I’m still awaiting radiotherapy, but wanted to return to work in the meantime, as I will go back onto my full pay. I am a teacher. The head requested Occupational Health assessment, which advised a longer phased return over the remainder of this academic year due to the length of my cancer treatment (16 months and counting).
My boss has said that she will have to change my contract to reduce pay to reflect this, as this is not a phased return.
Can they change my contract without my agreement? My new pay would be less than the half pay I’m currently on.
Is this disability discrimination?
My boss wants me to have a phased return over 5 weeks, two of which will be the Easter holidays. Surely, the point of a phased return is to build up my stamina and confidence for full time work? If 2 weeks of my phased return are holiday anyway, how is that helping me to increase my hours?
I feel so sad that after 17 years of hard work and loyality, I’m being treated this way.
It sounds like you won’t gain much from going back in between now and radiotherapy, as any stamina you build up prior to radiotherapy will be lost by the tiredness radiotherapy induces. I say that as a person who only had radiotherapy as a treatment that could account for the tiredness. I found I had to use all the holiday accrued while off, for the phased return to keep my pay. Once that runs out, if still needing longer, then yes, lower pay can be expected. Reasonable adjustments only seems to go as far as changing your job roll to a physically easier one, while keeping the same hours up of you want full pay. In practice, nobody wants to be made to change jobs, but would rather have longer to recover and get their fitness back.
Unfortunately, the length of time off required in some circumstances for cancer treatment, is often not covered long enough for sick pay. Its a crappy deal that’s dealt.
You should have a sickness policy that out lines phased return requirements. In my public sector world after a certain while, depends where the sickness lans in the year, you are expected to use annual leave. A phased return typically is not that long, usually over 4 weeks or so. Rather than change your contract, could you take unpaid leave. That way you can be full time again when you feel ready. It is hard for us as our treatment is over such a long period. Also radiotherapy does effect people in different ways. I worked throughout mine. I was weary, but managed. You might not need as long as you think off.
NHS worker here and it seems to be standard that six months paid, six months half, phased return over a few weeks. If you need longer it’s unpaid or holiday taken.
My reasonable adjustment is shorter days and then catch up at home later, we have a hybrid working anyway so I’m out of the office the same as the others anyway.
As the others say, it sucks and is unfair, but there doesn’t seem a way around it.
Can’t comment on all of this but your Easter Holiday when school is closed surely can’t count as part of your phased return - that sounds ludicrous to me . As you say you need to build up your hours so if your phased return hits the Easter holidays those two weeks should be discounted and it should carry on after . Cancer comes under the Disabilities Act which entitles you to reasonable adjustments and the Easter holiday thing is certainly not reasonable .
I think @entropy may have a point about going back before radiotherapy as I also suffered from fatigue afterwards and sometimes it’s better just to be off then everyone knows where they are . It would be easier to plan if you knew when radiotherapy is going to happen - it might be worth speaking to your BCN and they can tell you what the current wait time is and make sure your referral has gone through properly just in case. Depending on how much half pay you have remaining rather than potentially earning less than on half pay maybe give some consideration as to the practicality of staying off.
If you are wanting to go back mainly to keep up your skills or for a bit of normality you might be able to negotiate something with your boss on a temporary basis but yes be careful of signing anything etc. Women on Maternity Leave in the NHS are allowed to come in occasionally and work a few shifts as " keep in touch " days without affecting their Maternity pay in order to keep up their skills / developments in their area / contact with colleagues.
Two years before I was diagnosed with BC I had to take time off to support my parents who were both in bad health. My boss also ordered an OH referral for me then refused to allow me to follow their recommendation to reduce my hours ( only half a day per week ). I was willing to be paid 5 hours less but she wouldn’t sanction it unless I dropped onto a lower pay band despite the fact that others were working far fewer hours than I was proposing to do on the higher band. I refused and tried to carry on as I was and ended up having a retinal vein occlusion . This after 24 years service in the same dept. so I empathise . When I finally got back from sick she had left - I’m not sure I could have continued to work there otherwise. It sounds as though you need someone to arbitrate for you in order to avoid lingering bad feelings when you do go back.
If you are in a Union I would also speak to them as if your boss has ordered the assessment then I’m wondering if they are under some obligation to abide by it - otherwise what was the point .
MacMillan are good to speak to re employment law if you haven’t already . As far as I understand it if you have a condition that will last over a year sickness related to that should be treated differently to other sickness .
I dont know thw answer to this but the point of occupational therapy is to give a medical stance on what shpuld be put in place.
Ask your union for advice. Cancer comes under the disability act so they should be able to advise.
Thank you so much @JoanneN. That’s all great advice and lots for me to consider and research. I’m determined to get this all sorted by the weekend. It’s proving difficult. X