Discrimination at work

[goldfish.girl]

Hi, has anyone else faced discrimination at work post SAH? I have had problems for the last year with one person (all the rest have been fantastic with te support they have shown). The latest is adding things to my terms of reference then (as I knew was coming) putting in writing that I am unable to do my job.

Momentum are trying to help but the Union I have paid into for many years are being very slow in providing a trained person to give hands on support. Have any other members faced this and had a happy ending? At present I am on sick leave and seriously struggling to get on top of how stressed I feel. It has been a very long road to get to where I am and I'm not sure I have the strength to carry on fighting people who are so igorant to the after effects of a brain injury. You can't force people to see when they are pretending to be blind!

[jess]

Yes i have one person was declining every holiday i put in but i got there in the end, don't let them get you down. Jess.xxx

[KelBel]

Hi gg

I did have trouble with one colleague, which resulted in me telling him to * off! Which I realise is not the best way to go about things, but at the time I shouted it at him then walked away, as I most definitely felt like using him as a punch bag!

He kept complaining about the fact I needed the blinds closed, and his whol manner when I returned was unbelievable. I am sure he felt that I had taken more time off sick than was needed, and he kept on and on at me to take on extra tasks whilst I was doing my return to work. And he was the same level as me! No higher...although he liked to think he was. He was actually just a jumped up little boy who could manage to have a power-trip about everything and nothing!

We ended up having a mediation meeting with 3 line managers involved. It did not go through to HR, but I almost wish it had now... luckily for me he left our company months ago, so I did not have to put up with him for very long. It would have gone to HR otherwise.

Do not let this person beat you down. You have not come this far to allow someone to drag you down.

Get back on to the Union to ask when you will be receiving the service you have been paying for. You need it now. Do they not have a framework they have to adhere to?

I do hope you get some help and resolution as this is not something we should have to deal with, when we are trying our best to get back to work and get our lives back on track.

Take this time to rest as much as possible and look into your rights. You may be able to contact the disability officer at your local job centre or the CAB may be able to assist?

Kel x

[goldfish.girl]

Thank you for the replies Jess & Kel.

I really laughed when I read that you told him to * off. I bet you felt so much better after saying it!!!!

[KelBel]

Thank you for the replies Jess & Kel.

I really laughed when I read that you told him to * off. I bet you felt so much better after saying it!!!!

Oh yes!!! :lol:

I actually stood up and said "I wish you would just * off right now" as I knew he was planning to leave... I then walked away to calm down a bit, then came back and asked to speak to my manager.

I told her exactly what I had said, and that I really meant it too!!

Australia are very welcome to him. Long may he stay there...

kel x

[jules75]

I really cannot believe a person could treat you so horrible,what a pathetic excuse for a human being.I would never in a million years treat someone like this. Anew member of my flyball club has also had a stroke and she chose to not tell her employers when she started a new job,for exactly the same reason.Sorry I have no advice to give you but try stay strong.

Jules

xxx

[paul99]

hi michelle

im sorry you have met such a bigot i think you now need to sort this out with management fast because this person is acting against the law it is an offence to discriminate against someone who is disabled no matter how slight or severe that the person suffers the fact that you are still recovering is even more shocking

the union may not have anyone with the experience to deal with your situation [no excuse ] i would pressurize them to get their finger out but i would go to management as soon as possible hopefully with witness's to confirm what is happening to you please try not to worry too much but make sure you get some rest take care sweetheart

[goldfish.girl]

Well done Kel! I would love the opportunity to do the same! (It may happen yet - as they hand me my P45 ha ha)

Thank you Jules, unfortunately I worked in the same place before the SAH so couldn't keep it quiet & the change in me is obvious but thank you for your words of support.

Paul, this person is in a 'management' position and I think you are right about the local level of union support not being in a position to take this on. I am going to stand up for myself as soon as I feel enough to but it has been devastating to be put through this after all I have achieved and I'm really needing a boot up the butt to stand up to them! I think they may be crossing a legal line but claim that business needs must be met so I have no idea where I stand. I just know what they are doing is totally unfair and very wrong on so many levels.

GG x

[goldfish.girl]

I meant 'as soon as I feel well enough to'....

[Ern]

Hi GG.

I had a bit of a rough time when I started back.

I suffered with Post Concussion Syndrome which exacerbated everything. My temporary Line Manager was over scrutinising my work and commenting on my handwritring (I was the only person who needed to read that part. Because of the PCS I would explode at the slightest provocation. but my proper Line manager handled things much better.

