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?
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.