#Employment : awaiting diagnosis of illness, company offering me money to leave, advice pls...

[lelole]

Hi

 

I am being seen by a consultant for neurological symptoms I have been experiencing, which have made it really difficult for me to do my job to full capacity. It was thought that I had a particular disease but the tests came back negative, so they are now looking at different possibilities, so some delay in diagnosis.

 

I have had a total of 6 weeks sick leave in relation to this. 2 weeks last year just before xmas, and 3 weeks this year followed by a week or so of the odd day when things were just too bad. Once I came back from the 3 weeks I then had a period of 6 weeks of limitations to duties, which was then renewed for 8 weeks . I am still in this 8 weeks. My sick pay has run out, as I am only entitled to 4 weeks.

 

My boss arranged a meeting with me today, and basically said they feel that the amended duties thing cannot go on after this note, and they need me to either go off sick or to take 6 months pay and leave. They can't really give me an alternative role, as I work from home as a sales rep, 4 hrs from the head office. Additionally they have said any alternative role would be permament and would involve a pay cut and loss of company car.

 

They have also asked for me to sign a form giving permission to ask for a report from my consultant. They have told me this is so they can assess my current diagnosis/prognosis, and help them make decisions about my employment and decide what adjustments need to be made to allow me to continue working for the company. The thing is I have told them I am still being investigated, so I cannot understand why they would want this, as without a diagnosis, it would all be guesswork anyway.

 

The thing is, I don't know what the future holds, and I am not sure why they are offering me money to leave (I am insulted, I have worked for them for over 5 years and have had no reason to believe they are unhappy with me), particularly as I am still under investigation.

 

If I am going to end up not being able to work long term then I probably would take the offer to leave, but I don't want to take that decision just yet, in case the problem is found and it can be cured quickly. However I am worried that if I don't take it and go off unpaid sick instead, I may find out anyway I can no longer work in a couple of months, but no longer be offered the 6 months payoff.

 

It is so hard to work out what to do as I don't understand what the legal situation is, although common sense tells me that no company would offer 6 months pay as a nicety, only if they felt they needed to.

 

Can anyone offer any advice??

 

Thanks

[Sidewinder]

Hi and sorry to hear of your problems.

 

Putting the matter of the pay-off to one side for now, the company would be well within their rights to a) ask for permission to write to your doctor, and b) to instigate proceedings to dismiss on grounds of capability. That is what a competent employer should do in cases of long-term sickness, and where there is some doubt over the long-term ability of the employee to fulfil their duties. From a business point of view, an employer needs some idea of either when the employee will be in a position to resume, and if this cannot be determined, a decision would have to be taken as to whether the employee can be retained, and if so in what capacity.

 

Contact with the employee, discussions over when and if you will be returning to 'normal' duties will be a normal part of the process, as will a request to obtain a medical report, and even if guesswork is involved in arriving at a decision over your future, then this would be considered fair and reasonable in managing sickness. Similarly, the possibility of a lesser paid alternative role is perfectly legal, and could even be portrayed as 'considerate', and there is nothing which forbids them making this a permanent change - especially as they would have to employ a replacement Sales Rep and could not realistically do that on a temporary basis for an unspecified time period. Hard as this is for you, and particularly so when you already have the worry and uncertainty over your health, it is unfortunately the way it is.

 

My guess, and I stress that it is only a guess, is that if you were to receive a diagnosis of a medical condition which might class you as 'disabled' for the purposes of the Disability Discrimination/Equality Acts, then there would be an obligation for them to consider making 'reasonable adjustments' to your role in order to allow you to stay in work. Clearly as a Sales rep working from home this would be difficult, if not impossible for them to accept, and although they would probably be able to sidestep any adjustments on business grounds, they do not want to get into that kind of extended battle, so have offered the alternative of a six month severance settlement to give both sides a get-out.

 

I can't give you a pointer on which way you should turn, as that is a call only you can make after consultation with your doctors, and considering your personal circumstances, I just feel that from what you have said, the employer would appear to be acting lawfully, but if you were to stay in post and they then move to dismiss you, they would have to do this by the book.

[lelole]

Thanks so much for your reply, I was afraid it was legal to do so, so you have confirmed for me what I thouht...

 

It was interesting that you guessed it might be to do with the disability discrimination act, as my partner suggested that too. I think in all likelihood I am going to be experiencing these symptoms for a while, so I am starting to think taking their cash and going might be the best thing to do.

 

You mention if they do decide to decide to dismiss me when I am in post they'd have to do it by the book, in all likelihood would they be able to do this without offering me any money? I am trying to clarify whether if I stay a bit longer, and go off sick like they ask, could I end up in a situation where I lose my job in the end anyway, but have not had any cash to help me through?

 

Also if I did go down the line of saying I would go with the money, could I ask for expected bonuses/co car payments in addition to salary , and what would the tax situation be?

 

Thanks for your help

[jonnycooper]

At the moment a decision does not have to be made today. You could try and negotiate a better deal for yourself.

 

You could ask for bonus payments etc to be include. Whilst your employer may not agree, they might come back with a higher offer.

 

In terms of tax, if you ask for any payment to be agreed via a compromise agreement it should be tax free (if below £30,000). Therefore, if you accept 6 months salary via a compromise agreement, you should be paid the gross amount and you will not be liable for tax. At least that is how I understand it...

[lelole]

Thanks Jonny, I shall try and get them to wait for a while, just while I find out more from the consultant. It's good to know that the payment may be tax free if they do this agreement, as it makes a big difference to the actual sum.

 

I guess I just need to wait for a bit and carry on as best I can.

 

Thanks