Performance improvement plan under probation

ninasun

My probation period has been extended due to unsatisfactory performance but I have explained for my manager the reason was because of my mental impairment / disability. A couple of days later I made a mistake due to my depression as a result, my manager put me on performance improvement plan with strict deadline without considering my disability. 

I have raised that it would be difficult for me to meet the deadline due to Christmas period and delays from third parties but she refused to adjust the deadline. I now failed my 2nd review as i did not meet the deadline. I only have 1 month to finish the task and improve it but I feel it is unrealistic. I have requested work from home 2 day / week but refused. Their reason was that I was not contactable when I had work from home but when I asked for more details they refused to give it to me. 

I feel that I am set to dismissal and the performance improvement plan has made my disability worse, which I do not sleep well, do not feel like doing anything etc. 

Is this considered discrimination? discrimination arising from disability? 
Any advice what I shall do? 

Many thanks

thespiceman

Hello @ninasun    Pleased to meet you.

Thank you for joining and sharing.

I am one of the team of community champions.  We guide, advise and help support members.

Please I am sorry to hear this.

Please if you are not receiving support with your mental health then you need to look and consider options available to you.

Many mental health charities work with employers have assisted support for the employee.

Always recommend seeking help with any mental health issues, just something I know myself.

Please look at these three charities.

Offer floating support, guidance, information with your mental health.

https://www.richmondfellowship.org.uk.

https://www.mind.org.uk.

https://www.rethink.org.

You can self refer or speak to your GP.

With assistance advice from charities or other support.

I would contact them.

Discrimination I am not qualified to offer a judgement.

You could contact this organisation.

https://www.lawsociety.org.uk.

They would tell you if have a case to answer for.

Please if you have any other questions please ask.

Please take care.

@thespiceman

Ails

Hi @ninasun and welcome to the Community.  It is nice to meet you and thank you for sharing with us.  I'm really sorry to hear about everything you are going through at work and can appreciate how stressful this must be for you.  I worked for a company once where a lot of work pressures were being placed on me and it was extremely difficult so I can totally appreciate where you are coming from.  I would follow the advice you have been given above from @thespiceman and try not to worry about things, although I know that is easier said than done.  You can only do your best at work and that is all anyone can expect from you.  Please keep in touch and let us know how you are getting on.  We are here to support you on the Community should you need it so if there is anything at all you need help with then please just ask.  Wishing you all the best. 

steve51

Hi @ninasun

Good Evening & Welcome it’s great to meet you today.

I am also one of the team of Community Champion’s here at Scope.

Sorry to hear about your current situation/problems at work currently.

Yes I was in the same situation a few years ago now.

Please please let me know if there’s anymore help/advice that would be helpful?

@steve51

Chloe_Alumni

Hi @ninasun, welcome to the community!

Is there anything else we can do to help?

janer1967

@ninasun Hello and welcome to the community I am also a community champion on here and worked in Human Resources for over 25 years. A few questions first was your employer aware of your disability when you started working. it is quite normal to have a performance improvement plan in place if you have not reached the required level during hour probationary period however it is good practise that the actions and timescales are agreed between you and your manager. Under the equality act it is stated that employers should make every effort to make reasonable adjustments for employees with disabilities where they are able to do so. I would suggest that there are several adjustments that could be made in your case, like extended timescales, extended probationary period, reduced targets possibility of working from home (however trust needs to be there to accomodate this). I would try and speak to your manager again ab out possible adjustments mentioning the equality act. Also it may be advisable to speak to your HR department if you have one  You can also contact ACAS which is a free service to support with employment issues they have lots information on their website too which could help you . If there are any other questions I can help you with please get in touch. Good luck and hope it works out for you

ninasun

Many thanks for all of your advice and comments. My PIP last review will be at the end of this month and my manager already told me that do not expect good feedback on one of my tasks, which I believe it has been progressed well. The PIP made my stress worse, as it requires written feedback from all of the team (no one has had this kind of probation assessment before me) every month, and it makes me worried and scared when I speak to people especially when they ask me questions. 

I also feel that I am treated differently. Some of my colleagues have work from home 2 days a week but my manager refused me. The reason they gave me was that i was not contactable when I had work from home, which was not true and no evidence. 

If I am dismissed later it would be unfair and they have not made further reasonable adjustment since they became aware of my disability. 

I have raised informal grievance to my line manager and we have had a meeting but she still insists PIP and feedback from all the people. It would be good to have any advice what I should do next. 

Many thanks

janer1967

@ninasun
Not everyone will have Pip in place they are for those employees not achieving their targets if you can ask for the performance/capability management policy from your manager this should explain the company procedure. As for you requesting working from home ask when they have been unable  to contact you while home working eg times/dates. I did advise what you could do next eg see HR if you are not satisfied with outcome of informal grievance make it formal. Also as suggested look at the ACAS website or contact them 

ninasun

Thanks for your message. The company procedure does not have PIP if failed probation but just extending probation and having regular meeting and setting up clear target.
I have asked my manager and HR and they have never answered me directly or properly and then just ignore it. 
Do I have to raise a formal grievance before proceeding with ACAS? 

janer1967

@ninasun

You dont need to do anything before you proceed with ACAS they will give you advice. However they will tell you to follow your company grievance procedure. I would put together a written formal grievance stating all your issues and submit. You need to be aware extending probation is an option but this can only be for reasonable period as any company would expect you to perform at satisfactory level in a given timescale.
Can I just ask if you think it is possible you can achieve the set targets in timescale and if not what would make it possible. I'm not trying to be harsh but there has to be a level of capability to complete the job and yes reasonable adjustments can be made but if they wont help achieve the target they are not practical. Let me know how you get on 

ninasun

The target is achievable except the first one, which was time consuming and the deadline was tight but I have made it and received good feedback. I missed the deadline for the 2nd task because I was so focused on the first task and misunderstood it. My manager has extended the 2nd task to the 13th of this month, which I have done most of it so far. 
My line manager has approved my proposal for the last task and was very happy about the way how I did the proposal however, the next day she told me that I would not expect good feedback on that and I guess the reason is that she found it quite easy to do. I have told her that it sounded easy but it is complex when doing it. 

My worry is that I may not receive good feedback from everybody in the senior management team as my PIP review is based on a 360° feedback, which no one did that for probation assessment before me and it is not even on the company procedure for probation. 

janer1967

I would also think 360 feedback is not really appropriate in probationary period. How long is your probation period and how long have you been there. As suggested I would think of making a formal grievance especially around that you are not being treated in line with policy or other employees. 

ninasun

Many thanks for your swift comments. My initial probation was 6 months (it is the same for everyone) and it has been extended for another 3 months until end of this month. 
On my employment contract it states that the company policy does not form part of the contract and the company reserve the right to change it at any time without notice in advance. I also work for the company for less than 2 years and do not have much protection if it is not related to discrimination arising from disability. Correct me if I am wrong. 
If I raise this to HR saying 360 feedbback is not really appropriate in probationary period what is the why from your opinion to make it a strong reason. 

janer1967

You are correct less than 2 years service means you can only claim for unfair dismissal. The prob period is quite long and the additional 3 month period is also quite long so they have given reasonable length of time to reach required standard. Due to this 360 could be considered appropriate as you will have had time to build working relationship with your peers and superiors for them to quantify feedback on your performance. Your grievance will need to be around the policy regardless of it saying they can change it and that others have not been subject to this. However has anyone else been kn the same situation to compare to eg had probation extended. 
I cant really comment much further as it too complex without knowledge of company policies and practice. As advised contact ACAS or a union if you are in one. 
Good luck and hope you get it sorted