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
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
Last edited: