Dismissed from work.

[user1464187087]

Good evening,
Please be gentle with me.
I was dismissed from work a few months ago. I worked as a staff member for the police for nearly 26 years.
For many years I worked as a police 999 Call Handler and ended up sufferring with anxiety as a result. I took calls from people who comitted suicide, died in fatal house fires, people that witnessed fatal road traffic collisions and a hell of a lot more.
I was dismissed because of my sickness due to anxiety and feel it was unfair.
I was in a union and felt that they didn't help me.
Am I being unreasonable to think this is unfair?
I didn't have months off sick and had been back working full time for four months at the time of my dismissal.
I started working there when I was 17 and was dismissed when I was 42.
I can't seem to get over it.
Sorry for the long post.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

@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.

It is that simple!

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.

Is there any reason that I can't consult both?

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

To be fair, I have never said that I will persue unfair dismissal.
I came on here to chat to people and get an idea of if they think the situation is unfair in their eyes.
I don't see the point of an online forum if people are going to advise you not to post on it. 😀

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?

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.

I've never said I was taking this to tribunal.
It was probably me venting as i'm upset about the situation.

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 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.

Exacrly, the police is just one of thousands of jobs available, this one was mentally detrimental and wasn’t for you in the end. So start applying for other roles doing what you’re good at but in less traumatic environments. You were back at work for four months and feel,fit for work, you’ve a good cv behind you. So go for it. You will soon be back in the workplace every day.

I have got another job.
To the poster who said try to stop venting: This is an online forum where people choose to vent should they wish.
I have found it cathartic to be honest.
If people didn't vent, would online forums exist? 😀

Oh that’s Good, congrats and that was fast, hope,you’re loving it.

I'm guessing OP that it wouldn't be legally classed as unfair dismissal. But I don't think that's what you're asking.
Yes it does seem unfair, or at least harsh to me because of what you had done previously for the same employer in the call handler job, and then how much you had managed to improve your work attendance by the time they got around to having your stage 3 meeting.
I'm not surprised you feel it's unfair.
Something bad happened to you that wasn't your own fault, you've tried to do the right thing by getting into a less high-stress job, but were still suffering the ill effects and struggled.
I really hope your new job is something that brings you joy.

You haven't given enough detail particularly the extent of the absences so nobody can really advise but it does sound like it was fair & just & that the correct process was followed by the employer.

The fact that you disagree with the decision doesn't make it necessarily unfair.

As I said up thread, speak to ACAS - talking it all through with them will pave the way for any unfair dismissal claim if you are eligible

I did just that albeit within the police. (different job)
I just couldn't get over some things that I had heard.
Parents that come home to find that their child has hung themself.
People dying in a house fire.
Poor souls that jump infront of a train whilst you are trying to talk them out of it.
Speaking to people that have just been raped (both male and female)
I did the job for a lot of years.
I spoke sense too and it was difficult x

See a lawyer. They terminated you due to a medical condition - a medical condition that was a direct result of the work you were doing.

I think it’s probably best you moved on though. That is a lot of trauma to process.

I'm a nurse in ICU.
You hear the story
I see it, I tidy it up, i deal with the aftermath
I stand by my comments