To ask what an occupational health meeting would entail?

[TheLittlePicker]

I’m a carer of DD, as well as a full time worker. I met with HR and informed them that I am a carer. HR has suggested an occupational health meeting and got my permission to be referred. Nobody has sent a copy of the referral form to me. The company who will carry out the assessment say they cannot let me see the completed form unless I send in a Subject access request to see data held about me. I don’t know what the meeting (with a doctor) will involve and am feeling anxious about it. I did phone Acas and they said that the company will be trying to avoid discrimination by association. Feeling worried about someone compiling a report and I’m not sure what questions will be asked. Will there be a physical exam? Is there a typical format?

Occ health reviews are usually to ensure the work you are doing is appropriate for your circumstances, whether that is a disability, bereavement or life circumstances (carer etc).

Having no experience of Occ health in this setting I can’t say for certain what it involves, but for our employer it’s usually questions about how your circumstances impact on your work and if there is any way the employer can make things better for you or are there any adjustments that should be made. There is unlikely to be a physical exam unless a physical disability is being assessed.

I wouldn’t worry about it, it’s designed to help you. The file is likely only to say what your job role is in detail and what you have told them about your home life, sometimes employers may comment on whether they feel there has been an impact on your work.

Our Occ Health department let’s us see the report produced by them before it’s finalised, so if we don’t agree with anything we can challenge it/change it, but I’m afraid I’m not sure what the standard is for other organisations.

You should have been copied in on the referral. With hindsight, you should have asked to see the referral before they sent it! Bur there's no harm in putting in a Subject Access Request. You cannot be charged for it.

I had an occ health referral when previous employer was being an arsehole about my return from mat leave.

They were REALLY helpful - totally on my side from memory. It was a nurse who completed the assessment and reported back to my work that they needed to make necessary adjustments.

For info - id wanted to cut from 37 hours to 35 and they refused. So I took them the full road and occ health demanded that if I had to keep my full time hours then I should be allowed to work from home two days a week which totally fucked my employer because their reason for refusing my 2 hour drop was that they needed me in the office. This was despite already having part time members of the team 🙄

So in the end, they shot themselves in the foot because I kept my salary for a good two years after my return but sat in my house drinking tea on my couch while working 😂

I then left them for a reasonable employer 😊

Hi OP,

I work in Occ Health. It shouldn’t be anything to worry about. It’s usually a general chat about work/life balance, whether your circumstances affect your role in any way and if there is anything your employee can do to help. It’s all about making sure you are happy and healthy in work. They would normally then send a report to both you and your manager (you can ask to view it first if preferred).

Also OH and my the first thing I ask after co forming who you are is to ask if you know why you have been referred and read the referral to you I then check again that what is written is what you thought it was. In your case with what you have said I would be sending a report back to the manager stating that I had not carried out the referral because you where unaware of the content of the referral and employees have to give their informed convent to be referred.
This has massive red flags all over it and the amount of upset managers who seem not to grasp what "management referral" means.
I am not saying your OHA or P will do the same but no consent no dice with me and many of my colleagues and the consent has to be to your manager to refer, because the consent you give me is to carry out the referral and at the end consent to write a report. You are entitled to withdraw this consent at any time.
Good luck.

Informed Consent

Oh and the other thing about being a carer... what about this is medical? Have you been off sick? Having stress unable to do any aspect of your role? Because being a carer is not an OH issue unless there is a medical issue related to it.

Just found form on email. Boss has written “performance issues” and “workplace adjustments”. I’ve mentioned to HR that I’ve a child with disability and it takes an toll on my round the clock life.

Other people on my team describe my boss as bullying and his behaviour as “harassment”. I know I wouldn’t be comfortable with OH divulging very personal details which will be potentially weaponised against me. HR seem reasonable enough but boss seems to be operating with little supervision for an inexperienced manager. He has been very unpleasant and I’ve ended up in tears in the loos on occasion. Work have suggested now I could take a demotion as my boss “feels I won’t be successful with probation”. They have assured me that I will be offered a job at a lower grade if I don’t make the probation for my job.

I'm a little confused. Why did you inform HR? If you have family responsibilities (as almost all of us do of one form or another) you speak to your boss, not HR.

Cross post. You're on probation?

No sickness mentioned - form which I’ve now found is very clear there are no issues with sickness or attendance.

So its capability, but they haven't told you, basically they want to know if you have an underlying medical condition which would account for this. Which is quite good for you if your manager has failed to tell you this before your referral on 2 counts, one being as far as you are aware there are no issue. And 2 and this so by no means cut and dried as different cases have cause different outcomes and basically this would have to be tested in the courts but my money is on you coming under the Equality Act 2010 as direct discrimination as a carer. This helps in 2 ways 1st is that reasonable adjustments can be recommended. It would be up to your manager to decide if they are reasonable but if he decides they are not he has to be prepared that he could have to defend why not in court. And the 2nd being if you have been employed for under 2 years and they decide to dispense with your services due to performance related to your caring duties this again could be deemed discriminatory.

I have some caveats on this because I am a carer as well and I have worked part time for years so I can juggle the two parts of my life, the past few years my employer has frankly bent over backward, but the adjustment I need now would not be reasonable I know the business can not support it.

I include some info because not all OH know this.

www.gov.uk/rights-disabled-person/the-equality-act-2010-and-un-convention

www.equalityadvisoryservice.com/ci/fattach/get/585/1354033248/redirect/1/session/L2F2LzEvdGltZS8xNTQ3MTY3MjMxL3NpZC9hV1kqQ3c0bw==/filename/carers.pdf

Sorry to hijack OP, question for 2isur.
Isn't it the case that the dda purely applies to disabled employees and not for carers for whom there is no specific employment legislation? Genuine question.

if you read my links you will see it does and also it the Equality Act 2010! NOT DDA

Thank you everyone

Thank you 2isur2 and everyone else! It was actually much better than I had expected. X