Employer preventing me from attending hospital appointments

[Mercury00]

I'll try to keep the story as short as possible:

I have Ulcerative Colitis and PSC (autoimmune disorder), and typically have 2/3 hospital appointments per month for blood tests, ultrasounds, specialist consultations etc. This has never been an issue in the past, I understand it's not my employer's fault I'm ill.

I applied for a new job, and they asked my current boss to provide a reference, which he wasn't best pleased about. My boss has now banned me from taking time off at all. I was supposed to have a scan tomorrow, but have just had to cancel it.

Since finding out I'm looking for a new job, they've treated me pretty terribly. I get the idea they're trying to find a reason to sack me now. I can't not attend my checkups - a lot of the time they're scans and tests for different types of cancer, but now I feel like they're waiting for me to disobey them to get rid of me.

I'm working extra hard to find a new job now, but as I'm banned from having time off I'm stuck. I've just been offered a one day trial at a company, which I'm not allowed to attend. Taking holiday allowance isn't an option as I've used up my accrued allowance so far on hospital days.

I feel stuck, honestly. I've Googled it, and there is no legal right to be given time off for hospital visits.

[Funk]

Employers have a 'duty of care' - they must do all they reasonably can to protect their employees' health, safety and wellbeing at work. It would no doubt be easy to demonstrate to a tribunal that your employer actively moved from allowing medical appointments to denying them for no other reason than they got bent out of shape once they knew you're looking to leave (arguably this shows you're making the right move; whoever handles your time off is evidently taking it very personally and reacting out of spite - you're better off out of there eventually).

IANAL, but that's my understanding of it.

[Charlie1986]

ACAS for support - also being in this type of role the employer should have duty of care and tribunal would
Not look favourable on there current actions

Document everything when they deny the request so you have the evidence

[RSTurboPaul]

If one were being blunt, one might enquire as to the size of payout they would be obliged to make as part of the terms of employment if one died while employed there following a prohibition on attending appointments specifically designed to detect cancer at an early, treatable stage, and whether that payout is more or less than the cost of the time required to attend said appointments.

[mikebradford]

Given your medical need for time off I had expected your employer to want to see you leave.
So I don't understand the logic on preventing you going to job interviews.
Are you have excessive time off to the extent they simply think your taking the p@#s?

[jules_s]

mikebradford said:

Given your medical need for time off I had expected your employer to want to see you leave.
So I don't understand the logic on preventing you going to job interviews.
Are you have excessive time off to the extent they simply think your taking the p@#s?

Sounds to me the Employer thinks 'appointments'= interviews

[craigjm]

Submit a grievance and go through the process to its conclusion.

[shirt]

mikebradford said:

Given your medical need for time off I had expected your employer to want to see you leave.
So I don't understand the logic on preventing you going to job interviews.
Are you have excessive time off to the extent they simply think your taking the p@#s?

maybe the employer thinks they've been accommodating where others might not be, so have the hump.

bit rich to be asked for a reference without a firm offer on the table, or did it fold therafter?

i would simply speak to your boss, have an adult conversation about it. if that fails then by all means assess your rights. most workplace dramas can be solved by talking it through.

[Panamax]

Can you fire somebody for not turning up to work? Yes
Does the fact that it's due to "health issues" significantly change the picture? No

Regrettably employee attendance, or lack of it, is largely a management issue. This is why the public sector has significantly more sickness absence than the private sector.

You need to get decent advice from your union, ACAS or whoever. This will sound harsh but at the end of the day your health is your problem, not your employer's problem. It's not called a "contract" of employment for nothing - both parties are expected to perform their obligations.

[hidetheelephants]

Preventing someone from attending medical appointments without attempting to reach a compromise sounds a lot like unfair dismissal in the making, especially as UC is a chronic disease you will have for the rest of your life.

[Mercury00]

mikebradford said:

.
Are you have excessive time off to the extent they simply think your taking the p@#s?

No, I don't think so. I reduced my working hours by four hours per week in January, and I have 2/3 hospital appointments per month usually. I go to work before the appointment, and if it's finished early enough, I return to work. I don't get company sick pay, so I don't have an 'incentive' to stay off work. I use my holiday allowance for hospital days (e.g. my annual colonoscopy). I never use my illness as an excuse, and I've never been off under the pretense of being at a hospital appointment when I wasn't.

[Mercury00]

shirt said:

bit rich to be asked for a reference without a firm offer on the table, or did it fold therafter?

i would simply speak to your boss, have an adult conversation about it. if that fails then by all means assess your rights. most workplace dramas can be solved by talking it through.

I had a pre-interview video call interview they said my application wouldn't go further without references. After the references, they said the next stage would be an in-person interview.

[craigjm]

The reference thing is really odd. I wouldn’t agree to a reference until I had a conditional job offer.

Going back to the main subject. Both medical conditions you have listed can be considered disabilities under the definition in the 2010 equalities act and as such an employer needs to make reasonable adjustments including time off for appointments.

[craigjm]

Panamax said:

Can you fire somebody for not turning up to work? Yes
Does the fact that it's due to "health issues" significantly change the picture? No

The answer to question two is yes if the health issues has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person's ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities because then it becomes a disability under 2010 equalities act and an employer has to act accordingly. Time off for medical appointments would be a reasonable adjustment. You would of course need to agree this with your employer rather than just not turn up to work.

[edc]

People like solutions and options. How about proposing to make up the time or take it as unpaid leave. Your condition could be considered a disability.

[surveyor]

craigjm said:

The reference thing is really odd. I wouldn t agree to a reference until I had a conditional job offer.

Going back to the main subject. Both medical conditions you have listed can be considered disabilities under the definition in the 2010 equalities act and as such an employer needs to make reasonable adjustments including time off for appointments.

I've seen it at a council. I said available on request. At the interview they said they would only request them if they needed them to offer the job - i.e. last hoop to jump through.

Was an interesting week when my boss acted like a dick and sat on the request sulking.

[Mortarboard]

Its a difficult path to follow.

Your illness can be considered a "disability", and as such your employer is required to make "reasonable accomodations"

They could argue that they allow you to work 4 hours less a week, to allowing for that etc.

M.

[Mercury00]

Mortarboard said:

Its a difficult path to follow.

Your illness can be considered a "disability", and as such your employer is required to make "reasonable accomodations"

They could argue that they allow you to work 4 hours less a week, to allowing for that etc.

M.

They don't though, they revoked my four hours a week time off when they were asked for a reference - sorry, I thought I'd made that clear earlier. I can't go to hospital appointments during my time off, because I don't get any. I'm there 8-4:30 every day now.

I've just been offered an interview on Friday, this is for a job with a four-day working week, but I'd need to finish work and hour early. Can they stop me going to it, or sack me for it?

Edited by Mercury00 on Wednesday 18th June 18:14

[bitchstewie]

What sort of size business and what do you having writing from them?

[IanA2]

Mercury00 said:

Mortarboard said:

Its a difficult path to follow.

Your illness can be considered a "disability", and as such your employer is required to make "reasonable accomodations"

They could argue that they allow you to work 4 hours less a week, to allowing for that etc.

M.

They don't though, they revoked my four hours a week time off when they were asked for a reference - sorry, I thought I'd made that clear earlier. I can't go to hospital appointments during my time off, because I don't get any. I'm there 8-4:30 every day now.

Depending on the severity of the consequences of not attending medical appointments and your short term financial situation, I would be very tempted to resign. I would then make an ET application for interim relief for constructive dismissal.