Hi all, yesterday I came home from the school run to a letter from my employer, a little bit of background I have been off work since September 2019 when I first started experiencing severe pain, my RA was eventually diagnosed in March this year, it affects my back and both my hands.
The place I worked in was a very stressful place, I worked there for 10 years, and enjoyed it, but the last 6 months I was there I was absolutely miserable as a new manager came along and moved me from a role I had been doing for 7 years to a completely new role which I hated. The manager wants to meet up and see what the next step forward would be, I have not been paid by them since April when the SSP finished, so I stopped sending in sick notes, as I did not see the point as they were not paying me anyway! I have no intention of ever going back to work there as my health is more important than any job, but saying that I need to think of the financial implications, my hubby has been on furlough since March and still is, my SSP stopped in April, so we eventually had to apply for Universal Credit as we still have mortgage and other bills to pay, so we were accepted on it just a few weeks ago. I don't think returning to that job is a viable option as they have a strict absence policy that if you are off sick3 times in 26 weeks you get a disciplinary, and some days I still struggle with pain and fatigue!
So basically after this ramble my main question is, what do people think my best course of action is? I really just want to hand in my notice as I never want to return, but hubby is worried how it will affect our benefit, is there a way I can ask them to make me redundant? Would that be better? Any advice is appreciated, thanks.
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candyangel
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If you effectively resign I believe you cannot claim benefit. You can claim PIP as it's not employment based. Call the NRAS helpline or if you can join a union and get dome support. You can quote the disability act but get advice now.
Do not be forced out they have to pay you ssp get in touch with Acas they will point you in the right direction your illness is classed as a disability so they have to pay you if they dismiss you you could sue them but look into it good luck 😷
Should you have got ESA if too sick to work? Would they consider ill health retirement? NRAS do good leaflets on benefits and employment etc. Other than that, union or nras helpline, as others have said? Sorry to hear you’re in such a predicament.
I wouldn't resign , maybe see what they suggest surely they should still be paying your sick pay , you can always go back for a few days then go sick again maybe they will then finish you on I'll health , just a thought x
I think that unless the company is actually giving notice to people about possible redundancy that may not work, and my understanding is that the actual job you are doing has to be a redundant job. By the sounds of your health could you keep sending in sick notes so that your Universal Credit remains as is. Redundancy would be better if the offer of it comes from them but as they would have to pay you redundancy pay they may not want to do that. Would your Doctor give you a longer term sick note? Really is a worrying dilemma for you.
I do hope a solution presents itself for you soon as I realise it is a very worrying time for you. Sending you lots of best wishes and will be thinking of you.
Lots of good advice already given and I would say the same do not resign candyangel. If you have a union speak with them or as others have mentioned ACAS or the NRAS have a helpline and also information which may help. I am so sorry to hear you are being treated this way and this is not going to help your health too. Take care and sending my sincere wishes x
It sounds like you might need a job but certainly don’t want to do this one. Maybe there is something out there that will suit your needs. Whilst employment in general is down there are a lot more part time/ flexible WFH jobs than there was before.
Definite call to ACAS but usually dismissed due to medical grounds or redundancy on medical grounds could be an option.
Hi, I am a union rep for my local authority. If you are a union member, then get their advice. If you are not a member it is likely that the union will not be able to act for you as the events began after the membership (but do ask). It seems clear that you will have to retire on grounds of ill health which will be assessed by the employer's occupational health officer. They will need full medical support from your GP and consultant who will state what your illness is doing to your actual ability to do the current job, as well as the prospects of you working again in any other field. Do not voluntarily resign, get proper sick notes for the periods off work. If you are dismissed then it could be viewed as a breach of the Equality Act, and if you have no legal or union representation then as others have suggested the ACAS site is worth a look. I am facing ill health retirement myself, but for now have accepted reduced hours and pay to keep going. Best of luck, and please feel free to ask for further advice if I can give it.
