job lost redeployed

[chrisboxall]

Good morning all been away for a time on here, will still waiting for surgery more tests to come, I've lost my job as a guard on the railways been redeployed so have to find a job within the company which is limited due to my heart condition . In the meantime I don't have the best options because of my condition they will help me to find a job if I don't I get payed off has any one else been in this place.

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

No, but sadly I think many employers pretend to be supportive whilst looking to "get rid". Mine was an office based job yet I was made redundant for truely feeble reasond ten weeks after returning from bypass surgery. And I only got government rules payoff! Good luck!

[Hidden]

hi not exactly the same situation but I hope you can find a job with the company that is suitable until you can have surgery which might bring improvement? I don’t know what your health issue / surgery is but hope company can hang on till surgery done and you’re able to do a different job in the interim.

It’s extremely difficult situation and no easy answer as all employers are different but I hope you will be able to cope with an alternative job (maybe with temporary reduced hours or other adjustments?) till have your surgery?

Are you in a union? What advice / support can they offer?

👍

[Lowerfield_no_more]

This crops up on here from time to time. The Equalities Act 2010 states that employers must make reasonable provisions to accommodate someone who cannot fulfill their duties (as defined in their contract of employment). However 'reasonable' is not comprehensively defined except by a few examples within the Act and perhaps by case law which will be more likely specific rather than general. Some employers will be able to accommodate an employee like a large company who have many different roles, a small company with only only a few employees and roles will probably have to release you. And if an an employer has taken all reasonable steps and has to release the employee there is no obligation to provide a 'pay off' as in a redundancy package. So if you are in a Union as is likely within the rail industry you should get your rep involved to negotiate your situation with you. But if you are on your own then keep diary of all events that affect your situation for if you feel you may have been unfairly dealt with and have a case for a tribunal that evidence may be important. Hope it works out for you.

[scentedgardener]

I have been where you are, not for heart issues, but for a problem that couldn't be fixed. If the company had done what they were supposed to when they were supposed to do it, I would never have been so bad. They could not offer me any alternatives, although I got the impression if I had been prepared to sit at a desk out of the way and twiddle my thumbs I could have stayed forever. Sadly I'm one of those people who like to feel they've earned their pay.My union was not much cop, there was one meeting about me, between HR and the union, to which I was not invited,; before going the union rep was all excited and fired up. When he came back he was in awe of their offer, they would pay me £10,000. He was stunned that I refused it. I told him that I probably would never be able to work again, I would need at least a year if not 18 months to heal as much as was going to be possible, and at that time I had a possibility of setting up a small business afterwards, doing something that was not possible as an employee, and that would take a further year to get off the ground.

I proposed an amount to the company, and got it.

It was not an unmixed blessing, the physical symptoms still cause me problems and always will, but the mental scars they inflicted on me are still as raw as ever. I think I'm a very strong individual, and they consistently made me feel worthless, and it went on for years. I could also see them doing the same thing to a few other people who weren't able to stand up for themselves, so fought for them as much as me.

That is my story, but each set of circumstances are different, so I can't really offer advice. If your union is not a strong one maybe talk to ACAS, or an employment solicitor.

[Noodlesalad in reply to scentedgardener]

I ended up having to go to a solicitor which at first scared me because of what the end cost might be. My fears were thankfully completely unfounded she was extremely supportive and helpful. It was only with her services that I eventually got my ill health early retirement pension from the NHS. I totally understand what you say about the mental scarring caused by your ex employer as I too was so stressed at the way in which I was treated by a supposedly 'caring NHS ' .

[scentedgardener in reply to Noodlesalad]

It really is an experience, isn't it. I was a civil servant so probably broadly similar. I pursued ill health retirement, and actually got it, much to my amazement. In all honesty it didn't occur to me to seek legal advice, I seem to get a laser focus on stuff, it started with ways to be able to keep working then changed to ways to preserve what health I had left, but I did keep copious records, and documented everything. Still have 3 massive files of information to this day. Luckily I'm quite articulate, and rereading some of the stuff makes me laugh, I seem to have a quite acerbic wit! That's the kindest way of putting it.I was about 56 when I retired, and still miss my working life more than 15 years later.

Best of good luck to you.

[Noodlesalad in reply to scentedgardener]

That's so funny because I too have a small suitcase full of medical reports which I recently narrowed down to a huge folder in a small suitcase and yes some of the stuff I wrote on those notes still made me laugh.My health eventually cost me my 37 year marriage and in a way whilst I was going through so many life changing events I just got on with it all.

I think when you work for many government departments you become very structured in your work ethic and that is a bonus when it comes to record's and events.

