Change of duties

Helen133

Hi all, I came across this forum when looking online for what to do In my situation & I do hope someone may be able to advise me.
I have been in my employment for 18 months, I had no health issues at the time, it’s a desk job, over the past 6 months everything has gone to pot, I have mobility issues now, I can hardly walk but it hasn’t been an issue until now as my job is sat at a desk and I’m able to hobble to and from an uber to get there & back.

My employer has been aware of the numerous health issues and has so far accommodated and been good with me around my appointments, recently a new task was introduced meaning we all have to participate in walking to the back of the yard and do some temperature checks on electric vehicles (I work in breakdown recovery) this has to be done every 2 hours, i work nights, the floor in the yard is gritty, there are pot holes and it is unsafe for me to walk on in the daylight let alone dark, I have addressed this with my employer and he made fun of me and offered me his 95 year old mothers old walking frame and called me a member of the cripple club, as you can imagine I’m furious and no longer want to work for these people, my issue is, it’s a small company, there is no HR and he makes it up as he goes along, I have contacted my DR to ask for a limited capabilities document or sick note to say as much, I have not had a response yet but can anyone please advise me which way to go with this?

Holly_Scope

Hi @Helen133 I'm so sorry to read about your situation. It does seem like you've been put in a very difficult situation with these changes to your responsibilities, especially with the health issues that have developed since beginning employment. I am shocked at the comments made by your employer. They're completely unacceptable.

I would suggest documenting everything as it's happening, perhaps in a diary. How long has it been since you first requested your sick note from your Doctor? You should be offered an appointment to discuss this as you would any other medical appointment. Can you make contact with them to chase this up?

It might also be worth speaking with Citizens advice or seeking some legal advice. I've added a link below for the Citizens advice website I hope will be helpful, especially with the changes to your role.

Check if your employer can make changes to your contract - Citizens Advice

One area that stands out to me in the link above is as follows:

If you think you’ve been discriminated against

Sometimes a change to your contract might be discriminatory, for example if you’re disabled and it causes a problem for you connected to your disability. 

If you think you might have been discriminated against, you can check if your problem at work is discrimination. If you're thinking about making a discrimination claim, you should still tell your employer you're working under protest.

Best wishes,

Holly.