Work legal advice

[Hallelujah2020]

I’m currently employed at work as a skilled professional, been there for over 30yrs.

I was diagnosed with a disability five years ago, with occupational health assessments I’ve had reasonable adjustments and reduced hours via FWR

This means I’ve been able to continue working, never had any concerns raised re my work at all

Most recent occ health assessment however had a question in it asking if I should basically be demoted

This would mean my salary would reduce quite dramatically and that I’d no longer be doing the job I trained for and can do

Occ health report advised I am fit and able to continue in role I am doing currently

Report has gone back to HR but I just want to know if it comes to this can they do this??

I suspect that, push>shove, they can but depends on what your contract says about such changes.

Whether it's right/reasonable to do so is another question and is fact dependent.

My contract said they couldn’t. They did it on the sly by just basically getting other people to do my work and leaving me nothing to do. However they didn’t reduce my pay.

My advice is get legal cover now. Also join a union who can fight for you to try and prevent it from happening.

Employment Tribunal is not worth the extreme stress and also expense if you don’t have legal cover. So basically yes they can do it, and there’s little you can do about it unless you want to put yourself through hell.

I’m still on my original contract. We were taken over under TUPE and I never/didn’t want to change contract

I’ve checked it and it doesn’t say anything about job roles altering

They cannot alter your contract without your consent. If they do, you may well have a case for constructive dismissal.

So if they say that they are demoting me, which would in turn mean my salary would reduce then it’s breaking the terms of my contract??

If that did happen then can I halt meeting and say I want to discuss with ACAS?

Yes, it is. What you do if they say that is entirely up to you. You can certainly tell them that you aren't agreeing to anything and that you will be discussing with ACAS.

@Hallelujah2020 HR here, its a perfectly valid option for discussion as a reasonable adjustment.

That doesn’t mean it is going to happen. Just they have asked OH if it is an option.

You are disabled and have reasonable adjustments in place including flexible working. There maybe a limit to what further reasonable adjustments including flexible working can be accommodated.

Why were you referred to OH now? There must be a trigger - Has your disability deteriorated, have you asked for further reasonable adjustments, have you had a period of sick absence?

I would make sure you have an up to date job description, clear objectives and evidence of your performance plus details of your reasonable adjustments including flexible working.

NOTE: Flexible working as a reasonable adjustment is not the same as the right to request flexible working all employees have. This is often a misconception by employers and managers.