I had a triple heart bypass 5 years ago (aged 45). Aside from fatigue from taking the various heart meds I'm doing ok (touch wood).
Our company has just sent out an email informing everyone has to come into the office 4 days a week and its a mandatory requirement. I'm currently working from home and go into the office 1 day per week - which at the moment is suiting me fine. The thought of having to commute 4 days a week fills me with dread.
I wonder if anyone knows where I stand from a legal standpoint? Could I formally request working from home as a permanent place of work and go into the office once a week. Could I state to HR that my heart meds cause me a lot of fatigue and that 4 days in the office would be a real struggle for me? Which is all true.
In addition my job involves having to do IT changes between the times of 00:00-06:00. I'm finding this a real struggle and it takes me 2 days to get over this. Having to go into the office as well would also cause added pressure and stress which is not good for the old ticker 😃
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks
Nick
Written by
dagger1947
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My understanding of what happens when someone becomes ill and it affects their ability to work is that the company is legally obliged to make reasonable steps to mitigate the effect by changing the work pattern or by reducing the responsibilities . However if nothing can be reasonably done to accommodate the employee's change of circumstances the employer can then give notice of termination. And clearly some employers are more accommodating than others, job roles are different, and everyone's health circumstances are unique. In your case my guess is that your contract of employment states that your place of work is in the office and it was only temporarily changed to wfh due to the pandemic which suited them and no doubt yourself, so the company is only reverting to your contract terms. My suggestion is that you do indeed need to talk to HR and find out whether they are willing to relax the new requirement for you and if not explore what can be agreed to your mutual satisfaction if that is possible. If you are in a Trade Union you may need their help at some point. But you may have to be prepared to give a little like go to the office on two days a week, for if you do not demonstrate any flexibility and your employer wants to play 'hard ball ' and they feel they have been reasonable in their approach your employer may feel they have grounds for dismissal since they can argue you are not fulfilling your contract. But the bottom line is if you are ultimately faced with a decision about retaining your job under a different work pattern vs. a possible worsening of your health only you can really make that choice, perhaps by giving it a go anyway. I wish you well, each case is different as I said above.
When you started with the company was this the contract 4 days a week in the office ?
I wondered since your heart attack was it up to the C word that we cannot mention on here that you then started working from home 4 days a week ?
If it was the latter they could be funny and say you did do it so what has changed but it all depends on the company and how reasonable they want to be
I do not have all the legal in and out's but I would at least ask as I was always told if you don't ask you don't get
You have nothing to lose except if they said no you have to go in and they will not make an exception due to your condition then you will have to ask yourself is it time to look for another job that you can do from home
I hope they do say yes and please let us know how you get on x
Thanks for replying. I've only worked from home since the pandemic. It's been much easier doing my job and I don't feel like I'm missing out going to the office. My dog has certainly benefitted as she gets more walks at lunchtime. When I first started, I fully disclosed my heart condition so they are aware of it. I'm going to ask them and see what they say. I think I can manage 2 days a week but wouldn't want to go in more than that. I'll let you know how I get on. Thanks again.
I talk to so many since the pandemic that can do their job from home and have continued to do so as they prefer it and they have no medical issues but have been allowed to so I really do hope they say yes and you have been honest with them when you started so they are aware
Maybe say you did not realise how much it was affecting you until now been able to work from home and how it is benefiting your health
I think I would start with the one day as it is and then if they are pausing as if that is not enough suggest could you meet half way and do 2
If you start at 2 they might suggest 3 so I would start with the one and see where you can meet in the middle if you have to x
Fingers crossed and hope I see some good news from you soon
My professional background is as a fully qualified HR officer. One point that would be useful to know is whether you started the job post heart issues, but the bottom line is as follows:
Having had a bypass, you are automatically considered disabled for the purposes of employment law: heart disease is an automatic disability under the equality act, which means that people who have heart disease have a degree of protection to prevent employers from discriminating against them on health grounds. This applies to prospective and current employees at all stages of the employment life cycle. However, when you take a job, it’s on a contractual basis. You’re employed to undertake a specific role involving certain documented tasks at an agreed location(s), in exchange for an agreed renumeration and benefits package. In the event that an employee is disabled and their disability means they cannot undertake the terms of the contract, an employer is legally obliged to consider whether there are any reasonable adjustments that can be made to allow someone to function within a role in spite of their disability. That could be purchasing an aid, for example, or changes to working hours or location. However, it’s important to understand that the benchmark for reasonableness is essentially a) whether the employee can still perform the core functions of the job they were contracted to do, and b) the cost to the employer, both financially and in terms of business output. If by you not being at the office business need is not being met, and/or there is additional cost, then they may well be within their rights to say that one day a week in the office is not reasonable. It really does come down to your specific job role. Your choices if they say no are to see if they’ll be flexible and you can negotiate the number of days to more than 1 but less than 4, or accept the decision as it stands and go in as requested, or seek out a new job. If, after negotiations were exhausted, you truly believed the decision is unreasonable, then you would be looking at taking them to tribunal for disability discrimination.
