I have had my meeting with Occ Health and they have recommended I be considered for ill-health retirement. They have written to my Rheumy consultant and are awaiting his report. I now have to have a further medical appt with their doctor to get a second opinion. I have been advised that to get early retirement at age 52 is very, very hard as Pensions have to be certain that I will be unable to work at any point in the future.
My question is, if I keep battling on going into work every day whilst in pain, will this work against their decision i.e. 'well, she can manage to get into work every day at the moment'. Should I be taking more sick leave?
Any experience of this?
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Lillibet
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Hi there I am in a similar situation I work part time and was thinking about claiming pip the personal independence payment but because I am still working I am worried they would refuse me and if I give up work and apply I still may be refused it. I think in your situation when you get the chance to see their doctor explain to him/her that you have been trying to continue as normal by going to work but your finding it increasingly difficult to do so I sometimes think it depends on the Dr you see at the time. good luck with it. xx
Just to clarify, PIP is not means tested, so it can be claimed by people who are working, though they may question the fact that you are able to work. Certainly could be worth looking into though. Have you seen our guide to PIP?
Yes, I have seen the guide and used it to help me complete the forms. I applied way back in October so don't expect to hear anything anytime soon!! When I applied, the ill-health retirement hadn't even been thought of so if/when I get my Atos assessment, I can update them?
It depends what type of work you do. You also could ask if you could have a career break for a year to give your meds time to work, or go part time? After you get retired on ill health in the NHS you still have to then apply for your pension separately and it's possible for them to refuse although if occy health say you are unfit they could support this pension application. Have you a union rep, they are great for getting the best deal for you.
Yes, I agree with allanah, it depends on whether you could get 'reasonable' adjustments, reduced hours and still do your job, or is it very physical? I've done my share of part time work in my time and always found it can be quite difficult to keep p/t hours down. I used to do a research job and was able to work mornings and then go home and rest. Could do a few more hours on the computer afterwards. Not all jobs can be organised like this but it could be worth thinking it through. Oh yes and its worth asking the union.
Thanks guys. I'm a cookery teacher so very 'hands on'!! I have already cut my hours down to 4 days per week, 5 1/2 hours per day. I could cut them down to 3 days per week, but then the school would have to employ someone for only one day per week. Not sure if that's 'do-able' or even whether it's my problem!!
I got ill-health retirement from teaching last year aged 48. In classic RA terms I'm not even that 'bad' but I do get very fatigued and brain fogged. Get hold of a copy of the forms they ask you to fill in (downloadable from the Teachers' Pensions website), and also of the Teachers' Standards document. You need to show how your illness makes you unable to meet the requirements for doing the job. I thought I would be turned down for anything, and would have to appeal to get even Partial Incapacity Benefit, but actually they awarded me Total Incapacity Benefit within two days of receiving the forms.
I focused very much on how my disease prevented me from keeping a healthy and safe working environment for pupils, and from helping pupils make appropriate progress. I also concentrated a lot on the adjustments the school had made to support me, however minor they were, so it showed that lots of things had been tried. My rheumatology nurse filled in the medical part of the forms based on notes that I gave her and my medical records, and the consultant signed them. The school also used my notes and their records to complete their section about adjustments.
I'm happy to help more if you like - feel free to pm me.
Oh, and I had had a protracted period of time off. I was off for nearly six months, to see if extended rest improved my disease, so you might need your GP to sign you off to help make a conclusive case. Because my employer then got rid of me (though yours sounds more supportive), I was actually off for nearly a year before I submitted my application and I was still no better, so that may have helped.
Oh Dotty, I am so pleased to hear from you. I have already done everything you mentioned. At Occ Health I said how I had changed my recipes so that I wasn't lifting heavy pans of soup etc., couldn't hold a knife to show the children how to cut safely, couldn't show Year 5 how to knead bread etc. etc. (all H & S considerations). Said how I'd already cut my hours, school had been very supportive. Occ Health agreed that not only could I not do my job safely, I couldn't be redeployed elsewhere in the school.
Head advised me today not to get my hopes up as Tier 1 ill health retirement was very difficult to get now as they have tightened up the criteria, but I don't see how the other two tiers apply as there is no way I will be able to go back to work before I am 67?
I am now waiting for the consultant to submit his report (but suspect it will be the same as you - my lovely rheumy nurse will write it and he will just sign it!!).
I have also applied for a Pip payment - but am not holding my breath!!!
You might need to have some input into it, because the medical people won't necessarily understand the impact of the disease in the classroom or what the job of a teacher actually involves.
Just off out, but feel free to ask away, on here or by pm.
