Brian.