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Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2009 12:39:28 GMT
Hi All. When I joined the aadd board last month I was pleased with the help I got from other members and I thought my troubles at work might be over. Well they are not. I had a disciplinary meeting last month and managed to get through this. When I mentioned that I might have ADHD (a disability), the disciplinary procedure was retracted. Anyway we agreed that after 4 weeks there would be a review of my condition and work performance. I had that meeting yesterday & it was very stressful. I was on my own because it was not considered formal and they tried to catch me out on numerous occasions and seemed to think that ADHD is a convenient illness which can be used to protect ones own job without having to work hard and accurately. This was not said openly as such but they did say that it seems fishy that I suddenly have this condition when I am to be disciplined. I have had this condition since childhood, it's only this month that I was actually diagnosed and it was not picked up in my childhood. I did inform them back in February that I might have this condition and they seem to have forgotten this. We discussed my work accuracy and performance and they seemed to extrapolate from the conversation that because I had been sent a letter inviting me to this meeting earlier in the week, somehow it had improved my performance because it caused me to focus. (Fear factor). Shaded threats were made that my position with the company is untenable if my performance does not improve and they seemed to totally ignore the fact that I have this condition because it's all about them and not me. At the end of the meeting my manager said to the HR manager "maybe we should send him an invitation to one of this meetings every Monday to boost his performance". In other words keep the threat up. During the meeting I was being bombarded with questions and felt confused & cornered. They knew what they where doing and I think they were trying to confuse me on purpose to catch me out. I have now got to the point where I need to have an advocate with me in these meetings who is sharper than me and to assist me or represent me. Can anyone tell me if there is such a service out there who can send someone into the workplace to help me in these meetings? It's driving me to distraction and think about it almost all of the time now. I'm even considering leaving my job to escape what I consider to be the harassment but I can't afford to right now. I have been diagnosed as suffering from ADHD now but they even seem to doubt what the Psychiatrist has stated. Before I left the meeting The HR manager said to me that under DDA at work act I would not be considered disabled until I have been diagnosed for 12 months. I now know this is utter crap so they are now trying to pull the wool over my eyes. What can I do? Please help! Mediaseller
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Post by redneck on Jul 18, 2009 12:50:49 GMT
If you are va member of the union then you can ask one of them to be present at your meetings. Idf you arent ba union member, I would consider joining asap!!! Next - do I remember you saying that your com pany was layinjg people off left right and cenbtre??? Also I get this feeling that you are feeling very hard done by - the management wont get that. |I doubt very much they are doing an adhd-phobic thing bearing in mind you already said they were sacking people? ? Anyway back to the start - advocate - if you are NOT in the union, then join it TODAY and get a rep from there to accompany you to meetings. RR
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Post by roland on Jul 18, 2009 14:17:49 GMT
Hi mediaseller, Make sure you keep a log of all conversations they have with you, and log all snippy remarks because this will come in handy if this comes to a tribunal. The other thing that is useful to keep a log of are all the times that anybody has said thank you for something. Have you got any emails where somebody has thanked you for a job well done. If you have, then send this to your home email. These come in handy for 2 things, first they can be used to refute some of what they are saying, and second you can put them into a portfolio for when you're looking for a new job. I've been in a similar situation, and at the time it was easy for me to think I was being picked upon, but actually I realised later that they were trying to force myself and others to quit. And that's because at that time it was cheaper for them to make us quit rather than make us redundant or fire us. Even though I realise this is very stressful and unpleasant, my advice would be not to quit at the moment, because it sounds like that's what they want. But I would surreptitiously start looking for another job but don't let anybody at work know what you are doing, then you can quit when you are ready to do so, and on your own terms. Since you've got a diagnosis, it's actually going to be difficult for them to fire you. Join the union if you can, although some are more helpful than others. Also here is a link to more information on the Equality Commission's site about your rights: www.equalityhumanrights.com/your-rights/rights-in-different-settings/working-and-earning/dismissal-redundancy-and-retirement/And here is information on Directgov about your rights: www.direct.gov.uk/en/DisabledPeople/Employmentsupport/YourEmploymentRights/DG_4001071And here is a link to acas: www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1461I would ring both acas and the equality commission and see what advice both can give you, and start looking for another job.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2009 14:48:57 GMT
hi mediaseller,
i'm afraid i don't have any good advice to give, but it sounds like a really lame situation for you, so i just wanted to wish you the best of luck with it all!...
-matt
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Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2009 15:02:17 GMT
No words of wisdom to offer but best of luck from me too.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2009 12:47:35 GMT
Mediaseller Sounds like part of your story may fall into harassment/bullying? I would ask to see their policies on harassment if they ask why just say your interested should stop any unprofessional behaviour that you shouldn’t have to put up with. Dont know how far you will get with ACAS as they told me they wouldn’t represent anyone until they were a paid up member for 3 months and would not intervene in a case already running but worth a try. I had a link to a woman who suffered real bad case of harassment as did I she started up a charity to help represent people and give advice it was a programme on radio4 been through archive to try and find but no look as yet will contact you if have any look. Good look try and hang in there and don’t let them get away with it.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2009 13:13:24 GMT
Thanks everyone & safandsound. ACAS are the government negotiating body between unions and employers so why would I neeed to pay them subs and be a paid up member. Do you mean member of a particular union?
