Fired as result of medical conditions?

antijoke · 20 Nov 2012 at 11:24

trixilux said:
Derp, I am a girl too! (and the op is my friend) Yeah there are girls on the internets

Seriously, with a name like trixilux is that not a big give away?

Derp indeed, no it's not a giveaway you are a girl.

Safron414 said:
Lol? Trix and I are friends. Now go away.

Man, I'm having a bad day today. It was meant as a joke, I put my

p) in there to try and highlight that. Seems I'm off target today. Didn't mean to cause you any offence.

I hope you get it all sorted though and your boyfriends work back off and give him some space.

Here's a fluffy bird to brighten things up.

Safron414 · 20 Nov 2012 at 11:28

Fluffy bird accepted.

TrixiBuG · 20 Nov 2012 at 11:37

anticonscience said:
Here's a fluffy bird to brighten things up.

Lovely cute birdy

I shall post another picture to make you smile Saffy

Gilly · 20 Nov 2012 at 11:42

How big is the company? Is there a separate HR dept?

Safron414 · 20 Nov 2012 at 11:56

Naww, kitty

Gilly said:
How big is the company? Is there a separate HR dept?

Not sure what I am allowed to say but he works for the government.
Ironic, isn't it :rolleyes:

jumpy · 20 Nov 2012 at 12:02

If they try and sack an employee over medical grounds, they'll call it 'frustration of contract', whereby neither the employer or the employee has any obligation to the original contract, which due to the medical condition of the employee, can no longer be fulfilled.

It's a tricky one to argue one way or another.

Someone I know had this happen to them after suffering a life changing brain hemorrhage. After 21 years the company he worked for more or less turfed him out with nothing other than a gratuity that amounted to less than one years pay.

As already said - ACAS is the place to go as soon as possible. The guy I know didn't go down that route; largely because of his condition making him unable to cope with the stress of pursuing his employer through ACAS, but also because of some poor advice about 'not rocking the boat' etc. We all told him to go the official route, but he just let his employer do what they wanted and he ended up with much less than he should have in terms of settlement for 21 years of faithful service.

ACAS - do it now.

Safron414 · 20 Nov 2012 at 12:19

jumpy said:
If they try and sack an employee over medical grounds, they'll call it 'frustration of contract', whereby neither the employer or the employee has any obligation to the original contract, which due to the medical condition of the employee, can no longer be fulfilled.

It's a tricky one to argue one way or another.

Someone I know had this happen to them after suffering a life changing brain hemorrhage. After 21 years the company he worked for more or less turfed him out with nothing other than a gratuity that amounted to less than one years pay.

As already said - ACAS is the place to go as soon as possible. The guy I know didn't go down that route; largely because of his condition making him unable to cope with the stress of pursuing his employer through ACAS, but also because of some poor advice about 'not rocking the boat' etc. We all told him to go the official route, but he just let his employer do what they wanted and he ended up with much less than he should have in terms of settlement for 21 years of faithful service.

ACAS - do it now.

That's so sad hearing about your friend. 21 years, you would think the company would have some kind of gratitude for that many years of service.
I totally get it when you say your friend didn't go any official route. My boyfriend is very much the same. He was treated very badly the first time he was at the hospital and I had to report the doctor he had at the time for a lot of reasons, mainly lying about the MRSA and generally mistreating him with the wrong medication and a letting him go home fending the infection on his own with no knowledge on what to do. He is so tired and depressed, he was letting the hospital treating him like crap, and now he is letting his job treat him like crap because he has no willpower to stand up for himself or turn anywhere. I feel that it is my responsibility to sort all of this out for him, because he just can't do it himself. It's a horrible state to be in.
I will contact ACAS for sure. Hopefully they will let me be his spokesperson or similar as well, because I really think I need to be there for him to manage this.

Mrs Seabiscuit · 20 Nov 2012 at 12:24

Op is a girl yay \

/
A company can sack you on health grounds. BUT they have to officially inform you ie in the NHS its stage one is verbal warning, then stage 2 is written warning and a formal chat with manager. Stage 3 Its HR and unions and you and your managers sit down and you basically have to explain why they shouldn't sack you.. Does your husband work for NHS by any chance?

rotters · 20 Nov 2012 at 12:27

Just a note about what you said re MRSA earlier on, yes it is contagious but its almost harmless to people that are well. Millions are colonised with MRSA and it will never harm them. You walk past people in the street colonised and think nothing of it. So saying it will infect work colleagues is just daft (dr who suggested this is talking nonsense).

But for those who have had surgery and possibly chemo/radiotherapy and therefore neutropenic then it's very nasty.

Hope you don't mind me making this point, I felt it important you know.

Mrs Seabiscuit · 20 Nov 2012 at 12:28

Safron414 said:
I will contact ACAS for sure. Hopefully they will let me be his spokesperson or similar as well, because I really think I need to be there for him to manage this.

IF your boyfriend wants you there yes. You do need to be very careful when speaking on behalf of another adult best to get his union involved too

rotters · 20 Nov 2012 at 12:28

Mrs Seabiscuit said:
Op is a girl yay \/
A company can sack you on health grounds. BUT they have to officially inform you ie in the NHS its stage one is verbal warning, then stage 2 is written warning and a formal chat with manager. Stage 3 Its HR and unions and you and your managers sit down and you basically have to explain why they shouldn't sack you.. Does your husband work for NHS by any chance?

Also to point out that union reps or anyone you want for support can be in any of the meetings at any stage not just stage 3.

Mrs Seabiscuit · 20 Nov 2012 at 12:30

rotters said:
Just a note about what you said re MRSA earlier on, yes it is contagious but its almost harmless to people that are well. Millions are colonised with MRSA and it will never harm them. You walk past people in the street colonised and think nothing of it. So saying it will infect work colleagues is just daft (dr who suggested this is talking nonsense).

But for those who have had surgery and possibly chemo/radiotherapy and therefore neutropenic then it's very nasty.

Hope you don't mind me making this point, I felt it important you know.

+1 to this i am a nurse so i know this is true its harmless to a well person.

Edit
Also yep as just said unions can be involved at any point sorry forgot to clarify.

jumpy · 20 Nov 2012 at 12:31

@ Safron414

It's tough. In my friends case (as yours) new management was the root cause of the problem.

In any disciplinary hearings your bloke has to attend, he can request a union rep/colleague or other party to sit in and offer advice, though not necessarily speak for him iirc.
All I can say is it will be hard for you or any representative to fight his corner if he is not 100% behind the action.

But that said, if you are going to take advice from ACAS and anything goes to tribunal, make sure you get a specialist solicitor who deals with employment law as they will know all the loopholes a savvy employer will attempt to absolve themselves of any contractual obligations.

Best of luck.

rotters · 20 Nov 2012 at 12:36

Quick side note me too, where and what type are you Mrs Seabiscuit?

I'm an Intensive Care Nurse (formally Southampton Cardiac and General ITU) now working in the Royal Cornwall Hospital ITU.

/sorry for the side track I havent met any other nurses in here.

MadMossy · 20 Nov 2012 at 12:38

Get on to ACAS asap, doesn't matter how large or small the company or how long you have worked for them.

At the end of the day, your nothing more than a number to em.

robfosters · 20 Nov 2012 at 12:42

I worked for the government.

I was allowed 6 months a year on sick pay. However, I was too unwell to go back and they sacked me, but they did give me a nice lump of severance pay.

Mrs Seabiscuit · 20 Nov 2012 at 12:42

rotters said:
Quick side note me too, where and what type are you Mrs Seabiscuit?

I'm an Intensive Care Nurse (formally Southampton Cardiac and General ITU) now working in the Royal Cornwall Hospital ITU.

/sorry for the side track I havent met any other nurses in here.

Im on the haematology ward in the west midlands sorry i meant nursing assistant as our manager calls us! not trained nurse as cant be a real nurse as I am blind haha

Safron414 · 20 Nov 2012 at 12:50

@Mrs Seabiscuit no he does not work for the NHS, he works in the HM Revenue and Customs area.

He is not in the union! I know he should be but he doesn't want to be. I know, it's absurd considering his background :mad:

I'm going to have a big chat with him tonight and tell him that he doesn't need to be afraid of things and that he is not alone...

rotters · 20 Nov 2012 at 12:53

id be surprised if the union will touch him now as they tend not to represent for issues pre becoming a member. In all honesty why the heck isnt he in a union?

Mrs Seabiscuit · 20 Nov 2012 at 13:05

Safron414 said:
@Mrs Seabiscuit no he does not work for the NHS, he works in the HM Revenue and Customs area.

He is not in the union! I know he should be but he doesn't want to be. I know, it's absurd considering his background I'm going to have a big chat with him tonight and tell him that he doesn't need to be afraid of things and that he is not alone...

If he is not in a union i am sorry to sound harsh but he doesn't have a single leg too stand om

x

rotters said:
id be surprised if the union will touch him now as they tend not to represent for issues pre becoming a member. In all honesty why the heck isnt he in a union?

Agreed you can approach for advice but they wont take you on now as this problem is existing. Unison is £10 a month straight out your salary! sorry but he is a bit of a nana not to have been in one with all his issues crash aside the migraines!

Oh no please dont think i am been nasty