I have such an unfeeling, uncaring and disrespectful boss!!! I have been back at work 5 months pushed into going back full time as he really wasn’t happy about my phased return and now he has told me via HR that I am no longer able to make up my hours for my hospital appointments either I loose money or use annual leave.
I am on herceptin but that finishes the end of the year so I have six more regular appointments along with the usual check-ups. What has made me cross is employees in other departments get paid in full for any appointments and no one is going through what I am.
My dilema is do I say anything about other people being paid or just let it go?? I don’t need this stress and I have ranted on this forum before about my job.
So any thoughts anyone,thanks for reading and apologies for moaning…
Fluffy xx
Rant away! How mean. I just sued the demon Google and it does eem they are within their rights legally. HOWEVER:
“The waters are muddied slightly if the appointments are connected with a condition that could be called a disability. In that case, an employer must make reasonable Allowances For The Disability, and allowing time off for medical appointments is considered to be a ‘reasonable allowance’.”
As I understand it, cancer is covered by disability discrimiination legislation so MAYBE you have a case under that. I don’t know, I’m not legally qualifed, but it could be worth exploring… They suggest you contact Citizen’s Advice but maybe there’s a MacMillan support worker or someone at the hopsital who could help out here?
I’ll PM you the link in case it gets removed from here.
As you are probably aware you are covered by the DDA, therefore your employer should make reasonable adjustments. In my view having time off once every 3 weeks is reasonable at this stage your treatment. If I was you I would ask to be referred to occupational health so that they can make an assessment. I have been having herceptin for 3 years now and I am given time off no questions asked. I did this via occupational health, I basically said I wanted, they agreed and my employer followed the plan.
Your manager is on very dodgy ground if he thinks he can make these decisions without medical advice. I am speaking as a Manager who has to manage staff sickness as part of my role.
My understanding is that anyone with cancer is covered under thr new Single Equalities Act (which replaces the DDA) and is legally “disabled” from diagnosis. This means that they should make reasonable allowance as Revcat says for matters connected with the disability. Certainly this was seen to be the case at my workplace. Not only was i given time for appointments but also half a day off every week whilst i was having herceptin. This was all sorted through Occupational Health. I think that the CAB and Macmillans are good avenues to explore - good luck with it!
Hi Fluffy chick, you are covered under the disability protected characteristic of the Equality Act 2010, which prevents your employer discriminating against you and as the other ladies have stated they are legally bound to make reasonable adjustments for you, however the key word here is reasonable to the organisation, but most definitely not reasonable to your immediate line manager.
As well as CAB and Macmillan, contact ACAS who are an arbitration service and can advise you regarding employment tribunals.
As well as the above document from ACAS, on this site is a really useful document you may wish to give your employer, as (giving them the benefit of the doubt!!) they may not be aware of their responsibilities.
Thanks to you all for your comments and advise.
I am going to think very carefully about what I do next as I want to get it right. What surprises me though is why wasn’t my HR more sympathetic as surely she must know I am covered by the disability act!!!
I thought life would be getting easier for me now oh well never mind it’s good to know every one here understands xx
Hi Fluffy. What an unpleasant situation. You could email HR and ask why they’ve decided to change the arrangements, if that hasn’t already been made clear. The employer doesn’t have to pay for appointments but they should have a clear policy on this. If some staff are normally paid, then why have you had to make up time? What t is the policy? If the policy is discretionary then what are the criteria? If the only reason that you are not being paid is that you have cancer than that may well be discriminatory.
I would also advise calling ACAS 0845 47 47 47 - . They provide impartial information on employment legislation and will talk you through your options. You can go back to them as often as you need to.
If you don’t want to put anything in writing at this stage you could always raise any questions verbally with HR and if no joy, then put it in writing in an email. It might also be worth raising with them what you feel about your boss’s attitude towards you. If you were on a staged return then that would often count as a reasonable adjustment. You shouldn’t have pressure put on you to change the arrangement.
I hope this makes sense. Feel free to PM if any questions.
Hope you get this resolved soon.
Take care
Jo
The way some employers treat employees with cancer never fails to shock me. I know a woman who works for a well known bus company and when she had a radical hysterectomy last year she was told by her manager she had to be back at work within 4 weeks. Unfortunately she was then diagnosed with ovarian cancer needing chemo and a lot of time off to recover. The company then threatened her with the sack, her manager even hand delivered a letter to her home about this. She was a bus driver but they eventually agreed to give her an office job as the weakness of her abdominal muscles means she is only allowed to drive a car. She now gets paid minimum wage and is on reduced hours. She now has to use elbow crutches as Taxol affected her joints (they had to stop the treatment as they thought she could end up in a wheelchair) and she worked intermittently throughout her treatment as she was terrified of not being able to pay the mortgage; she got DLA on her 7th attempt. Absolutely disgusting treatment in my view. What makes it worse is the company use her as the poster girl for raising funds for cancer on their staff newsletters. Unbelievably crass.