fear of losing my job

emdalefan

problems at work
Hi, I am new to this so any help would be greatly appreciated.

Firstly 14 months ago my employer informed me that due to the fact that I had a wrist problem I would no longer be able to continue in the role I was in and that they had a duty of care to me so they would therefore have to change my job. This was obviously due to the fact that I had injured myself 2 years prior at work and had put a claim in. I had never complained and said I could not do the job.

They moved me to a different department and told me I could only do one job which was basically monitoring robotics. I reluctantly agreed to this as I was told this was the only job in our factory they were willing to offer me and everything I suggested was knocked back. My main concerns with this was that all the other roles in my new department were manual and I didn't want my fellow workers to feel it was unfair to them.

I settled into this new role, then just over a week ago we were informed the company wanted to make changes to our shift patterns due to company needs. This has caused problems as I have been moved to a different shift and the people I am now working with are not happy and have complained that it is not fair on them that I do not do the manual work. I do understand where they are coming from but I never asked for these restrictions and was managing all aspects of my previous role without any help. All this has caused me immense stress as I'm not sleeping or eating properly.

I now have been told my manager, senior op and occupational health nurse are to have a meeting to discuss me and 2 other operators who have similar problems. I have asked to be considered for other roles within the company but feel I am getting nowhere. My main concern is are they going to try to dismiss me through capability issues which as far as I am concerned they have created not me.

the_syco

Sounds a bit like "constructive dismissal"?

Irish_Elect_Eng

You feel that you can go back to a manual role, seem to want to in fact and you have a concern about your co-workers feelings/opinions. That is admirable.

Your employer is correct however and they have a duty of care to you and a duty to protect the company from future claims.

I am not a medical person, but I would advise...

I would advise consulting a doctor that specializes in occupational health, explain your situation, provide him with a detailed and honest description of the manual tasks that you are looking to resume along with a list of your employers concerns. Ask that he assess your previous injury history, the current state of your injury and provide you with a detailed recommendation. (Note: Depending on your injury this may include using a brace or support to prevent a re-occurrence of your injury)

If he finds that you cannot return to your previous duties, please heed his advice, your health is more important long term than your job......

If he clears you to return,to your previous manual duties, then you can bring this information to your employer and inform them that you have been cleared to return to your previous duties. Be very clear with them that you now consider that you have been cleared to return to your previous duties. Put the ball back in their court if they want to continue to restrict your duties.

If they want to disagree with you they will have to send you to their own specialist for an assessment, your management cannot disagree with you returning to your normal duties without a professional medical opinion.

If they do this be sure to bring a copy of your consultants report with you, even if their doctor is a little biased conservatively towards the company, he will think twice and have a good reason before disagreeing with another doctors findings out of professional courtesy.

Best of luck.....Stay Healthy.

Vologda69

You said you previously 'put a claim in' after your initial accident. Did you sue your employer? It might explain why they are treating you with kid gloves. Clearly looks like they are trying to push you out the door.