I risk losing my job

I've been having problems at work since a change of management. To start with, the team I worked with has been cut down one by one to just me, while retaining the vast majority of the workload. Deadlines have been tightened and expectations have never been higher.

I also have to appease managers who are based in a head office in another city, while also meeting the needs of my colleagues in the site where I work on a day-to-day basis.

After an incident where management claim I had conducted myself inappropriately but my colleagues insist I had done nothing wrong, I have started to feel intimidated by the management, regardless of their intentions on any given day. While my colleagues could easily see I was on the spectrum, management refused to believe this was so without a formal diagnosis, which I have obtained towards the end of last year. 

After being given increasingly daunting tasks, failing to complete them in a "reasonable" time frame and being diagnosed with depression, my communication skills have been cited as where I fall short; skills a person on the autistic spectrum disorder such as myself typically has difficulty with, especially when they feel uncomfortable.

On top of this, my coping mechanisms have been deemed "inappropriate" by the branch manager, who has banned me from meeting with the people I trust, who for just 15 minutes a day, could encourage me to give my all to my work. Without them, I'm a crying, screaming mess in a store cupboard who has to come out only when required and put on a brave face so as not to upset people.

Due to my increasing failure to meet standards, I have been put on a capability review and I face losing my job.

I am currently looking for a new job, which I hope to get before I am inevitably fired, but I would be grateful for any advice.

Parents
  • Because of a similar situation in my own life, I have recently been forced to become very familiar with the equality act and workplace discrimination, etc. so I can perhaps give some practical advice, should you want to ultimately take this further. Keep in mind though that I am not a legal professional.

    First of all, make sure all information is recorded, either in wiritng or in a sound recording. If you don't want to actually record meetings, keep a copy of the minutes, or send an email to your manager after each meeting with a summary of what was said.

    Next, you have the right to ask for reasonable adjustments. It is illegal for your manager to deprive you of this, and there is no way they can use any excuse for not letting you meet with people you trust during the day. Make your request in writing and get proof of how they reply. There are a lot of templates online for such a letter. Just search for "reasonable adjustments template letter" or something similar.

    Also, try to find out what exactly is expected of you with regard to workload, etc., and compare this with what it states in your contract and also with any previous written evidence of what your workload used to be before the change in management. It's not reasonable for them to expect more from you than previously unless your job title has changed.

    You have a right to be evaluated in your work performance fairly and without being criticised for any disability. If you really believe that they won't change, try to get as much evidence as possible that the reason you are failing to meet standards is because they will not make reasonable adjustments and/or that they are judging your performance based on your disability.

    If they ultimately dismiss you or constructively dismiss you (meaning the conditions get so bad for you that you quit), if you have a lot of evidence, you can take them to the employment tribunal, or at least get a good settlement offer.

    Good luck.

Reply
  • Because of a similar situation in my own life, I have recently been forced to become very familiar with the equality act and workplace discrimination, etc. so I can perhaps give some practical advice, should you want to ultimately take this further. Keep in mind though that I am not a legal professional.

    First of all, make sure all information is recorded, either in wiritng or in a sound recording. If you don't want to actually record meetings, keep a copy of the minutes, or send an email to your manager after each meeting with a summary of what was said.

    Next, you have the right to ask for reasonable adjustments. It is illegal for your manager to deprive you of this, and there is no way they can use any excuse for not letting you meet with people you trust during the day. Make your request in writing and get proof of how they reply. There are a lot of templates online for such a letter. Just search for "reasonable adjustments template letter" or something similar.

    Also, try to find out what exactly is expected of you with regard to workload, etc., and compare this with what it states in your contract and also with any previous written evidence of what your workload used to be before the change in management. It's not reasonable for them to expect more from you than previously unless your job title has changed.

    You have a right to be evaluated in your work performance fairly and without being criticised for any disability. If you really believe that they won't change, try to get as much evidence as possible that the reason you are failing to meet standards is because they will not make reasonable adjustments and/or that they are judging your performance based on your disability.

    If they ultimately dismiss you or constructively dismiss you (meaning the conditions get so bad for you that you quit), if you have a lot of evidence, you can take them to the employment tribunal, or at least get a good settlement offer.

    Good luck.

Children