Hi, Last week, I was diagnosed with a serious medical condition which is affecting my brain and ability to walk, it also causes severe pain which comes and goes. I am currently awaiting further tests. The doctor signed me off until Friday 21st March 2014 seeing as I had annual leave booked this week anyway and have had this booked for months. I haven't gone on holiday anywhere, just stayed at home to relax as much as possible and recover as much as I can before returning. Yesterday, my employer rang me to see how I was getting on and if I will be returning after my annual leave. I explained that the pain was still quite bad and the brain and mobility issues remain, and will remain until my condition is treated if it can be at all. I will be seeing my doctor today. My employer then said that if I am signed off after my annual leave, this will leave me "in a sticky situation" as it will go down as 2 periods of absence. I understand completely that this would be counted as 2 periods of absence, which I have no issues with. However, my employer said that if I am signed off again then the doctors letter must be dated from the 21/3/14 so it runs as one absence and my holidays will be cancelled and returned to me. I did not agree to this. The employers reason behind this is that they have a 2 absences and then it's a disciplinary procedure. I called ACAS right away and they said that the employer cannot cancel my annual leave unless I agree to it. They added that they can certainly not call me while I am on my annual leave to tell me that it will be cancelled, as the employer has to give notice of double the time of the leave to cancel it without my authorisation. ACAS have also said that my condition could be classed as a disability and, if they chose to invite me to a disciplinary, it could leave my employer with a few problems if they fail to take anything to do with my illness into account. This is leaving me worried sick. I am not ready to go back to work and I do not want to cancel the leave I have taken, nor do I want to be "invited" to a disciplinary procedure! What else can I do here?

Good Afternoon all, I have landed myself in a very bad situation, 3 weeks ago i was asked by a Line Manager if i would like to make a few quid for Xmas by taking something from our premises in my company van, he assured me that it was low risk and he would make sure the CCTV cameras were off, unfortunately we were so nieve as the MD has a seperate server to his house, safe to say we are both now under suspension on suspiction of Theft, I had my investigation meeting on Tues just gone and i am now waiting for a letter regarding my Disciplinary meeting, since the investigation meeting my partner and my 2 x kids have now moved out and moved in with her parents some 300 miles away, i am at the end of my tether and have never done anything like this before, my partner has said that she cannot risk being kicked out of our house when i getted sacked and we cannot pay the bills, therefore i must pack up my house and move down to be with her and my kids to try and rebuild her trust in me, therefore i will need to leave my employment anyway, so should i write a letter explaining my situation and also my utter remorse for my actions, and ask that they judge me on my employment history and work ethic up to this moment of madness and to give me a reference that will assist me in rebuilding my career, i have not had any disciplinary issues in the 4 years i have worked for the company and i was in a position where i had access to company credit cards and fuel cards, but i NEVER abused that trust. The bottom line is that i have been an idiot and greed has caused me to break up my family, I must move to be with them as my youngest is 10 months old and this is his first Xmas, Any advise on this will be appreciated. Thanks

Hi all This is going to be a long one! so please bear with me and grateful for any advice. I was granted flexible working between 9-5 pm whilst the normal hours are 9.30 to 6 pm since Jan 2008, when I needed child-care with my first child. In Jan 2009 my company was taken over by another company (multinational) and I had to sign a new contract which said that working hours were 9.30 to 6pm. when I enquired about my flexible working hours, I was assured verbally that the email sent previously will hold good, and they will check again. It never got done, but since I continued on my 9-5 timing, I didnt bother too much. Last year I had my 2nd child. I went on maternity leave on the 3rd of Aug 2010(working 9-5pm), and since i was allowed to take my leftover annual leave at the end of my maternity, though I offically re-joined work on the 8th of April 2011, I only went into work on the 9th of May 2011. During my maternity I spend time abroad, so was not in the UK. My manager sent me a couple of emails enquiring whether I would be returning to work full time and between 9.30 to 6pm. This email was sent 2 times in february, and the second time copied into all the powers that be. As I did not have access to emails I did not respond to these until end of March 2011. I confirmed that I wil be returning full time, but could only do 9-5pm due to childcare needs. He then told me that I had to put in a flexible timing request, as they could not entertain anything other than the normal workign hours, as we were a very small team and send me the request form. Once I had filled in the form and resend, he would then request his Manager so that soemthign could be arranged. This went on and on, me leaving messages to speak to him, and him promising to call back and then becoming caught up in other things, until Thursday the 5th of May 2011(I was getting into work on the 9th of May), when I finally managed to get hold of him. When I said that it would be extremely difficult for me to work until 6pm, he said that it was then imperative that I put in the flexible working request, so that it could something could be done before I rejoined on the Monday. When I enquired why it had to be done so urgently, he said that if I didnt come back to work at the normal hours on the 9th May(9.30 to 6 pm) I would be in breach of my contract and would be subject to disciplinary action. We ended the conversation with me promising to send in a flexible working request by the next morning. I was so stressed, as I did not know how I could arrange childcare at such short notice.... I took some help from a neighbour, read a few laws and then instead of submitting a flexible request form, wrote to tell my employer that I believe I had a right to come back to work on the same timings I left and therfore would come back to work between 9-5 pm. 9th May - Monday morning and I was left standing outside the office as all others only start work at 9.30 am. I am informed that my manager had some personal issues so could not get into work. None of my colleagues knew that I was rejoining. I did not have a desk, nor a computer to work on. I find out that all my previous files (hard copies)were destroyed, (we are in sales) as it was felt that old leads were a waste of file space ! and so everythign shredded. Also apparently my computer had a virus or some problem, so all my emails, folders etc everything which documented almost 7 years of work were wiped out. I felt really really rotten on Monday, especially when I was told that my manager was not due back in until Wednesday. On tuesday 10th May, unexpectedly, my manager walks in, wanting to have a chat with me. I told him that this I had an idea of the laws, and I am really stressed about his mentioning disciplinary action. He told me that it was his boss that was insisting that I get in line with the other employees, and though he knew my rights, he had to do what his boss said. Therefore he was pressuring me for a flexible workign form, and once that came in, i would have no recourse to my previous times! Since this verbal conversation, I have had an email from my managers boss to say that I have to work from 9.30 to 6pm only(that I cannot dictate working times or terms to my manager,and I need to do what my manager tells me) and nothing else can be entertained. Meanwhile this morning my manager tells me (verbally) (all due to my managers negotiating efforts with his boss) that they have just approved my 9-5 pm workign hours, and I should receive this letter in a few days. I am not sure who to trust ... because I dont trust my manager anymore. Its only been a week and I already feel it is becoming ugly. I just received my targets, and they are impossible to achieve! given that I have only 3 months to achive almost the same targets as the rest of the team, who have been workign on the same targets since Jan 2011. My manager says that nobody has complained, so it is very strange that I am complaining, and does not want to talk to me personally regarding this, but had suggested that we can have a joint meeting with his boss, when big boss is down for a visit in a week's time !!! Ok .. this is the situation ... I have been losing sleep, trying to keep on top of things especially with impossible targets and with 2 children at home .. I am so stressed. I am definitely not goign to achieve targets !!! and i feel they are going to send me home one of these days!!!! please can you anybody help, as I am not sure how to proceed. Thanks very much