The size of the business you work for is also relevant, and if it’s a larger organisation, even if they’re open to granting the request, be prepared for possible referral to occupational health. Saying yes to you would set a precedent, and unless they’re happy to let all staff in similar roles predominantly work from home, they’re going to want to be able to demonstrate it’s a necessary medical exception: I get what you’re saying about fatigue and feeling better, but that’s just not going to meet the test of being medically necessary from an employer’s perspective. As harsh as this will sound, but keeping in mind that HR exist entirely to meet business needs, how tiring an employee finds the journey to work isn’t HR responsibility, regardless of their disability. My professional concern - and legal responsibility - is purely the effect of someone’s health on their ability to do their job once on site. But this would be particularly true of someone applying for and starting a job with a known, established disability: you chose to apply for the job at the present location, so the impact of the journey is a ‘you problem’, for want of a better term. It’s also worth me mentioning that working from home was treated as a necessary variation of employment terms under emergency covid legislation, so employment tribunals have subsequently upheld that requesting permanent change of terms to continue working from home is not automatically a reasonable adjustment.
If you haven’t already, the first thing to do would be have a conversation with your direct line manager. From there, it may be appropriate to speak to HR, although your line manager should take it to them in the first instance. I would also check your company’s flexible working policy, if they have one, and see what that says: it may be you can make a request for flexible working rather than taking the reasonable adjustments tack. As someone else said, if you have a union, I would also bring them on board from the start. You could also contact ACAS and ask for their advice, which is free, and they’re the organisation that would be brought into mediate if you said you wanted to pursue the tribunal angle, so are a useful sounding board. It may be that your employers say no problem, but given that they’re saying everyone has to come back 4 days a week, that suggests to me that they at least feel there’s justifiable business grounds to make that request. Whether it is justifiable or not is another issue entirely.
dagger1947 Could I make the suggestion that you first contact an employment lawyer? It might cost you 500 pounds or so but if you can afford it, it would give you a sense of what your options are. An employment lawyer could eyeball the contract and also knows government regulations, so they could advise on what you could reasonably ask for and expect. Just my .02 pence...you don't need to play the lawyer card after the first meeting with HR -- hopefully it goes in your favor, but it's best to be prepared in case they just say "no."
Thanks for replying. Unfortunately I can’t afford it but if I’m desperate I will consider that as an option. Apparently this edict has come from a head executive in the us who distrusts his staff. He has been know to walk through office floors checking everyone is there. I’m hoping that because i work on this side of the pond things will be less draconian. Cheers again for taking the time to reply.
A head exec in the States, I think I know where you are coming from. Employee rights in the States are very different from those here, practically non-existent, in fact, and if you are employed by a US-owned company things can get complicated. My partner was with one for many years, and was glad to retire and no longer face the hassles. I would imagine that you are not a member of a union, if my assumption about your company is correct, so there will be no help from that. However, when in a tricky employment situation myself many years ago I got great advice and support from ACAS. They know everything about employment law, are very helpful, and the service is free, too. Do give them a ring in order to find out where you stand prior to your next communication with the company. Fingers crossed for a positive outcome for you.
