Diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome - not allowed back to work

I should have also added you can ask Acas for advice.  They are usually very sympathetic and helpful.  You can get the contact details here:

http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1410

If you are not in a union you may be able to get advice from a citizen's advice bureau.  I would suggest you do this.

There looks to me like there is a very strong possiblilty of discrimination and harasment here, both of which are illegal.  Employers are morally bound to enable you to put some representations to the company.   You need proper advice.  Get all the facts written down before you see anyone so you don't forget anything.  And keep everything you have in writing from your employer and any supporting evidence from your practitioner.  Make notes every time your employer contacts you.

And is there an office of your employer higher up that you could approach.  Is this a decision of a manager or someone higher up?  Go higher up than your manager if you can.

In the meantime, you may find this useful.  It is coming without any recommendation but it will be the cheapest way of getting advice.  It is a service provided by postgraduate students in law as part of their course under the auspices of experienced legal experts:

http://www.law.ac.uk/about/legal-advice-for-the-public/

Have worked for the comapny for sixteen years full time and twenty one years in total. Have held many positions including managerial positions. I work in garden retail and love my job and company. Found out today someone is being trained to do my role which has never happened before and found out through the grapevine as no one is telling me officially anything. I've been told to stay away from work although someone else who is off sick is allowed to come and go as they please. 

I've witnessed a great deal while working and know a great deal and feel that knowledge is scary to others who want it silenced. 

Just wanted to add, that unless you have a union or are member of a professional body challenging your employer can be a futile excerise. This happened to me in 2009, and I could not believe how a couple of loopholes in the law would take away practically all the legal protection you had. This was not related to my aspergers, but I feel was down to stress problems which I took a five weeks off sick (during six years employment)They just need to make you redundant by making a case that your skills are no longer required, or allocate your job to someone else.

Would it be possible to find another employer ?

I was forced in to that position, and didn't realise how bad my previous employer was treating me until after settling in my new job for a few months.

Random

Have you tried contacting your HR department, if you work for a big company and arranging an appointment. (or the manager if it is a small company).   You could then try explaining that any issues they have with Aspergers only affect your work in x, y, z way and that these can be alleviated by a, b, and c.  But take some one with you to the interview, a work colleague if you are not in a union.

What Aspergerix says I agree with, with certain provisos.  The law is expensive and things do not always go the way you want.  Even an Industrial Tribunal costs to lodge the case and this with up front tribunal fees adds up to £1200 which is forfeit if you lose.     There are also other considerations: how long have you been working there (under 2 years and you have no rights against unfair dismissal unless it is directly as a result of the dismissal). 

It is better to negotiate a proper arrangement with the employer.  The employer can suspend you if it believes there are good reasons, but ask to see the occupational health (or the company doctor) for their assessment on how your condition affects your wok and whether there are reasonable adjustments that can be put in place.  Your place place of diagnosis should be able to recommend some workplace adjustments as well as they will know the severity of your condition.  Even if you are employed in a customer/public oriented role, it may be possible to give you another job within the company which doesn't involve contact with the public if this was affected by your Aspergers.  And don't let the blighters get you down!

I suspect the company are just reacting in a way that should be unacceptable in todays society, using the same sort of justification that used to be used to justify racial discrimination, sex discrimination and discrimination on sexual orientation grounds.

Are you in a union?  You need some help to sort this out with what seems to be a verfy ignorant employer.

I am a union representative and from my point of view there are several issues here.  The first thing is to look at your employers policies, in this case their 'Equality Policy' and their Health and Safety Policy in addition to their sickness policy.  I would also look at their Stress at Work policy if they have one.  Some of these may be incorporated into something else.

Your employer should have some sort of Grievance procedure.  This is why it helps to have a union representative.  You could put in a grievance.

Whether we think of ourselves as 'disabled' or not, we are disabled under the equality act.  But this is to our advantage as it is illegal to discriminate against someone because of their disability. Aspergers/Autism is not a mental health issue as there is no 'cure' anymore than if someone loses an arm they can grow another one.  But there are things an employer could do to help.  These are 'reasonable adjustments'.  Such adjustments would be to negate the issues you have had about the work - and put you in a position where you are using your abilities and strenghts, not weaknesses..  And there would be have to be special reasons for not making the adjustments

The TUC guide may give you some useful information:

https://www.tuc.org.uk/sites/default/files/Autism.pdf

Examples of reasonable adjustments are given in the guide. 

Are the issues of work due to your Aspergers?  You need to find out under what 'Duty of Care' they think there are issues with you being unable to do your job. And all very stressful for you, which could cause anxiety and depression (which is a mental health illness, which is why I suggest you look at the Stress at work policy if they have one) I think a problem is that employers tend to thik all ASD's are all the same and these negative thoughts about the condition cloud their minds. 

And good luck!