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Post by roland on Jul 19, 2009 15:45:25 GMT
Hi mediaseller, In addition to the links I put under your other thread, I found this on Thompsons Solicitors website: It's from a case called Morse v Wiltshire County Council EAT: Times Law Report, 11 May 1998 Mr Morse was employed as a road worker by the employers. As a result of injuries sustained in a road traffic accident, he could not hold a driving licence. The employers wanted to reduce the number of workers because of financial problems and required 74 of the 90 retained workers to hold a driving licence.
Mr Morse was dismissed for redundancy and complained to the tribunal of unfair dismissal and disability discrimination. The employer conceded that Mr Morse was a disabled person and that he had been selected for redundancy for a reason related to his disability but said that the discrimination was justified.
The industrial tribunal held the dismissal fair and said there was no discrimination. Mr Morse appealed to the EAT on the discrimination point.
The EAT held that the tribunal had not correctly addressed the reasonable adjustment argument, breach of Section 6 duty. The EAT decided that the DDA requires a tribunal to go through the following sequential steps when considering a claim for discrimination based on a breach of Section 6.
1 Is the employer under a Section 6 duty in the first place? 2 If the employer is under a Section 6 Duty, has the employer taken such steps as are reasonable, in all the circumstances of the case, to prevent the working arrangements or features placing the disabled person at a substantial disadvantage? 3 If, and only if, the above two steps are satisfied, should a tribunal then consider the justification defence - was the employer's reason for the failure to comply with the Section 6 duty both material to the circumstances of the particular case and substantial. So I take that to mean that, even though your company might need to make some people redundant, you can't be considered for redundancy based upon your current work performance, because they haven't made reasonable adjustments for you to see if that helps improve your work performance. www.thompsons.law.co.uk/ltext/l0350002.htmSo now that you've got a diagnosis, I would suggest you do the following: 1. keep the logs I suggested previously, 2. keep all thank you's 3. quietly start looking for a better job (try to avoid taking another one out of desperation) 4. ask them to make reasonable adjustments to your work environment (and definitely log their response to your request) I agree with safensound that some of what is happening may be classed as harrassment/bullying Here is a link to an acas booklet that says the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 gives protection against discrimination, harassment and victimisation www.acas.org.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=306&p=0I didn't actually see this in the DDA 1995, but in the DDA 2005 (which is an act amending the 1995 act), I found the following 31AC Meaning of “harassment”
(1) For the purposes of section 31AA, a body subjects a disabled person to harassment where, for a reason which relates to the disabled person’s disability, the body engages in unwanted conduct which has the purpose or effect of—
(a) violating the disabled person’s dignity; or
(b) creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for him.
(2) Conduct shall be regarded as having the effect referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (1) only if, having regard to all the circumstances, including in particular the perception of the disabled person, it should reasonably be considered as having that effect. Anyway, this is why I'm suggesting you keep a log of everything that's said and done. You may need it.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2009 19:21:17 GMT
Thanks to all and especially Roland.
Roland you really have been busy. Thanks very much mate, I definately owe you a pint or two.
This weekend I have been considering going sick for a few days to try and calm down from Fridays meeting. It's really bugging me. I could use the time to do some telephone calling and take a view which way to proceed.
My wife is not so keen though since she thinks it will just agrevate the situation.
I have to say though my wife is now becomming very supportive and spend a good dea lof time on the internet finding articles to help her understand my condition.
Thanks to all.
Mediaseller
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2009 11:51:17 GMT
hi media seller good luck
you situation sounds a bit like mine- but I have now been off for stress for 6 weeks. this is hard - sick pay has run out adn I get panic/stress whenever I pencil in a return to work meeting. then I chicken out. it is making home life pretty stressy too. I dont have an ADHD DX but seem pretty typical. so I reccomend sticking in work if you can.
do you have work colleagues that you can trust/get support from?
rolands advice sound brillinant, I am going to try to follow it up along to help me get back adn sort myself out.
good luck Gav
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2009 12:35:20 GMT
Hi. Yep roland has been terrific. Sorry to hear about your troubles too. I spoke to ACAS today for some advice and they recommend that I write a grievance letter to my company, and offer them the opportunity to put things in place to allow me to work on an equal footing with my colleagues. They suggested that I also ask them to refrain from making these meetings intimidating and to allow me to take in a colleague as a witness & notetaker. If they don't comply then they suggest that I take the matter further either to a tribunal or a mediator. Also to put everything in writing Regards to all. mediaseller
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