Returned to work but what now

Public Archive
1

Hi Ladies,

Although I now rarely post on here I still regularly browse the forums and know how vital and helpful they are to us all.

I was dx March 2005 and finished treatment end July 2005, now on Arimidex along with the flushes and sleepless nights that so many of us know and love and have never recovered my previous energy levels yet :).

Recently had my 6 month check and all appears OK but am currently waiting for bone scan as I have had some problems with back, hip and leg pain lately on same side as original tumour and also have suffered for last few weeks with severe oral thrush, nothing my GP has prescribed has managed to shift it, mentioned it to Onc at checkup but he seemed to feel it was not an issue.

I returned back to work in October 2005 full time and worked 3 days in office and 2 days from home as I have a 1 hour drive each way daily to get to work. Luckily, I am able to work from home as I work in IT and have secure link into our works network and my PC at work, so it is like sitting at my desk in office except that I am sitting at my desk at home.

After being back at work for 6 months, my boss asked me to start working in office for more days so we agreed that I would work in office 4 days per week and work from home 1 day per week as it would at least give me a break from the 2 hour drive mid week and thereby help a little with the tiredness.

I have been working on the basis of 4 days in office and 1 day from home for just over 18 months now, however following my latest 6 month check up, my boss asked how it had gone so I told him that nothing had been found but I was being booked for bone scan to check out the bone pain I have been suffering. He then very kindly advised me that as I had now been given a clean bill of health [his exact words], I needed to give him a date when I would return to the office 5 days per week as this now had to be done due to my good health.

Now working from home 1 day per week might not seem a big deal but it does allow me to get up at 07:30 instead of 06:30, it does save me a 1 hour drive to the office and 1 hour drive home, it is more relaxing and I am able to do everything from home for that day that I would if I was in the office .

In fact it has a certain advantage also handle computer programming as well as other IT areas and that day gives me the opportunity to concentrate on coding away from the normal constant interruptions that I would get in the office. I do genuinely work for that full day at home [and often longer] and can prove that I do so I am not skiving.

I wonder if any of you ladies have ever been in a similar situation and how you handled it, I also wonder if my boss can insist on my working in the office 5 days rather than allow me to continue working the 1 day from home, I have no idea of the legal position in this situation as obviously it would never have arisen if I had not been dx with BC in first place.

Any comments or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Rgrds/Siggy

2

BC is a disability so your employer is required to make “reasonable adjustments”. This may well be considered such an adjustment, which would allow you to continue to work more comfortably but not disadvantage the company. Do you have an HR department to discuss this with? And/or is there an occupational health adviser?

Good luck

Anne

3

Hi Siggy

You are welcome to contact our helpline for further advice and information on this issue following the valuable input from Anne. The helpline is on 0808 800 6000 Mon-Fri 9am-5pm and Sat 9am-2pm.

Best wishes
Lucy
Moderator
Breast Cancer Care

4

Hi there

I was also going to mention HR, I think if you explain everything that you have put on your thread, how it effects your health with all the driving, how well you work at home and how you can prove how much work gets done then im sure they will back you up, you never know it might not be your manager but some jealous colleagues who would also love to work from home and possibly putting pressure on your manager.

Good luck

Tracey
xx

5

What crap! I would agree you need to see and occupational therapist to determine you are NOT fit to return to work 5 days as you said your energy levels are not as they were. Also, where did he get the clean bill of health thing from? You didn’t say that. He sounds like a bully to me. Seek advice asap. Anne G is 100% right!

I am so lucky with my boss, he has had cancer himself and soooo understanding. It’s a shame they are all not the same.

Good luck

Irene

6

Just following on from what Anne says, the Disability Discrimination Act covers those who have HAD cancer in the past, not just those who currently have it, so your boss’s presumption that you have been given a clean bill of health is irrelevant.
Flexible working is actually a named example of the sort of reasonable adjustment employers should consider. If you have an HR officer/union I would contact them asap for advice.

And don’t be afraid to exercise your rights. I had to use the DDA when I returned to work and was packed off to a tiny, poorly resourced outreach office which was highly inconvenient to travel to.

Your boss’s comments could be construed as bullying and harassment which is also unlawful under the DDA. If he persists mention “employment tribunal” and watch him back-pedal like crazy! I will take the mental image of my manager (who has since left) when she realised she was breaking the law and could get the company into some serious trouble to the grave with me!

Here is a link to a user-friendly guide to the DDA. If it doesn’t work just Google “Disability Discrimination Act” and you should find something.

direct.gov.uk/en/DisabledPeople/RightsAndObligations/DisabilityRights/DG_4001068

We have to fight for our rights, girls. It’s not our fault we got cancer and no-one has the right to belittle us, punish us or make us feel guilty.

7

Thanks to all you ladies for taking the time to respond and your words of wisdom and thank you to to BCC helpline for their advice.

Although my employer is a global organisation they do not employ people such as occupational health advisors and our HR dept is well known amongst all memebrs of staff for their unapproachability however I did make an appointment with them as I felt this was the best starting point and following our meeting this was the result.

Our HR manager advised that “as I have now had all necessary treatment, the company considers I now have a clean bill of health and the company culture requires everyone to be accessible and seen to be at their desks during normal working hours, no doubt many people would like to be able to work from home 1 day per week”.

He then went on to advise that if I was to get a letter from my GP explaining any possible health problems I may still have and advising the reason for these problems then I could take this to my boss and discuss with him and if there was still a problem then it could be discussed further with the HR manager present.

My GP has already advised that she is happy to provide a letter explaining the situation, she takes the view that if I had a clean bill of health then I would not need to be seeing her and she would not need to be prescribing me any medication so the letter is no problem.

However one thing that was mentioned to me by someone [and which others here may want to consider] is that the letter from my GP should only be opened and read by the company doctor, it should not be provided to my boss and maybe not even to the HR management as it could construe that I give my approval for these members of the company to have access to my medical records and information at other times, a thing I had not really thought about.

I do think though, that at the least, it should be up to our HR dept. to discuss the letter contents with my boss and not up to me to negotiate this with him, it will be interesting to see how this now gets handled.

Take care of yourselves.

Siggy