Hi, desperatley need some advice. I have been on long term sick and received a letter from my ops manager dated 13th august, received this letter on 20th August stating i had been overpaid for 2 months and the company was going to take this from my sick pay. He said they were going to pay me NIL this month but he had sorted it out that i would get £200 pay!!! I was not aware that i had been overpaid and genuinely thought what they were paying me must be correct so this came as a blow. I phoned my manager to advise £200 will cause severe hardship and wouldnt even cover my mortgage and that an agreement should be made how much deduction was affordable. I was not disputing repaying it back but at a more affordable level. This was on Friday last week. Yesterday he finally phoned me back to say i would be getting paid the £200 which has went into my bank today and there would be no negotiation. I emailed him a grieviance letter on Friday for HR before they paid me pointing out that this would put me in debt and cause hardship which he said he didnt receive so i re emailed it yesterday and got confirmation that it was received. My question is, can they do this and what can i do about it? Thank you in advance for any responses Deb x

Hi, its been a while since i last posted so i must update you. My husband complained to the ops manager at the new site and thankfully ive been left alone and all contact has been through my husband so far. i also received my diagnosis from the hospital last week so along with the cervical spondolosis, sciatica i have fibromyalgia. Still in constant pain and a slight increase made on my evening meds along with vitamin d supplement daily. Today i have a home visit from my old ops manager and one of the new companies managers for an options visit which im told is just like my old companies welfare visit so basically to see how i am and if any changes can be made to assist me back to my job( i work in a call centre if i havent mentioned it earlier,they have talked about getting a back support for chair which i have already tried before i went off sick) anyway due to constant pain i feel like what they have offered me wouldnt support me going back there as i couldnt sit or stand for any amount of time let alone concentrate on customer calls with the amount of pain i have along with the side effect of the drugs im taking so it seems like after 5 months we are going around in circles. ive already had my 1st written warning in january so expect my final to follow after this meeting. Update, meeting went as expected, asked for another meeting in 2 weeks to see if im any better and would i be returning at end of fit note in april. she said due to length of time on sick leave i would probably be finished from my job which i expected to hear, also said i could resign if i wanted so it looks like i will just have to wait to be sacked now as im in no position to return.

Hi, i thought it polite to update you on recent events. My manager and another t/m called on the 10th for a welfare visit, my husband also took time off work to support me. He was a great support and made it clear that her calls were causing stress and harrasment. Well, i thought everything would be ok but that week she called me a further 3 times just to tell me she hasnt got a new contact number yet to give me and ask how i was the today she has called again due to me going to the hospital on thursday 27th she is calling me on saturday to see how it went ( its an nhs hospital not a miracle healing centre) and also suggested i travelled 3 hours on public transport into work next week for another "catch up"!. I immediately told her there was no way i was putting myself through needless pain travelling 3 hours each way. She then said well how about meeting at a convenient place? This sounds to me like she isnt wanting to visit my home to conduct another welfare meeting which is less than 3 weeks since the last one. Is this right?

Hi rebel, ive already gave them a list of meds im currently on and the side effects. the occ health and company Dr have also been notified of these too but every time i have to attend a welfare visit im always having to repeat this ( it seems as if they dont even read my file notes). I was phoned on Saturday afternoon (again) by my line manager who has said they will now be coming at 10am for my welfare meeting and not PM ( 8 phone calls in 1 week now) i also updated her about my results and referral to the hospital to see a rheumatologist. my husband is now going to come home from work to be here when they come as he has had enough of this.

Hi rebel, no she didnt give me a copy,as this is all new to me i wasnt aware i could ask for this but she was sending all updates to my GP whom im seeing on friday. Would i be able to ask him for a printed copy? Thank you so much for your reply, its good to know im not alone and getting help and advice here

Hi rebel, thank you for that. Today i seen the muscular skeletal specialist for my blood results and its tested positive for RA with high levels of inflammation and also a low level of vitamin d which was 34 so ive now been referred to a rheumatologist at the local hospital. I look forward to informing my manager and ops manager when they come for a home visit on Monday and see what ridiculous questions they have for me

Thanks ericsbrother, will speak with my Dr. I have told my manager the effects the calls are having on me and there is no way that i can travel into work for welfare meetings although them now demanding it to be weekly is extreme. In an ideal world i agree with what you said about targets and not intentionally wanting to harass me but ive seen it happen before and overheard ops manager saying to managers keep "calling them as it pushes them back to work" I have spoke with the company HR department on Tuesday, that have advised me if my line manager and ops manager havent been helpful with this then i need to write to the head of the department to see if this will help. If this fails then they have advised me to put in a grievance.My manager then phoned me for the 7th time this week and i advised her that ive spoken with HR, she said on this occasion we will come out and do a home visit so this is booked in now for Monday afternoon and will see what happens.

Hi Emmzzi, I just want to know what rights ive got over the constant phone calls and requests to go to weekly welfare meetings.

Thank you Honeybee It does look a lot better in paragraphs now. x

Hi, I am hoping for a little advice if any. I have currently been signed off sick by my GP since October 2013. To cut a long story short i was off 2 years previously with neck and back pain, i work in a call centre and after numerous visits to physio and an MRI i was diagnosed with cervical spondylosis and from C3 -C7 my discs were totally worn. After 5 months absence i returned to work but cut my hours down from 37.5 to 25 per week. Since returning ive constantly complained of being made to sit for long periods of time ( OH and the works private GP) had both put in reports that i must have time away from desk as sitting aggravates the nerves, anyway ive persevered with the pain for 2 years until it got so bad i couldnt move or get up for work. So to date, ive seen a muscular skeletal specialist in december who was quite concerned that the pain was now in multiple joints and sent me for blood tests for rheumatoid arthritis but due to her being involved in a car accident i had 2 appointments cancelled last month and i am finally seeing her this week for the result and what the next steps are for treatment for me. My point is which i need help with, i am constantly getting phone calls from work, sometimes 5 times a week asking if im better, when will i be back etc. These are questions i do not have answers to. I have attended monthly welfare meetings and have had a 1st formal notification in january 2014. They have again contacted me (4 times in 2 days) saying they want me in for weekly welfare meetings. Now due to constant pain even with medication and public transport taking 1 1/2 hours to get there i am finding it is making my condition worse and told them this and that i was unable to go in weekly but was happy for them to visit my home to conduct these. Basically i was told on this occasion they would but after that i have to make my own way there and back ( we are also moving to new premises further away which will result in it taking me 2 1/2 hours to get there) . What i would like to know is 1) Is it right to make me attend a weekly welfare meeting and 2) is repeated unnecessary calls legal. I am really starting to feel stressed everytime the phone rings and more so afterwards as the conversation and demands play around in my mind. I have spoke with ACAS who said i can request home visits in which i have done and also complain about the call volume. I spoke with HR today who basically said try sort it with your manager, then ops manager ( both of whom are ringing me constantly) next step write a letter to the service manager of the department which i will be doing today but i really feel like im wasting my time as ive worked for this company almost 7 years and seen the same thing happen to collegues who have eventually left the job or been dismissed . Sorry this post is long, i have tried to list as much as i could to give a clear picture.