My current boss is trying to be helpful but she can be a little insensitive (she actually said in a meeting that my memory was pretty bad, the others on my team were amazed thatshe said that).

But it seems that your boss is being deliberately difficult with you. I think that you should mention to your union that you feel that they are entering areas relating to the Disability discrimination Act (have the company made any reasonable adjustments?). If they put inwriting that you are unable to do your job, they have to justify it whilst proving that they have made reasonable adjustments.

Like Kel said, contact your local CAB, Jobcentre or an organization such as Headway might be able to help.

Good luck

[paul99]

michelle

it dosnt make any difference management or not they knew what you were like when they took you back on after being off sick so to speak they cannot penalize you or belittle you is there anyone else above him let me at him lol i really hope you can get him sorted isn't there a disability advisor's in the government i some how think there may be a ombudsman who can sort this out

[JayKay]

That's really horrible I thought maybe the Shaw Trust could help? I thought that was what they were there for, but I could be mistaken.

Good luck!

[goldfish.girl]

Thank you all. I'm hoping to involve a local equality & diversity officer at work but have to say i'm finding it all a bit too much to deal with at the moment so am keeping quiet on sick leave until I feel a bit more up to it but will look into the suggestions you have made.

Thank you x

[Liz D]

Hi goldfishgirl

I've gone through the same as you and I work for the NHS! My previous manager was a trained psychiatric nurse, who at my return to work meeting told me that she knew well how people look fine on the outside but that it's all going on in the inside!

My return was being overseen by occupational health and she completey ignored their advice and even had a tantrum in the office when she heard my phased return could take up to 6 months. She and the office manager put me under intolerable pressure, I believe they hoped that i would resign. My office manager even sat a laughed at me one morning when she saw the size of the font on my computer, I needed it to be very large for it to be comfortable to read the screen. After being back at work for 11 weeks, my GP signed me off sick. The doctor at occupational health also agreed that I should be off as I was showing symptoms of severe stress.

This was back in February of this year. This is when I involved my union, Unison. My first contact was with a local rep, who worked in the same hospital but she said that it was beyond her experience and it was passed on to the senior paid official from Edinburgh. He has been fighting on my behalf, and he has had to fight! I put in an official complaint, my treatment goes against the Trust's Diginity at Work Policy, which our HR department pays very little attention to. In fact the HR manager and my then manager arranged to meet the occy health doc and wanted him to agree that I was cognitively impared and no longer able to work. This happened in April. He told them that if they continued with this then things would end up at a tribunal and that in his opinion I had no cognitive imparement! As a result of this I was put on the Redeployment Register, as the OH doc said that it would be detrimental to my recovery to go back to that office. The Trust have only started to investigate my complaint 3 weeks ago! I have now been redeployed into a wonderful office with fantastic and supportive colleagues. I couldn't be happier but needed the support of my Union and the occupational health doctor. My current line manager, a consultant clinical psychologist, told me yesterday that he would be very happy to write a letter, pointing out my abilities and how hard a worker I am!

However, this process was very stressful and many a time I wanted to just give up! I was signed off work for 4 months due to stress. But the "old me" kicked in and I refused to give up. If you have the strength, fight them. If your local union rep doesn't have the knowledge or experience then ask for it to be sent up the line to a fulltime paid offical. My HR department cannot contact me about this case, they have to speak to my union rep, everthing has to go through him. You will start to feel stronger after being away from work for a bit. I think I was about 6 weeks into my sick leave before I started to feel better.

Sorry for the length of this post, I got on my soap box a bit there!

Edited November 17, 2010 by Liz D

[goldfish.girl]

Hi Liz, thank you for your reply. It seems that these idiots are in every work place!!

I have suffered cognitive impairment but that doesn't stop me doing my work - it just takes longer & a lot of exhausting effort.

I have been trying to contact a full-time union rep in Edinburgh (i'm in PCS union) so far she has ignored my calls and an e-mail from a local rep. I couldn't be more disgusted with them! I am waiting for the contact details of other full-time reps and will try one of them but it's a poor show when the union you have paid into for many years leave you on sick leave for 2 months without providing any support.

I have no intention of going back until something is done as I really don't think the stress & upset are very good for my head. I'm really pleased that you have now got a decent boss, shame there aren't more of them around!!!!!!