Work advice.

I have been off my work for the past month and half due to a long term unexplained illness. For the past 3 or 4 years I have been passing out and after attending my GP, local hospital, Southern General etc.. there has been no cause found.

I went to my work for a meeting this morning after they received a letter from my doctor, the letter said I was fit to do the job but my work have decided I can't so are going to sack me/terminate my contract. They offered me the chance to resign but I refused due to the fact I would receive no money afterwards from benefits so they are going to seek legal advice and see how they can go about terminating my employment.

Has anyone been in this situation before or have any knowledge of what I can do with incapacity benefits or any sort of money available to me?

 

First question is the blatent one. What is your current job and how much does the illness affect your performance?

 

I work with children, according to my doctor I couldn't be left alone with children but that's true for anyone in my line of work.

When the illness is at it's worse I'm off off work like now but when it's good it doesn't happen at all, I go the majority of time without any episodes and there always signs of it coming on so up until now it has never happened in a work situation.

 

It sounds to me that your work are trying to bully you into resigning,dont. If your Doctor says
You are fit for work then it would be difficult for them to termonate your employment.
They should be trying to see if there are safeguards that could be put in place to allow you
to work safely and provide a.safe emvironment for the children which is important.
If you are in a Union ask them for advice.
Good luck

 

Nah no union, will give ACAS a phone at some point though.

They are pretty right in what they are doing because the children come first so I have resigned myself to the fact I won't be going back so looking into what options I have now money wise.

If I go to doctor I'm pretty sure he'll sign me off work but I don't know the deal with incapacity benefit etc.. until I'm fully fit to take up a job again.

 

its bullying from your company and if your fit to work and want 2 then by law they have 2 let you.ring citezens advice it ,s free.or most solicitors give first consultation free.just dont resign from your job.

 

i dont think your work can sack you, if your doctor says you fit to work then you employers should look to offer you a new position rather than sack you, if they do sack you because of this then it could be classed as unfair dismissal

 

Thanks for the quck advice so far guys, maybe Ive been too hasty in just accepting it. Will look more into my options this afternoon.

 

Im a bit rusty on Employment law now as its been 3 or 4 years since I studied it, but your in a catch 22 position, your doctor says you are fit for work, but your work feel that because of your profession you are a risk.

What do you think?

Also how long have you been in the job? If its less than a year your *, if its over a year there are steps and legal procedures they need to go through, you cannot just be sacked, unless its for gross misconduct.

If you decide to not appeal against there decision to terminate your employment then the benefit you will recieve will be Employment and Support Allowance. You will recieve basic benefits for the first 3 months, you will then have to attend a medical and explain exactly why you cant work, if they disagree and feel you can work you will be placed on Job seekers Allowance, if they agree that you have a dibilitating illness that prevents you from working you will be placed on a higher rate benefit, which varies depending on your living situation, age and marital status.

My advice would be to appeal their decision (with the help of ACAS) and fight for your job as with the new public spending cuts and tory regulations, you practically have to have your arm hanging off before they consider long term ESA payments.

If I can be of any help through this process or theres anything that happens that you dont quite understand feel free to PM me.

 

dont think they can sack/terminate you mate! if your doctor has passed you fit for work! then thats it.they obviously are comming the * with you

 

If your doctor deems you fit for work, then there is the square root of * all the company can do about it. Unless of course they want to challenge his/her medical opinion. I think we all know how that will go down in court.

Mate one piece of advice though. Do not, under any circumstances, agree to see a company doctor unless yours comes along with you. Just let your work know you're gonna seek legal advice on the matter and see how they react. Dont let them bully you mate

 

The first question is mate, how long have you been employed with them ? if it is less than a year then they can terminate you as you don't gain employment rights until 12 months service.
I know from experience how these things transpire as having been faced with similar circumstance and I am also a union rep so have a good knowledge on this aspect of employment law, if you've been there over 12 months then they will have to consider a whole host of things before sacking you.
Firstly if your own GP has deemed you fit for work that is all well and good, also since they havn't gained a second opinion from another medical professional i.e (occupational health advisor/physican) then they will struggle in any arena to convince otherwise, they are not doctors and thus cannot give an opinion on your condition, remember they have a duty of care to uphold to you as does any employer so they should have at least looked into a second opinion for their own protection, they havn't done that and to be honest it also wouldn't look good if they back tracked and decided you need to see a work doctor now.
Also after any illness you may have had have they carried out a proper return to work interview and discussed any adjustments that may need to be made to account for your illness ?
If the answer to most of these questions is a resounding no then you have a very strong case, I would call ACAS in the first instance and go over every detail with them, I can imagine they'll more than likely tell you to get an ET1 form lodged right away as this in my opinion won't go to tribunal it'll be ruled automatically unfair straight away.
Let us know how you get on mate and good luck, if you need any further advice as angie has offered you can drop me a PM as well.