Didn’t think about ACAS and bonus being free as well. Thanks a lot for the detailed reply. They look upon their staff as commodities rather than human beings.
Glad my reply was helpful. I actually kept my job and working conditions after a takeover purely due to the advice from ACAS, so always worth a call. You are absolutely right with your commodity description, as these big global companies deal in profits, not people, and have no knowledge of their employees apart from their cost, in monetary terms, to the company. A sad state of affairs. My partner spent many exhausting years playing the corporate game, pretty successfully, until finally dumped when his part of the business was sold off, and the same situation developed again. He was fortunate to foresee another change coming, took advantage of an opening for early retirement and never looked back! I do hope you get some advice on how to proceed. Good luck!
I’m really glad he managed to find a way out. Sadly I’ve still got to play the corp game for some years yet but hopefully not too many 😀.
Because I work for a payments company I am only allowed to perform IT changes between the hours of 00:00-06:00 so it takes me a couple of days to recover but that’s another story 😄. I’m hoping the ticker will hold out 🤣🤣.
Thanks again for your help it was really kind of you. cheers!
He was actually involved in change management when our children were very young, and shift work was difficult for us all to manage. Doing that on top of debilitating medical issues must be extremely hard, so I feel for you. Once again, best of luck, and take care!
i would suggest reaching out to occupational health through HR, they should offer to make reasonable adjustments to support your health condition, much cheaper starting point than going straight down the legal route
Thanks. Occupational Health is something I didn’t think of so thanks very much for suggesting.
As an observation on some of the comments concerning getting legal representation to presumably fight for the job or getting ACAS or other outside organisations involved my thoughts are if it gets that far, its too heavy handed, since the stress that can cause is not really worth it given the original objective is to find a work arrangement devoid of issues that can affect health. And if the employee 'wins' and the company is forced to change what is the day to day working arrangement going to be like, working for a company that don't really want you under the circumstances, perhaps with a line manager instructed to load up the individual concerned with the strategy of applying pressure. In other words if you cannot reasonably sort out an arrangement with an employer that meets your needs the pragmatic approach is you either accept what's on offer or quit and find something else, with a CV and a reference that has not been compromised .
you are covered by the equalities act as you would be classed as disabled so really the first thing you need to do is contact your employer and tell them the problem, and react to what they do….you never know they might come up with a nice redundancy package
Thanks Brian. I’m think I will meet them half way and suggest 2 days per week. The trouble with heart disease is from the outside it’s not noticeable and everyone assumes you are ok. Cheers for your help.
You may find that when you start to negotiate with your Employer they will require some form of certified medical evidence that your condition would cause you the problems you fear under the new working conditions and which you are using to seek a concession. Certainly I would believe that to be fair and reasonable. So whereas they may be willing to pay for the provision of that information, they may not and that could be a cost you have to bear. Your Ts and Cs may cover this
Although the Equalities Act clearly does cover Disability along with several other important categories (see below) just because someone is perceived by some to be 'disabled' by a medical condition does not necessarily mean they will be given all of or indeed any of the assistance that they might require in their job, since the perceived disability may not be covered by the Act. However I would have guessed that which conditions are classed as a 'disability' under the Act are beginning to be better defined by case law including perhaps people with heart conditions, and with it an understanding of how those conditions have become defined. But looking through the words on the Equalities Act website the word reasonable again comes up, and this suggests that even if an Employee has a defined Disability under the Act, the Employer only needs to demonstrate that they have made reasonable steps to accommodate the Employee's circumstances to fulfil their legal obligations. And in some circumstances for the unlucky few that may mean them losing their job because the Employer cannot reasonably accommodate their requirements.
Nonetheless having said all of this if you have evidence to support your suggestion that the OP is covered by the Equality Act as a disability then please share it as it may be useful to those who occasionally post on here in addition to the OP who are directly affected with heart conditions which have affected their employment, and will also be of interest to members like me who have more than a passing interest.
Thanks for the detailed reply, I will have a read of the links you sent me. I’m hoping that they will meet me half way and be flexible. I’ll share the outcome for the benefit of the group.
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