AIBU to consider legal action after dismissal for long-term sickness?

[KittyCoo]

I’ve been dismissed from my job today due to long term sickness since August last year. I have crohns, ASD, and very severe OCD. I have intrusive thoughts and last summer I declared these to my boss who completely misunderstood me and was worried I’d act on these thoughts shock I told her they caused me immense distress.

Last month, I was confident I’d be able to return to work as I’m finally having CBT and on the right medication, now on an SSRI combined with an anti psychotic. My boss was supporting my return. But then a week later she decided to place me on medical suspension without any prior warning because occ health deemed me unfit to work due to my OCD still taking up a lot of my day. I then fed this back to my line manager saying I’ll beat this decision as in prove occ health wrong and that I am indeed fit for work. She arranged a meeting with me to discuss suspension and she knew my union rep was on annual leave but decided to go ahead with it anyway!!!

They dismissed me due to long term sickness and not taking into account what’s working well with my mental health!! I’m looking at finding a solicitor as I believe this is unfair dismissal due to my disabilities under the Equality Act 2010. I’ve contacted a few and had a few quotes back.

AIBU by wanting to take legal action and sue them because my OCD is deliberating and because of my ASD I have different communication styles that they’ve completely misunderstood. Do you think this is unfair dismissal ?

im so traumatised by it all and im worried ill be made homeless and have my property repossessed as I’ll have no money and won’t be able to find a future job

If they’ve said it then it has to be taken seriously.

OCD isn’t a get-out from being held responsible for the threats you make, even if you allege to never mean to carry them out.

As i say - had a member of my team said that they were having violent thoughts regarding a knife and attacking colleagues - I would have had them immediately taken off the premises by security.

And I don’t believe that the dismissal letter states the words that you have been dismissed “because of long term sick leave”

as you claim

But thinking your employee is putting colleagues at harm isn’t really related to the sacking.
That can be dealt with by them being on long term sick (or, if the had actually done something to colleagues, a suspension) which effectively removes the threat (if there was a genuine one) to the workforce. Sacking is the terminating of the employment contract.

being a threat isn’t what OP was sacked for. And to have sacked her for threat to her colleagues without any evidence may well be discrimination

Most companies go by Occ Health recommendations because that way they cover themselves legally. OH can make recommendations about shorter hours, change in conditions etc.

If they deem you unfit for work then the employer is allowed to sack you as long as they follow the correct procedures.

Agree with others saying appeal, speak to union and check home insurance for legal cover in first instance

If someone with a disability can’t do the job, even with reasonable adjustments, then the can sack them. Reasonable adjustments aren’t clearly defined but the expectation is that with them the person should be able to do most, if not all, the job. For some disabilities in some jobs this will never be possible, for example someone in a wheelchair couldn’t be a roofer. If OH don’t think you’re fit for work then unfortunately it sounds like your case falls into that category ( perhaps because the job requires someone full time).

No one’s saying it doesn’t have to be taken seriously, but if the person saying it has officially been diagnosed with OCD then that means that these thoughts cause extreme distress not excitement. And a professional diagnosis of OCD means that that person is no more capable of anyone else to carry out the thoughts. And no one is saying OCD is a get out at all. You don’t seem to understand OCD though so it’s pointless carrying on trying to explain.

@Avslighthead pkease don’t judge without knowing the full story

@AnyoneWhoHasAHeart ocd is a horrible mental illness and I genuinely hope you or someone you care about ever suffered from it, you clearly don’t understand. My schists has confirmed I’m not a danger to others so please don’t undermine their authority. I feel shot enough as it is and please show some compassion to someone who is very unwell

Three YEARS? What business can support that level of absence?

@PhoebeBuffay1234 a big thank you for putting @AnyoneWhoHasAHeart in their place and educating them on the issue.

And if you didn’t allow them to return once you had consulted someone who actually knows about OCD, you would be acting in a discriminatory manner.

You've been off for 9 months (while on statutory sick pay and presumably getting PIP?) and you're surprised they dismissed you? Come on. this is not what the tribunal system is for. Being diagnosed with ocd isn't a shield against consequences for everything in life.

I think the threat is a bit of a red herring... I'm still trying to figure out what this means
"But then a week later she decided to place me on medical suspension without any prior warning because occ health deemed me unfit to work due to my OCD still taking up a lot of my day. "

@KittyCoo can you elaborate? It doesn't seem that the initial knife thing was the cause of the termination instead it's the bold bit above.

You state here you are very unwell. Not were unwell. Are.

How does the time it takes from your day manifest? Are you carrying out your workplace duties daily?

That would show a real misunderstanding of OCD given the research indicates people with intrusive, ego-dystonic thoughts about harming others are actually less likely to be violent towards others.

What about the well-being of the rest of the staff?
”well yes, Janet- I know Tom has shared that he has thoughts of harming you, am sure he doesnt mean it!”
if a teacher had recurrent thoughts about harming their pupils due to OCD, should they be kept in post?

I agree that the initial disclosure of thinking about harming a colleague is not the issue at hand, though understandably distressing for all involved, op included.

The issue is that you are not fit to work, and you acknowledge yourself that you see no end in sight. How long do you think you should remain employed but not carrying out the role?

They can be removed from the workplace.

This isn’t the same as sacking.

again, if they are judged unfit to perform their job after reasonable adjustments, that is a legitimate reason to sack them.

Sacking them because you think that they pose harm to your workforce, even through you know they have an illnesses that causes these thoughts, is not legitimate

But that’s not what happened in the OP’s own words.

This should have been directed to @PoppinjayPolly… shit nevermiind I had it right the first time… sorry!

Everyone has weird intrusive thoughts that pop into their head that they don’t act on, that’s just the human brain- are we going to become thought police? The point is, if someone with OCD had thoughts of harming their pupils, they are much less likely to harm the pupils than someone who doesn’t have OCD. They are horrified by even the thought of the harm, let alone doing something harmful. People with OCD are not psychotic and can control their actions.

Are you actually doing any work when in the office? You state OCD takes over your day. So if you’re constantly having to leave your desk to manage your OCD symptoms, it’s hardly fair on the company to continue to employ someone who has been off for 7 months, and even when they return, they’re not getting any work done. Sad that you’re ill OP, but surely you don’t expect a business to keep you on their payroll indefinitely when you’re not being productive.

Yes, they should. If you read the post before yours, @LifeOfAShowgirl13 explains it.

There’s some really big misunderstandings about OCD here. Yes it’s possible that someone with the illness might act upon an intrusive thought, but they are less likely to do that than other people without OCD.