Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi, I suspect there is nothing I can do about this - but I am feeling frustrated and angry with an employer.
was diagnosed (aged 43) in 2016, and on the advice of my physician disclosed this to my employer. My hope was to get some management understanding of why I prefer working in certain ways. Worth noting, I am a high performing employee at a senior level, though (thankfully) without line management responsibilities.
The HR manager I spoke to about this, and to whom I supplied my physician’s letter, did nothing about this. (though obviously I was aware that no one had spoken to me about my working environment)
I discovered this in February this year when I went to our HR head (the previous manager, a freelancer, was long gone by this stage) to say that i was feeling guilty around working from home one or two days a week when I had major deliverables to work on and wanted to be free of distraction. Working from home is very common in the business, but without having a formal agreement to do this I was becoming anxious.
I flagged that I thought this could class as an allowance for my autism, but no - the company hadn’t acknowledged this.
I was told (in a genuinely friendly and informal conversation) that a next step would be a meeting with occupational health to talk about adjustments.
It took five months for this to be arranged, and when I attend this interview, I’m told that it’s not a discussion about working environment, rather it’s a request by my employers to conduct a fit for work assessment focused on my mental health.
I spent 45 minutes being asked about such things as my family (is there any history of mental illness…), how I spend my free time with my wife and my son, and whether any stress and irritation in my work had impacted sleep, diet, etc. And obviously there were questions around medical history. There was even paperwork handed to me without explanation that wanted me to give access to my full medical records (I declined to sign these). Finally, after the ‘interview’ I was handed the form that I should have been given pre-interview to sign and say that I understood what was going on.
The final letter then answered the five questions my employers had apparently asked to be addressed, which were basically if I had a mental illness, whether I could carry out my duties, and if I was a risk to the company.
The answers were no, but to see this couched in a long narrative that I felt reflected me and my answers very poorly was very upsetting. As was not understanding what was happening to me and why.
I feel incredibly let down by the company.
From my perspective, I went to them more than two years ago to ask for help - they ignored this and then when I pressed the issue put me through an unexplained process handled in a poor way that I found intrusive and embarrassing.
I suspect the answer is “no”, but do I have any way to at least press the company for a written statement acknowledging that they have failed me, or to gain any kind of redress?
I’m sorry to hear this and it’s not the way anyone would want to be treated. If you haven't already, it may be worth getting advice about this as I understand employers need to objectively justify refusal to implement reasonable adjustments.
It also may be worth contacting Access To Work to see if they can assist with any costs associated with adjustments.
My former employer has all the impressive mission statements of equality, diversity and inclusiveness.
But I was fired on cost grounds. My immediate managers made the case that making adjustments and providing help and support for me would have an impact on the financial side of the business. And I was fired while still in my probationary period, while I had less employment rights.
Not really replying to the above but adding my own experiences. I worked for the Children's Services of a local authority. At the time of great cuts I was turned down for a change of posts because it required empathy which due to my autism I could not offer. I was regularly referred to Occupational Health as subsequent managers had no interest in learning about my conditions, but preferred to use OH as a stick to beat me with. Thankfully the doctors there carried some weight, but despite their recommendations I was still repeatedly interviewed: once when returning from sick leave I was interviewed thirteen times in three days. Part of my work was to ensure teens were not disadvantaged due to disability, but despite this being seen as vital to our work it didn't apply to practitioners. I know I am not helping the situation but merely wanted to state that the gate keepers to disability awareness sometimes simply aren't interested. I retired last year and don't miss the hypocrisy one bit.
Sorry to hear this. Some good advice has already been given but I would add:
1. As good practice, an employer should have a Equality Policy. It might be worth establishing if this is the case and reviewing the process outlined;
2. If an employee has declared a disability, reasonable adjustments must be considered when reviewing suitablity for work. It’s unclear from your post whether adjustments were recommended during the assessment however, if this did not happen and was simply an assessment for suitabllity of fitness to work, it’s worth consulting a trade union representatives, legal advisor for more advice (as others have advised);
3. You may wish to contact Access to Work which is a DWP Scheme for disabled employees. Please see the following link: https://www.gov.uk/access-to-work
Good Luck! I hope you get the support you need.
I would recommend seeing an Employment solicitor or Citivens Advice about this, as they would be best placed to advise what you can do in this situation. Certainly some of the actions you have described are very questionable and without wishing to panic you, companies will often ask OH about your abilities to do your job if they are looking at dismissal on capability grounds. Certainly, your employer is not appearing to be attempting to support you at this point.
I would suggest putting these issues in writing to your employer (HR, Manager, or whoever deals with this in your company) and asking for a response from them in writing, with a given timescale. I would also do this with a separate letter requesting the reasonable adjustments you require (e.g. working from home), referring to the Equality Act 2010 and asking outright which adjustments the company are willing to accommodate, when they will be accommodated, which they won’t accommodate and why, how these adjustments will be recorded in your employee records and how often they will be reviewed. They might not like this, because it pressures them to comply with their legal duties, but it is perfectly reasonable behaviour on your part. Keep all of the correspondence, in case you need it for a later legal claim.
not sure of an answer to your question, but autism/aspergers is covered under the equality act. Employers are obliged to consider any reasonable requests for adjustments to working practices for example.
https://www.autism.org.uk/about/adult-life/work.aspx not all of that link is relevant but bits may be
Perhaps speak to the CAB or similar? Or are you in a union?