I too miss my career especially so during the pandemic I wanted to pitch in like super woman coming to the battlefield with lots of experience and a can do attitude, may be not in a superwoman outfit but you get my drift.

Thank you for your response.

[scentedgardener in reply to Noodlesalad]

It actually worked out well for me, my mother became very unwell shortly after I retired so I was able to care for her which was pretty much 24/7.Sorry about your marriage, there are many hidden costs to journeys like ours, fortunately I didn't have that additional complication as I'm unclaimed treasure!

All good wishes for the future.

[Noodlesalad in reply to scentedgardener]

Yes alongside ill health early retirement battle, my marriage disintegrating, the final heartbraking nail in the coffin was my brother dyeing tragically whilst out in Uganda as an aid worker, which broke all our hearts and my mother was never the same again. It was his death that was the catalyst for me to leave home and move in with my mum.Two years after he died mum developed Alzheimer's Dementia and wanted to stay at home shortly after that diagnosis she had cancer so I took care of mum for six years, it was a rocky road with many ups and downs but also many laughs.

Now I am making a life for me and two years post mums death I'm still trying to find my way.

Best wishes.

[scentedgardener in reply to Noodlesalad]

So sorry to hear all that. My mum didn't have dementia but she might as well have had, her kidney disease was so bad it affected her mind, and she had a laundry list of other significant health problems. The coincidences just keep going on, I too lost my brother. All the best, you will find your way but it does take time.

[Noodlesalad in reply to scentedgardener]

Thank you for your kind words.

[cimarosa in reply to Noodlesalad]

I wish you good fortune. You have had more than your share of the opposite. Best wishes.

[Noodlesalad in reply to cimarosa]

That's really kind and thank you. I'm in awe of the amazing strength of all the super people on this forum who carry on every day facing so many health challenges pre and post cardiac surgery.

[Noodlesalad]

MorningI developed stage 3 kidney disease and already had fibromyalgia eleven years ago and worked for the NHS. After being poorly with the kidney disease and having global muscle weakness the occupational health doctor decided I was unfit to work. I then at 55 years old decided I wasn't ready to take I'll health early retirement and did a desk job. However after two goes at a staged return to work and a visit to my workspace from an occupational therapist I agreed with the occupational health doctor and took his advice to take ill health early retirement. What a battle I had to get my pension from the NHS despite it being recommended by their occupational health doctor.

It took two worrying very stressful years and looking back now and obviously my ill health early retirement pension is nothing like it would have been if I'd worked till government set guidelines on many ways I'm relieved I did it, because in the ensuing years I had one major health problem after another which I nor anyone else could have predicted and I was committed to my work in the NHS but eventually accepted I based on a doctor's advice did the right thing.

I don't know how old you are or if you have a family to support but it's a very difficult and stressful decision to make I hope whatever you decide it goes well for you, take care.

[redimps]

Good Morning. I have not been in exactly the same position but similar. I lost my job after a major heart attack ( at work) and ongoing heart issues which can be managed but I will have to live with. My employer , on the surface made all the right noises about supporting me back to work but when the time came they made it so very difficult, trying to change my role, sending completely inappropriate and upsetting emails to me ( whilst still on sick leave ) to say my team did not feel comfortable working with me ( what if it happened again) , telling me they would not support me to go back to my management role etc, etc. It got so stressful I had no option but to leave in the end. It was devastating to loose a job I really loved. A positive is that I did manage to secure a part time job with another organisation, even with my diagnosis. I did however decide not to take the job as it was some way from home and I decided I needed to focus on my health. I realise that not everyone can do this but what I would say is don't put yourself under immense stress, your health is the most important thing. If an employer is not being supportive now they never will be. Keep a diary of all that happens, take advice to support if you need evidence if the future. I was told that I had a claim for constructive dismissal but was well enough at the time to take that forward. It is so very disappointing but not unusual I gather for organisations not to be support. Good luck

[Noodlesalad in reply to redimps]

Excellent advice.

[BreatheasyBe]

Hi Chris look into Employment support allowance (contribution based) you may be entitled to it. This is extra money it’s also taxed but could tide you over until you get surgery. Also have you applied for PIP or ADP in Scotland?

[Classof1988]

Chris, what surgery are you waiting for? I know that aortic valve replacement will not stop you from resuming safety critical duties and I obtained PTS for a preserved railway with my pacemaker added onto the mix. Do you have a good Occupational Health department, at London Underground we were sometimes able to refer operational staff to the Medical Assistance Programme which fast tracked treatment, though this was a few years ago.