Dismissed from work.

I get that but if you see my other post I’ve have been in a similar long term stressful job dealing with bereavements suicides,repossessions evictions people crying down the phone back to back calls etc etc. I was upset by the loss of the job, how I was treated etc etc. Please try to stop venting and look at the positives now you are free to peruse other directions. You said you are good at helping people surely there are other professions that you can bring those skills to and won’t cause you mental health issues.

That’s fair, you must have known for a long time this was where it was going, these processes are not quick in the police.but I can still see how it would be upsetting.
start applying for other jobs,you will have lots of transferable skills.

I don’t think the situation is unfair. Why waste energy and money persuing a employment tribunal or grievance. Work followed the correct procedure the job sounded stressful and you had reached your limit. Look for something now you will enjoy better.

Op you’ve not posted enough information; but from what little you have posted then yes, it does seem legally correct snd justified. I think you know this, which is why i suspect you’re not seeking legal advise like you’re indicating.

thr terrible things you list is part of the job, it’s a 999 call handler job. All your colleagues will have had the same. It was not unique to you; struggling with your mental health and being not present in the new role to the extent they went through this process says it was no longer the role for you.

i think if you were honest, it was much more than your flippant off more than you should have been, it would have been very extensive and covered two jobs. It does seem they moved you to support you but the issues persisted.

they would have crossed every t snd dotted every I. And I think you know this, and it was not unfair dismissal. So presenting a partial story and asking people to say if it was unfair isn’t really a great idea.

do you want us to say yes. How does that help you?

Of course not, but we cant give you any real answers. We can only empathise and signpost. In order to begin moving forwards with your life, you need to understand if there is a case for unfair dismissal. Whether there is or there isnt, hopefully the counselling you are having will help you to process what has happened.
X

Are you conveniently forgetting the part where she talks about the nature of her job as a call handler and the impact it had on her mental health? This is considered an industrial injury nowadays, and as such she should be compensated instead of cast out.
A good friend of mine worked as a call handler for the Ambulance service. She lasted 2 years before she had to leave due to the stress of the job. Turnover is very high for the same reason.

That is true and absolutely there is significant burnout in front line services. My contact with frontline staff members is many of them experience similar trauma but they do have to take responsibility for the fact that they cannot not continue in a role and make choices about moving to less stressful positions, like training or community positions.

That is why these careers much like the military have much younger retirement ages than most other careers.

People don’t get to stay in any job forever if they can no longer carry out the role.

The OP might get some money from a tribunal but she will continue to invest emotionally in this part of her life where she has done absolutely nothing wrong except reach her limit within what is a very difficult career. I think she is better served by not investing more into this situation and getting another job and moving on.

This is not a personal failure, it is an occupational hazard, but the way the OP is writing about it I think she is viewing it as one.

It is that simple!

@user1464187087 kindly you needed to leave that job.

What you got calls about was highly distressing, no question, but what you got calls about, other people go out and see that face to face. Police, ambulances, fire services. If they were missing a lot of time because of the trauma they experienced then it would not be possible to provide the services any longer. In my experience of engagement with front line staff when that time comes, when the level of trauma affects them to the degree they cannot do the role any longer then they have to redeploy and get different roles.

These types of roles including the one you did need people who can deal with that level of trauma. It is not a weakness to be affected by trauma but it is not appropriate to stay in a job where you are experiencing ongoing trauma to the degree that you cannot fulfill the responsibilities of the role.

Why didn’t you consider changing roles when it was clearly impacting you so badly? Why did you stay when doing the role had become untenable for you?

You sound like a conscientious and dedicated staff member but you had a blind spot around when it came your time to leave a role that was harming you psychologically. Now you are beating yourself up about being let go which is not healthy for you either.

By all means go to a tribunal if you feel that will help you, I personally don’t believe it will because it will keep you stuck, but I would focus on reframing the fact that you did a really good job until it became untenable for you to keep working there, you probably should have left sooner than you did and now it is time to start something new.

You need to consult a solicitor specialist in Employment. Not Mumsnet

I'm so sorry, OP.
And l can completely understand.
I was with a police force for 28 years.
For 27 of those years, l worked in the same, dedicated and very specific role.
Then they moved our department to the main control room. At first our role didn't change, just the location.
We then found out that the roles in that section were to change, there wouldn't be specific call handlers/radio dispatchers/our role, but that everyone would be retrained to be omnicompetent, to cover all those roles as and when needed.
I would never have signed up for a control room call handler/radio dispatcher role. I'm pretty sure l couldn't have coped with having to deal with 999 emergency calls and the stress it involves.
When we first found out that this was going to happen, l said that if it did, l would resign. And l did.
It's hard, it's very stressful, and not everyone's cut out for it. Even if you signed up for it originally, dealing with that on a daily basis can totally trash your mental health.
I really hope you can get some help and a resolution.

Did they offer you / or did you at point ask for a different post where you could continue working and not deal with the calls ?

If you didn’t feel like you could work at all - then while it’s hard to cope with right now / if your anxiety is stopping you from bringing able to work - then you should be at home and getting the help you need. You can always get back into work once you have your anxiety under control.

Plus it might have even been an option- as I mentioned before my sister worked for the police for 25 years, she only had an about 3 years of pension. The police pension is very expensive, more so when you’re at the low pay scales

I’m so sorry that you had to carry that and we’re lucky there are people like you that are willing to do so, for so long. I hope things do improve for you, and I’m sorry this happened to you with your job.

Thank you for answering all those calls OP ❤️

It sounds horrendous, I've often wondered how people cope. To go through all that it's no surprise it built up and became too much. You are a hero for taking them all.

Yes agree - police have treated you very badly. Speak to an employment lawyer if you want to? If they get a settlement or pay out most of them just charge a fee which comes off it I think so it won't cost for the initial chats.

If not - you really will be an asset to a new company and I am sure you will find something much less stressful. I think most employers would be understanding if you explain there was no support and it started to impact your health. Also you won't need to tell them more than you want to anyway.

Don't take other posters too heart. There's a lot of odd bitter people on here when it comes to jobs and sickness. I would just ignore them.

I don’t know how you lasted as long as you did

Had you been under OHS at work? Was your doctor aware of your anxiety? Were you on medication? Anxiety is a disability covered under the disability/equality act. Were you given warnings? Did they provide help for you?

But she’d already been moved to a reception role, which seem to be working out just fine for her?

If this role caused you so much anxiety then it wasn’t right for you im afraid.
I work in a similar environments meant where staff are very distressing information.
We require staff who are resilient enough to be able to work through such distressing information.
Sorry to say but someone needs to be able to process this as distressing as it is so this role was not right for you anxiety you need to accost this.

Don’t be daft she’s in her 40s and clearly capable of work just not police related work.