Work discrimination? advice needed UK

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hello, im chris and heres my problem

I work in a large factory, shiftwork, ive been there for 3 years.

I was off work for 5 months from February to June, i spent a week in hospital where i was diagnosed with crohns in april. i returned to work doing a month of half shifts, followed by 2 months of 3/4 shifts all the time doing 2 hours on /1 hours off line. All the time online i was masking- basically covering half a car bumper in paper, its fast, repetitive work and physically demanding, i actually agreed with my supervisor that this was a good idea to build my stamina back up, but raised concerns about being left to do this job the majority of the time due to fatigue.

The week before last was my first week of full shifts, its was days, i find the transition from nights to days tiring at the best of times, i was exhausted and left to masking for the first 2 days, i asked for a break from masking and for the next 3 days spent 1/3 of the day on lighter work 2/3 masking then worked compulsory overtime on the saturday on lighter work. Id had a meeting with the company doctor on the thursay, where i expressed how tired i was and how i was concerned at being left masking most of the time, he agreed i should be rotated and in his summary stated this.

Anyway by the end of saturday i was wiped out, had quite a bit of pain and discomfort, disrupted sleep, this continued over the weekend. monday when i went into work i still felt exhausted so went to see the nurse , she sent me home to rest. Saw GP next day , gave me some pills told me to rest, had the week off,

Sunday i was on nightshift, didnt feel well but went in anyway, lasted 2 hours , nurse sent me home, saw the GP this morning, he gave me a sicknote until the 17th of november and contacted my consultant to arrange an appointment , hopefully this thursday, i was considering having Humira, in my last consultation in august but the specialist was pleased enough with my progress that he thoght id be ok without it

I was called to a meeting with personnel and my supervisor today. We went over why id been off. I told them i would struggle to cope with masking the majority of the time.and i was told that by rotating me 1/3 of the day to lighter work, this was meeting the recommendations of the doctor. I told them how this was still too much, at least for now and was told there was nothing they could do. The department i work in has a guy off for several months for acl surgery, he works in the least physically demanding role in the zone, i asked about being moved there and was told it wasnt possible.I was the told by personnel that despite my Drs note, they would support my absence until the end of the week, if i wasnt in on monday they would look to dismiss me on the grounds of failing to meet the requirements of my back to work schedule. and too much time off

This has me stressed, I dont want to lose my job but i need to maintain my health. While i appreciate the support i was given while off and then my phased return to work, now that im back im just being left to it.I feel pressured into going into work on monday regardless of if im up to it and its unlikely ill see the company doctor for another couple of weeks so then im going to have to struggle through the week mostly masking and hope i dont exhaust myself too much. Any advice is appreciated about how to proceed with this?can i be dismissed for too much time off/ failing to meet my return to work schedule? anyone know any good reading materials, websites etc outlining my legal rights? anyone experienced anything similar id like to hear how you dealt with it?

If youve made it to here, thanks for the read
 
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Welcome Chris, I wish I could be of help, but I'm sure someone else from the UK will be able to advise soon. I certainly doesn't sound right to me though.Also stress is NOT GOOD for a crohns sufferer.I hope it all gets sorted soon and then maybe you can concentrate on getting better.
 
Hi Chris,

I'm sorry that you're having so much trouble at work.
I'm a trade union rep at my work so have some knowledge in this area, I'm guessing that you're not a union member otherwise they would be your first port of call in this situation.
The uk government website has a lot of information regarding employee's rights - https://www.gov.uk/taking-sick-leave
Here's a link to one page, but have a browse, there's a lot of information there. I would also think that as you have Crohn's you should be covered by the Equalities Act (which replaced that Disability Discrimination Act). https://www.gov.uk/equality-act-2010-guidance

Hope that's of some help, let me know if you need anything else.


Edited to add: Your employer should not just be able to fire you for being signed off work, there are rules that they have to follow. From gov.uk website -

"As a last resort, employers can dismiss an employee who is long-term sick (although you have not been long-term sick in this period of sickness, long term sick is usually over four weeks) but before they can do this employers must:

-consider if an employee can return to work - eg working flexibly or part-time, doing different or less stressful work (with training if necessary)

-consult with employees about when they could return to work and if their health will improve."

Should it get to this point (which I really hope and pray that it doesn't) You can take your case to an employment tribunal if you think you been unfairly dismissed. Keep a record of every conversation you have with your employer/managers, ask for things in writing, copies of reports etc at this stage just in case.
 
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Hi Chris, sorry to hear about the tough time you are having. My job is under threat for different reasons (restructuring) and it really sucks. There is a website www.equalityhumanrights.com which has tons of info and I think an advice line too. If you do qualify as absentminded has said, then they can guide you on specifics. If this is the route you take, you might want to make your employer aware as that alone could be enough to make them pull their socks up. Sadly sometimes we can be laid off due to health, but there is a proper process to be followed whatever. Best of luck.
 
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