Published on 12, July, 2020
Has anyone had any experience of having a "Without Prejudice Discussion" at work? The type of discussion that your job could very well hinge on.
I have been with my current employer for over 4 years and unfortunately have had various physical and mental health issues for the past 2.5 years which has meant that I have not been able to work as much as I'd like to. My employer has been supportive and fortunately there is an income protection scheme in place, but that only covered a certain %age of salary and was limited to a term of 2 years.
I wanted to work in order to maintain some semblance to "normality" so was working as and when I felt well/able enough (usually in the region of 4-6 hours per day / 5 days a week). There were numerous 1 or 2 days off here and there as well as longer periods of weeks off work (supported by required fit notes).
It has now come to a point where my employer has told me that they are concerned about my reliability in terms of planning workloads / projects when they don't know whether I will be working from one day to the next, or how long until I can return following a period of being off.
Just before the Christmas break I had a meeting with my manager & HR (as well as an advocate to support me) where we discussed the situation. Over the past 12 months I have been off sick for ~60 days and the previous year was double that! I have always been very upfront and open with my employer. I was given the impression that the situation is not sustainable and that maybe my position will not be tenable should things continue as they have been.
HR told me that they have taken legal advice and were advised that they can go down the legal / disciplinary route, but they would rather not take that option. Instead, they have suggested that we have a "without prejudice" discussion in the New Year. My manager hinted that there are to be significant changes in the department that I work, and that he is concerned about how I would cope with that (he IS a nice guy). It seemed to me that they are looking for an amicable way out that suits both parties.
BTW, I work in IT specialising in quite a niche technical platform for which finding people with teh required skills & experience is very difficult. That could work both in my favour (as in they need me) or against me if there is a strategic change (as in use a different technology). I can't help but think that the latter is the more likely outcome.
Although this sounds a stressful situation, your employers sound quite supportive. I hope you all can come up with something that suits all. You have expertise in your field. Is there an option to work from home? I hope all goes well for you x
Thanks Tulip52
It's the not knowing what the coming weeks will bring that is stressing me out.Yes, they have been supportive and put in a couple of reasonable adjustments inlcuding reduced working hours which works well.
I have been working from home since the pandemic and I see no reason for that to change as my team are dispersed across the UK + some offshore resources. I live closest to the office (over 1 hour away), so it would not be practical to insists that the team works on site.
My situation is not confined to "just" autism (that is one of the more recent diagnsosis) - I struggle with severe fatigue most days + other ailments, all of which started after I had the 1st vaccination, but thats another story!
The thing is if they do "persuade" me to leave, any "payoff" or financial compensation wont last forever and I will then be faced with the challenge of finding another job whilst still being affected by my various health conditions. The technology that I work with is so niche that I employment opportunities are limited - especially in the UK as not many companies use it.