Good decision. I reached the point where the school were starting capability, and I went to my GP and wept and said that I just didn't feel well enough to be able to do all the things I needed to do. He immediately signed me off for a month, saying if you're not well enough to do it, then don't. The union agreed with him wholeheartedly. I'd never really thought of it like that though - I assumed I just had to keep on trying, however ill I was. Der!
Thanks Dotty! Am currently in bed, with a cup of tea and a kitty-cat to cuddle. Trouble is, I feel so guilty!!! Have managed to get a drs. appt for 3.30 this afternoon, so will ask for some strong painkillers and a few days R & R. My GP (thankfully) is marvellous and has been with me through this for the past five years so knows how it affects me. That 'keep on trying' question was in my original post - I feel that it is giving in to the disease if I take time off, but if I keep going, then I feel I don't qualify for ill-health! I read somewhere on here that you SHOULD take time off if unwell because that makes for a stronger case. Watch this space....
Hi Lilibet, good luck with your PIP application. If turned down, you have the right of appeal. CAB can help with that. I was in the same position as you some years ago and because of the time I had off, was referred to ATOS by my company. The first nurse I saw was useless and didn't understand RA at all or its effects but I then saw a doctor at ATOS who specialised in RA and he did a marvellous report recommending a 3 month phased return to work on medical grounds starting off with a couple of hours and then gradually building up to a 7 hour day but only for 3 days a week.
My Company gave me a proper rising chair with arms, a foot rest and a wrist rest and as I am a busy barrister, also a special chair to use in court. My heavy bags were carried to court for me and taken away again as I couldn't manage them. The courts were always sympathetic as I tottered in with my walking stick!
So persevere with your employers. They should make reasonable adjustment under the law for your disabilities. It is only if that reasonable adjustment can't be made (i.e. less hours, special equipment etc) that early medical retirement would be considered. Get a medical certificate from your GP when you see him today. If you take time off because of RA illness, then you cannot be penalised for it under the law. NRAS have some very good booklets about working with RA and a guide to employers. It may be worth getting some sent to you. Also have a look at you.gov website for more info about PIP applications and the criteria applied.Hope this helps. LavendarLady x
Thank you for the advice. Both the school and I feel that we have made all the adjustments possible given the limitations of the Food Technology Room/curriculum etc.and I have already reduced my hours.
I ordered all the available booklets a couple of years ago now and gave the school the relevant one - I think they just filed it!!!
Hello fellow sufferers, I am a 54 year old postman and have had r/a for 3 years . I am currently still trying to work but it's hard going, I was recommended to do indoor work by Atos ,which I did for nearly a year, but was then put back on my old driving duty empty post boxes and collecting heavy bags parcels etc . I have lots of mini flares but can,t go sick because I don,t get paid properly as I was off work for a year when first diagnosed , now to add to my pain, I,'ve been told I have Carpel tunnel syndrome again ,aggravated by the job,so much pain ,but as I,'ve been told there are no other jobs for me in our office, I,'ve just got to keep going, or be medically retired.
Hi Tone, so sorry to hear of your troubles. It may be the Post Office is in breach of the Equalities Act by the way they have behaved by putting you back on a job which is difficult for you to do because of RA disability. Did ATOS say how long you should do an indoor job - was it limited at all?
Have you applied for PIP etc? That does help with finances particularly if you do end up with a medical retirement but under the Act, the PO has to make all reasonable adjustments and if they don't do so or find excuses not to do so, then you may have a claim against them. You would need to see a solicitor specialising in this field to be sure.
Is medical retirement out of the question completely or is there a possibility of part time?
Tone, I am just starting out on the medical retirement route, but I can say the weight has been lifted off my shoulders just knowing that it is underway!
Dotty...
Just an update - went to drs this afternoon. He has put me on amitryptilene (which I've had before and I KNOW are strong drugs). But the best bit - he has signed me off until after half-term, so I now have three lovely weeks to rest and hopefully get a bit stronger. I mentioned to him that I was being considered for ill-health retirement and he was totally in agreement. He said that, given the unpredictability and severity of my flares, it was extremely unlikely that there would be any sort of recovery enough to consider working again and he will support my application wholeheartedly - gotta love my GP!!
That is good news. My GP was the same. You will feel so much better once you are retired and have control over your own time. My fatigue still plagues me but because I can rest when I need to it doesn't spiral out of control in the way that it did. Now enjoy the next three weeks and if you're still feeling anything less than well at the end of them, go back and get signed off again.
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Work!! Or not to work!! mmmm
Dismissal due to ill health 
Is it ok to say no? 
