I’ve posted this on the PPMS section but wondered if anyone here might be able to offer any words of wisdom.
I care for my husband who was diagnosed 4 years ago with PPMS who has all the familiar symptoms, balance issues, constant pins and needles, a numb left hand side, physical and mental fatigue and bladder urgency. Until now and through sheer determination, he has managed to hold down a very stressful, target driven job in a senior role, albeit it with a few reasonable adjustments.(e.g. working in an ice cold office, having time to attend physio appointments and working from home half a day per week). The side affects of this is that he’s been completely wasted at home - extremely tired both physically and mentally, needing assistance with all his personal care and only able to be a tiny bit of the person at home that he used to be pre MS. This in turn has had a significant impact on my general well being and I am currently being treated for depression.
He has now realised and accepted the impact his stressful job is having on him and how much it has reduced his overall quality of life. A week ago his GP signed him off work and his ms neurologist agrees that reduced hours would benefit his well being. This is a really scarey prospect for him - he knows he will not be able to do his current job on a part time basis and is stressed and anxious at even having to try if he is signed fit to work on reduced hours. Obviously he will need to engage in negotiations with his work to see if there is any possibility of an alternative role he could do part time but until any such agreement is reached, is it reasonable for him to continue to be signed off work altogether ?
I would be really interested to hear from anyone who has been in a similar position with advice on how to navigate through this new challenge.
before I became ill last year I was about to finish a phd focussing on reasonable adjustments for disabled workers, such as reduced hours.
My mind feels like it has forgotten much of what I knew. But if you want me to look up and post some of the stuff on what employers are required to do, in terms of reasonable adjustments, please let me know.
Sorry to hear of the trouble that you and your husband are having.
Firstly, may I say that any meetings you have with your Husband’s Company you should take someone with you. Always have a witness. Perhaps they could take some notes too?
Doies your Husband belong to a Union? If so, a Union rep. would be perfect.
I tried for reduced hours working years ago and I am afraid to say I was not successful. My business was excempt from and different too many of the rules and regulations that many jobs have.
Try and make a business case why your husband should reduce his hours. More effective working hours because he is less tired etc. The Bosses like that sort of thing. Try and offer them a win win situation.
I was the main earner in my family and I was only 47. \i evbentually ended un taking retirement which has been the best course of actio for me.
Please may I apaologise for my typing. Very difficult today. All the best and let us know how you get on.
Definitely time for him to stand back and take stock and get those spreadsheets updated if they aren’t already (any apologies in advance because you have probably worked all this out to 2 decimal places long ago):
Items to consider (if you haven’t already) to include:
What exactly is the sickness and capability policy? It would be unusual for a contract to cover this in detail, but implicit in his contract will be the detailed policies on which these things are managed in the company. Your husband needs to know in detail what these policies say before going in to bat.
Ditto part-time working policies and ill-health-retirement policies.
What terms would he get were he to be ill-health-retired now?
How would those terms change if he were to negotiate (say) a permanent change to contract to 0.6 of full time now and then was ill-health-retired some way down the line (this might make no difference, but it might make a big difference to any termination/pension benefits that are based on actual hours/pay at date of termination).
Hope u are well. Ive not been 100% well in recent days and so havent got round to looking up much. But here is the Equality Commission’s guidance on reasonable adjustments in the workplace. The guide spreads over a few web pages.
Hi and thanks again for everyone who replied to my earlier post.
Just to update - my husband has now been off work for 6 weeks. 2 weeks ago he met with his direct boss and last week with the regional director. Based on his neurologists advice he has asked if he can reduce his hours to 3 days a week but the company do not think he can do this in his current role so they are looking to see if there are any alternative roles he could do. Since being at home, the rest and being away from his demanding and stressful job has in many ways helped him to feel better in himself and I have certainly seen a difference in his functioning at home - even managing a few outings out Whilst waiting to see what alternative role his company can offer him we have been looking through his pension pots and he could draw on these now (at age 52) if he was to go down the ill health retirement route which would keep us financially secure. His company has told him they what to do whatever is in his best interests so he is now wondering whether he can ask for this or should he exhaust trying out a new role. If he was able to cut ties with his company and negotiate some sort of “exit” package he could then possibly work as a self employed consultant.
What we’d really like to know is whether he can initiate asking to be retired early on grounds of ill health or does he have to wait until his company reaches that decision?
I think that a lot depends on your husband’s assessment of his negotiating position with his employer, and - most importantly - what he wants the outcome to be.
Assuming that a departure on the grounds of ill-health is something that might suit, it might make sense to let his employers know that he would not be averse to such an arrangement if the terms were right. No use them pussy-footing around and hesitating to propose ill-health retirement for fear of offending him or making him feel that he was being bundled out against his will. On the other hand, if he is not sure that he wants IHR, he would obviously not want to set that hare running by mentioning it. Technically, termination of contract on the grounds of ill-health is something that the employer ‘does’ to the employee, but it is very often in practice a mutual decision and the subject of relief all round. Employers are often rather keen to get someone with a chronic condition like MS off their books with minimum fuss, and your husband might find them surprisingly amenable to negotiation when it comes to agreeing terms. He might want to consider consulting an employment solicitor about his options.
The part-time option: well, that is a very personal thing too. For what it’s worth, these were my experiences: After a few years at full time after dx, I went to three days a week for about 5 years, but I was much younger then than your husband is now. I wouldn’t have done it at 52 if I could have afforded it/had the option of pulling the IHR rip-cord instead. There is much to be said for living life at one’s own pace when MS comes to call. I was no better at doing that on three days a week than I had been at five. Besides, my cognitive sharpness had gone and my drive and energy with it - I honestly cannot say I enjoyed those years of haunting the workplace (or so it felt to me) for three days a week, a pale shadow of my former self.
Good luck with the next phase, however it plays out.
I have just had to reduce my hours to part time,thankfully i work for BAE systems which is a major employer in the town where i live and they could not have been more accomodating, obviously i took a financial hit but suffering with overwhelming fatigue of late i can now re-charge my batteries so as to still have a bit energy to enjoy the weekend instead of feeling knackered. wishing you well as i’m sure you will definately benefit.
Thank you so much for these words of wisdom Alison, I have just read your post to my husband and it really did resonate with him. He has held a senior position within his business and has been very successful so there is something to be said for going out whilst he’s still very well respected rather than have to gradually decline further and further in his position and status! After talking to his pension advisor and other close friends he is definitely veering towards wanting IHR ; this would give us more time to tick off several bucket list items before his mobility reduces further and by taking the 25% tax free lump from his pension and re investing the rest into an enhanced annuity it should give us long term financial security as well.
He is still waiting to hear back from the divisional director but is now inclined to take the initiative and suggest IHR to him and see where that goes.
Thank you so much again - I’m trying to encourage him to join this forum himself so perhaps you will hear from him personally down the line.
Thank you for replying - this is certainly something he is considering - but has to balance whether he would really get the two days rest during the week as the nature of his business would almost certainly necessitate him having contact even on his days off ! I think in his heart he would like to take IHR if the package is right.