You need to continue providing fit notes otherwise it’s technically unauthorised absence, and you could (theoretically) end up being terminated for gross misconduct, at which point the benefits side can get quite precarious. I say this as a fully qualified HR officer - the fact that you ran out of SSP in April is irrelevant, and I’m very surprised they haven’t written to you before now informing you of this. If you check your terms and conditions of employment, it will (should!) specify what actions are required by you when off sick, and it’s important that these are followed to protect yourself. It would be considered somewhat heavy handed to terminate you purely on the grounds that you’ve failed to provide evidence that you remain unfit, as long as you are unfit, but it wouldn’t automatically be a breach of the equality act or an unfair dismissal if you are demonstrably in breach of your employment terms and the company absence policy. I’m not saying this to worry you, I just don’t want you to get a nasty surprise where your employer is suddenly demanding evidence that you’ve remained unfit since April. I don’t know that they’ll be willing to retrospectively issue fit notes for the last 6 months, but as long as the GP concurs that you have been medically unfit for work for the duration, you should be able to request evidence from them to give to your employer.
With regards to long term options, the only way to keep the UC would be to be terminated on health grounds - resigning would make you ineligible for health related benefit income on the grounds that I assume you currently get it, including any ESA element you might be receiving within that as a result of being unfit for work. You’d have to go on to a job seekers related element, which would be less money, and usually comes with a requirement to demonstrate that you are actively looking for work. I believe I’m also right in saying that redundancy (not medical termination, but being made traditionally redundant) would also re-trigger a waiting period to claim benefits and essentially stop your entitlement unless your husband’s situation gave you access, and would only be viable if your role was legitimately no longer required. It’s an entirely different scenario, and not one that can be manufactured to get a desired outcome. Out of interest, how are you proving to UC that you’re unfit? I thought they also require copies of fit notes to demonstrate that you remain unable to work.
For your employer to deem you medically unable to return, they have to have evidence, usually via an assessment with their own occupational health provider, that you are unfit to return to work and that will remain the case for the foreseeable future. Under the equality act 2010, you would meet the definition of having a disability for employment law purposes, meaning that they would have to consider reasonable adjustments to your existing role or alternative deployment (a different role) before being able to terminate you on health grounds, but from what you’ve said, medical termination would be the outcome best suited to help you. Assuming this meeting is to discuss where to go next, my advice would be to tell them how and why you remain unfit for work in your current role and see what they suggest, but don’t be surprised if they do ask for evidence covering the last few months as a result. Most employers don’t want employees with long-term sickness absence on their books, as even without paying you SSP, you are technically still costing them money due to issues like backfill, and if you work for a larger organisation, they’ll absolutely hate having their absence KPI’s squiffed. My last full time role (in Wales, funnily enough) was essentially absence management and occupational health, and the primary principle of a role like that is to get people back into work or off the books as quickly as is reasonable to ensure business need is being met.
Other people have suggested ill health retirement: read up on this very carefully before suggesting it to your employer. What you’re essentially saying with IHR is that you are no longer fit for ANY work at all and never will be again, and wish to access your personal or occupational pension early. Schemes and employers vary, but you usually have to demonstrate that there are no further treatments available that would allow you to ever return to work, and as you’re relatively early days in your R.A. journey, I suspect that wouldn’t be the case unless you’ve already tried multiple biologic/JAKS/anti-TNF treatments. It’s not a straight forward option, or necessarily a valid way out of the situation you’re in.
ACAS is a very good first stop for any kind of unbiased, accurate employment advice, and I would definitely recommend giving them a call ahead of your meeting and explain the situation.
I was in a similar position where my hands no longer worked well and i needed a special chair and hand rests. I went to a meeting with manager and personnel who intimated that i was able to work in my prescribed role without aids. I asked fo an independent expert in the field assessment. This came back sating he did not know how i had coped so long and i needed a special chair purchasing, arm rests,provided in - house physio, staged return to work et al.The chair arrived in a box dumped in my office. i could not even get it out on my own. No expiation of positioning, no-wrist aids, I went home upset and my children advised me to resign. 2 days later when i was working my notice we were told there were redundancies. I went to personnel and was told ‘ you resigned so no redundancy payment for you.’
My friend received K17,000.
I sought advice but was told you should not have resigned.
I am on my own and it took a long time to get over this shock.
Take advice and consideryour options very carefully!
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