Just before my diagnosis my employer announced an amendment to our contract (NHS).I work in Primary Care He changed us from six months full pay and six months half to three months full and three months half. I decided to contact my union to see if he could do this and eleven months later I am still waiting for the answer from the Union (I am disgusted by them). Then the diagnosis!! I am single and have no other income so had to work between surgery and rads and returned to work two weeks later - far sooner than I should have. I managed 12 weeks in work but now find myself off again waiting for an MRI scan for suspected herniated cervical disc and the drugs I am taking make me feel very low. On top of this I am now only receiving half pay. Have been told that the change in contract wasn’t done “legally” but I am now out of time to do anything about it. My only hope is to sue the Union for negligence. As if the illness itself isn’t enough to cope with! Am meeting with a lady from Tenovus next week to see if there is anything I can claim.
hi there
I work for the nhs in scotland though not in primary care. I work in the acute side in the hospital. I still get the full 6 and 6 pay and thought this was standard through out the nhs regardless of what sector you worked in. I’m on half pay now and will have to go back to work in july regardless if fit or not as will have no pay if I dont. I’m dreading going back as if i have to go off again i’m not entitled to any sick pay until july next year. My sympathy goes to you as I could end up in the same boat having to go back when not ready.
AFAIK your employer can’t change your T & C’s unilaterally. my union were useless too (quote from rep : “cancer isn’t a disability under the DDA” - oh, yeah?) so might be worth contacting CAB, ACAS or other sources of free advice. NHS workplaces are awful in my experience when dealing with ill or disabled employees - paradoxical i know - so you need some better advice…
If your employer wants to change your contract then they have to give 3 months notice/consultation period prior to doing this. If they can show that the change is essential to the running of the organisation (which in most cases they can) then you really don’t have a leg to stand on. Although NHS and Local Authorities don’t tend to do this, legally they can. I have worked for 2 different private companies since leaving the Local Authority 9 years ago (I’m a social worker)My contract has been changed a total of 4 times by the 2 companies I have worked for. At the first company, our sick pay entitlement was reduced from 4 months full and 4 months half pay, to 2 months of each. Where I work now, it is 1 month full and 1 month 60%. When i was off sick, I got 3 months of each as they tended to look at each case individually. They have now removed this consideration from our new contracts which we received 3 months ago. And this is all perfectly legal. In my experience, trade unions are n’t much help as they don’t have the “teeth” that they used to have. My husband works for the Local Authority and the union has been powerless to prevent the changes to contracts imposed on staff by the local council. They have operated within the law. It may not be fair what they have done but it is all legal.
Geraldine