I’ve been back in work for last 6 months we agreed I’d go 4 days and work way back up to 5 , they are now pushing for the 5 but I don’t want to do it I’m finding 4 is more than enough at the moment, manager did not want to get hr or occupational health involved but I happen to be in a meeting which they will be in tomorrow, should I bring it up ? Will they be able to do anything? On my return after diagnosis manager told me he’s happy to help with the 4 days for a few months but can be done forever as I work for a contractor and the company we work for wants everyone 5 days a week as per contract , not sure what’s best to do bring it up or just tell management I can’t do the 5 days which I’m worried might be a breach of contract and end with my dismissal?
Don’t think I will be of great help but I was medically retired last year as I was no longer able to do my job as before.
School and the council did do various things to help, dropping hours etc but it did not really make a huge difference although we did try for a year or so.
I am not sure of the correct procedure but I thought it was a kind of duty for companies to assist in the best way when someone has been diagnosed with a disability. I may well be talking nonsense but be as honest as you can, always stating how you are on your worst day and how much better it is for you to be 4 days.
Hi there, I’m absolutely no expert but it think employment law requires employers to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to working conditions for those with disabilities. MS counts as a disability but the law doesn’t specify what is meant by ‘reasonable adjustments’. From what I understand the law applies whatever your contract might say. It might be worth giving the MS Society’s help line - they do deal with employment issues.
I’m thinking you might need to be ready for some long discussions with your employer and it would be best to learn as much as you can about employment law.
Hi shay1. I’m no legal expert but, as has been suggested by others. Your employer should make reasonable adjustments for you and if a phased return to work was agreed then that should be abided by. If it was a fixed time of reduced hours/days they might have some recourse in their favour of requesting you to return to your normal days and hours. If that was never stipulated, then it’ll probably be up to you and them to agree to a further period of shorter times and days. But as Mary said about her own predicament. And not wanting to be a doom angel..are you just delaying the inevitable? Or do you think that in due course you will be able to return to your normal days and hours? I wish you well and hope that you can continue working for as long as possible with either a shorter working week or back to how you were before if you are able too. Good luck.
With regards to putting off the inevitable I like to think the only inevitable thing in life is death , there’s lots of people who have worked for years with ms , perhaps yes I’m being optimistic but if I don’t think positively I’ll fill my head with negative thoughts like when first diagnosed and I don’t need that again, if I had to do 5 days yes I’m capable but tiredness is a factor along with some other symptoms, I don’t want to live just to work , 4 days gives me the balance I need and I find I’m mentally and physically better than if I was to do 5 it also gives me time with family, don’t think any of this will help my argument to stay doing 4 days , I guess I’ll bring it up tomorrow in the meeting and go from there
Quite honestly, I think the sooner you get HR and occupational health involved the better. They know the law, and it is their job to keep your employers on the right side of it. Your line manager’s objectives are probably more narrowly focused on getting the job done with minimum fuss and agg for him/her, no?
You are in the territory of ‘reasonable adjustments’ here. You can formally ask to have your contract hours (and pay, alas) changed to 4 days a week if you feel that that is the ‘reasonable adjustment’ that will help keep you at work. Your employer has an obligation to consider that request (or any other request you think is reasonable and necessary) and respond to it. They don’t have to say yes, but they know that they are potentially subject to legal challenge further down the line if that adjustment was later deemed to be ‘reasonable’ but they wouldn’t do it. HR knows all about this stuff. Your line manager, I would guess, neither knows nor cares, and won’t care until HR applies the screws. How much clout HR have in your organisation is another matter of course. But at the end of the day, the law trumps everything. They’re not doing you a massive personal favour by complying with their legal obligations. So don’t let them feel as if they are.
Thanks Alison helpful as always , they only pay me 4 days now and I can manage at the moment with that amount of pay and quality of life means more to me than the money , since writing this my foot has gone much more tingly and so has my back psychosomatic maybe
When I was diagnosed 25 years ago, my childhood GP back in Northern Ireland said to my mother: ‘You be sure to tell Alison from me that she needs to avoid stress.’ I paid absolutely no attention of course. But with the benefit of hindsight, I can see that he was right. Don’t underestimate how much stress affects us. You can’t avoid it of course particularly in working life but there’s a cost. All I’m saying is, try not to let things get to you any more than you can help.
Your 100% right I’ve had a few issues in my life this past year outside of ms and i felt my body change during those time , more tingling/numbness once my legs were actually bouncing while I was sitting down , my muscles constantly twitch and they go into overdrive in stressful situations joy of joys
By the way, do remember that your line manager is paid to manage resources to deliver objectives. It isn’t supposed to be easy, which is why he he/she gets paid more than you do. Whether there’s 1.0 of you or 0.8 of you is just an everyday resource problem to solve but it is NOT your resource problem to solve.
I think your manager’s wrong by the way: if under the Equality Act provisions your contract is changed to .8 hours permanently then that (it seems to me) trumps anything about ‘everyone has to be full time’ in another contract, because any elements of a contract that are incompatible with UK employment law are automatically not enforceable.
Good morning, I have had MS since 2000 and have taught in a secondary school since 2001. I now use a crutch and occasionally a wheelchair in the classroom. My head has recently raised a capability meeting regarding my ability to respond if a child becomes medically unwell. I am not first and trained but I would ensure the environment is safe and call for the nurse or first aide.. my classroom is open and connects to a technology classroom which always has a teacher available. I have contacted my union representative who is gathering information prior to the meeting. Is there any advice anyone could pass my way
again, if I had to do 5 days yes I’m capable but tiredness is a factor along with some other symptoms, I don’t want to live just to work , 4 days gives me the balance I need and I find I’m mentally and physically better than if I was to do 5 it also gives me time with family, don’t think any of this will help my argument to stay doing 4 days , I guess I’ll bring it up tomorrow in the meeting and go from there
, they only pay me 4 days now and I can manage at the moment with that amount of pay and quality of life means more to me than the money , since writing this my foot has gone much more tingly and so has my back psychosomatic maybe 
