Hi, my name is Lms250590! Shall I take ill health retirement?

Lms250590

Hello, I was hoping for some advice as its abit of a minefield out there! I have recently had a formal meeting with HR and my line manager regarding my sickness absences and it's been decided that I can either be redeployed or ill health retirement. I have worked in the NHS for 25 years, mostly in admin jobs, and have been in my current role for 19 years. I have Ulcerative Colitis and have biologic treatment and medication that keeps me functioning but it's an unpredictable illness so I have been unable to work quite alot. If I decided on redeployment my absences would only be the same so I'm going to take ill health retirement. My manager can't offer me reduced hours which is what I really need but I am still going into work while all this is going on. Should I be considering getting my go to sign me off work with all the stress of this my UC is starting to flare and my mental wellbeing is taking a battering. Will me going to work until I am dismissed go against me when I'm claiming IHR?

luvpink

@Lms250590

Hi and welcome to the community.

If you can't continue working then you need to be off sick.

Have you been offered ill health retirement?

If so then wait until you are dismissed on those grounds.

Seek advice of your union if you are in one and get them to accompany you to any future meetings with you.

Being granted ill health retirement will only be possible if an occupational health Doctor agrees and recommends it.

If that isn't the case then your employer should offer you the reduced hours as a 'reasonable adjustment'.

It really isn't easy and its a lengthy process in order to be granted ill health retirement and often doctors are reluctant to recommend it because of a lack of certainty of permanence of an illness that prevents an individual from performing any form of employment.

All other options will need to have been explored,tried and failed for them to agree that you are unable to perform any other role and that ill health retirement can be recommended on that basis.

Bydand

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/146067/hi-my-name-is-lms250590-shall-i-take-ill-health-retirement

Hi, I am not NHS but was successful in my civil service ill health retirement…..the basics of the process are very similar

Ill health retirement is the last resort for many workers who are severely struggling with a medical condition or illness which repeatedly prevents them from being at work and providing good service to the employer as per their contract.

I would suggest that the majority of folks who apply for IHR have a very lengthy history (evidenced) of both short and long term absences over years, many Occupational health referrals, failed back to work plans, exhaustion of all reasonable adjustments before even being in a position to apply.

From there it is OH that has to formally agree and inform both yourself and your employer that there are no more reasonable adjustments that are likely to be of benefit to you and that in THEIR opinion you would likely meet the criteria for IHR. Without OH support it is likely any IHR application you put in would fail at the first obstacle. You cannot simply apply for IHR of your own back.

In most cases severe enough to warrant IHR it is likely that you would be off sick and not at work whilst going through the application. You can’t be fit enough to work and ill enough for IHR.

It is not as black and white as your employer is making out, indeed the very fact that they are offering you redeployment or IHR in itself is completely wrong. by offering you redeployment they are suggesting that in their opinion you ARE fit to work albeit in a different role possibly, so IHR shouldn’t come into it at this stage. Based on experience I would be very wary of believing that you’re employer, manager always knows all the ins and outs of policy…..this in just about every case is no benefit to the employee. You yourself need to be proactive in finding out the details.

The criteria for being successful in any IHR application is very strict, being ill in itself is not enough……I would suggest that if you are in a union that you seek their advice first…..if you haven’t already, I would get a copy of you’re abscence management policy and you’re specific pension policy that relates to you depending on the pension scheme you are in….both of these documents will have information in them that is pertinent to IHR….i suggest you read them over several times until you are very familiar with the content. You're pension policy should have detailed information on the IHR process and the specific criteria you would have to meet.

IHR is the last resort open to an employee and indeed an employer where there is no more help available to keep you in employment due to severe ill health.

Hope this helps a little and reach out again if you think I can help

Scott

luvpink

@Bydand

You explain it extremely well.

That is basically the route I went down and the process took over three years having failed at the first attempt but gradually led to me being granted early ill health retirement from the nhs

Bydand

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1124677#Comment_1124677

Hi, thankyou

You're reply to the post was spot on too and helpful….it is helpful to have advice from those who have gone through the same thing.

What amazes me is that employers including HR often do not know the ins and outs of the IHR policy and worse give employees wrong information and advice.

In replies to others on this forum I always state the importance of being very proactive in finding out the correct information for themselves and never relying on what you are being told as being correct.

Hopefully we will hear how things have gone for them

Hopefully IHR has helped with you being able to manage you’re condition or illness.