Dismissed from work.

As a police staff member myself what was there reasoning. Did you go through an action plan or performance review. We're you referred to occu health . Did they do a disability needs assesment and a stress risk assesment .

We need more detail this is really too vague .

Did any of your other colleagues take off sick for the same reason? Or just you? If so, you need to find out with help from ACAS, if you've been treated unequally to your other colleagues.

On the other hand, this job requires someone with a health amount of mental capacity to do the job. It needs someone reliable.

And you know all the ins and outs, how many years, how long in new job, how long off sick, the pay etc?

Yes.

Quoted the wrong post.

This doesn't sound right. Surely they would redeploy you into a suitable role! One long term absence for anxiety would not trigger stage 3- there is defo more to this story!

Eh? I don’t know the op @Brightlittlecanary, or work in that industry. I was just recommending what I would say to anyone who posted something like this..

Im sorry you have gone through such stress OP. I would definitely be re-framing this though instead of ruminating on the unfairness. You have been in a job for over 20 years that is very stressful and has caused you high level of anxiety. That level of stress is a lot for your body to endure. You have the chance now to find a job that is less stressful, something you enjoy. Once you are settled I'm sure you will look back and realise that leaving was a good thing and that job was unsustainable for your health. You have a great deal of experience and transferable skills. Wishing you the best of luck for the future.

You mean you know the op, and the ins and outs of what happened. From how long off, returns ghe moves, how long in new role, the pay etc?

Really difficult but no company is going to want to pay someone if they aren’t capable of doing the job they are being paid for.
Go find a job you are able to do so your employer is proud of your work ethic and rewards you.

Did you appeal? Speak to ACAS re if there’s away forward. They would expect you to have appealed which is why I am asking (unless I missed it). I assume you appealed and were unsuccessful? Assuming they have followed their processes, I would expect the dismiss to be fair and to stand, but defo worth talking it through with ACAS. I’m sorry UNITE weren’t helpful - was this essentially because you were dismissed and you felt you shouldn’t be, or were they actually in some way neglectful in their role in this process - I’d be speaking to them too potentially. Sorry you are going through this op - as others have said employers can’t have people off for long periods but dismissal is a last resort and they must follow a fair process. If you are in fact considered disabled now and were not supported in a really stressful job that has cause this, then again speak to ACAS.

Kindly, OP, complete strangers on the internet can’t tell you if you have been treated unfairly. I know a lot about employment law (but you have no way of verifying if that’s true or not) but I can’t tell you if you have been treated unfairly or advise whether you might have a claim for unfair dismissal without knowing all the facts of the case (on both sides). People who feel they have been treated badly, when they haven’t, rarely understand or explain clearly the other side of the matter. Also, fairness at work and employment disputes is one of those areas that lots of people think they are expert on, when they aren’t. I see lots of well meaning employment advice on here (not talking about this thread in particular) which just isn’t accurate and can cause confusion for OPs asking for advice. Also, having a bunch of strangers agree that you have been treated badly won’t help you come to terms with what’s happened.

I am sorry you are finding it so hard to come to terms with. It must be really difficult. I think you have two avenues for real life support - speak to your GP about your feelings to see if you can be referred for additional counselling, and speak to ACAS to find out if you have any options in relation to your dismissal. But that will depend on how long ago you were dismissed. Take care and best of luck

I recognise this poster as I also worked at the exact same place and the mental health support for call handlers is absolutely terrible. I did it for 2 years and at the end was in such a state i had to leave. The force literally treat their call handlers like a number sat on a seat and if u are not there, there is no support its just a problem. There is no apreciation of the trauma and unless you have done the job you have no idea what it is like. The OP was amazing at their job and did it to an excellent standard for a very long time, if the support had been there like it should have been it wouldnt have come to this for them. OP, I think you have been treated disgustingly by the force and you should hold your head high. You will be an asset to any employer moving forward and I really hope you find something that makes you happy.

I've no practical advice op but completely understand how you end up with anxiety. I worked as a Nurse for 35 years, had so many horrible situations to deal with, witnessed so many horrible deaths . I'm sure I have been left with some kind of PTSD long term. I think people who haven't done this kind of work have no idea. I managed to change careers now but the long term anxiety has affected any kind of work I've done since. I am 58 now and burnt out.

You are not being unreasonable for feeling upset, but it does sound as if your employer had the right to dismiss you.

Quite a few people on here are suggesting you appeal the decision, but I'm not sure that's a good idea in your circumstances. Doing so is likely to be stressful and unsuccessful.

Think very carefully about taking any action that might lead a an employment tribunal. From what you have told us, the union will not support your claim and your employer will throw the kitchen sink at defending it.

The process is time-consuming, often drawn out over several years and absolutely brutal. Even if you represent yourself, it can be very expensive because you need to cover all your expenses, time off work, travel, preparing bundles, printing, etc.

Despite what we read and hear in the news about people winning large sums of money, ET cases they are extremely difficult for employees to win. If your case is deemed by the tribunal to have no merit, they can award costs against you which can go into six figures if your employer is using expensive lawyers (which they will).

I have been through the process and it dominated over two years of my life and nearly broke me. I took legal advice before proceeding and was advised that my case was good enough that I could still win even without representation in the tribunal hearing (I couldn't afford a barrister).

Although I won a small part of my claim I was only awarded three months pay. I substantially lost my case. I spent considerably more on making my claim than I was awarded by the tribunal, despite having no legal representation during the hearing.

It is very unfair if you have been treated badly by your employer, but it is only worth making a ET claim if you have a water-tight case, nerves of steel and very deep pockets.

How often and how long were you absent from work previously

Do ur work offer post trauma sessions, any wellbeing session or councilling support in the later stages of your post? I know wellbeing etc is just a recent buzzword for support in the past few years with Covid etc but u should have been offered some kind of management support at times when the trauma calls were exceedingly bad to help with anxiety and to stop I being off sick with this.

I haven't made any assumptions or reached any conclusions. I asked her once if she had trauma support after she explicitly stated the traumatic aspects of the job had caused her anxiety, and then I posted once in response to someone who said secondary trauma in emergency call-handling wasn't the employer's responsibility.

Which part are you taking issue with exactly?

Re ill health retirement - as a police civilian the OP would have been in the Local Government Pension Scheme, and to qualify for ill health retirement a member has to meet two tests -firstly being permanently incapable of doing your job (permanently being defined as to state pension age), AND have a reduced likelihood of obtaining other gainful employment before state pension age. It sounds like OP would meet the first test but not the second (as it sounds like she is capable of doing other roles). Without meeting both tests ill health retirement would not be available.

edited for typo

It was the wrong job for you.

Hope you find something better.
😘

You’re making a lot of assumptions here that the op hasn’t spoken to, not applying critical thinking, just taking what she’s written as the whole story and then lept to conclusions.

This is wrong. As I've already stated, other areas of the justice system have ongoing vicarious or secondary trauma support. It is their responsibility. Call handlers is one of the roles where high levels of vicarious trauma and PTSD are found. It sounds like it may have been implemented too late for the OP.