Fired without notice - I have terminal cancer - what to do?

[Mothrasstillmoshing]

Sorry this is going to be a long post I will try to explain as best as I can but I need some advice please.
I have terminal S4 cancer but I'm managing fairly well and until December I was working my usual job with some adjustments and I'd had no complaints about my work etc.
I was first diagnosed in 2022, had surgery & chemo etc and was off sick for 6 months. I returned to normal duties after a phased return and was given the all clear in early 2023. All was fine until early 2024 when I was diagnosed with the exact same cancer, in the exact same place but more advanced than before. I will add that I received awful treatment in 2022/23 from oncology and was left with CPTSD/depression etc and it was obvious that nothing's different this time (both hospitals involved are awful, very dismissive and rude) which led me to deciding not to have any treatment this time and let nature take it's course. Two years down the line I am gradually getting towards the end but I'm still living normally with medication/pain relief/support etc.

I work 14 hours per week (NMW rate) for a very large medical type charity in their retail arm since late 2021 - so I'm a retail assistant in a shop which is a popular busy one. The adjustments that I have had (since about late 2024) are things like no consecutive shift days, extra breaks (rarely needed), no lifting of heavy donations/items, no operation of equipment like vacuums or steamers etc so not much really compared to the rest of my duties. I will also say now that I am diagnosed with ADHD and autism which I declared to my employer from the beginning and it's never been an issue. Neither has there ever been any issues with my work raised and any small issues have been sorted between myself and my manager. I've always enjoyed my job.

I was signed off sick in December 2025 because I tired, felt ill and my manager had been treating me differently and poorly so I was excessively stressed/depressed. I had an occupational health assessment last month which said I was fully capable to return to duties with the addition of no lone working, set work days and to follow the same adjustments as before but mentioned tiredness/exhaustion/tumour pain.
I had an interview last Thursday with my area manager (my manager's boss) and he went through the OH report, asked if I'd consider redeployment/WFH transferring to other duties/job (yes I would), discussed my physical health and medication (low dose slow release morphine). He gave the impression that it was doable and we had a refreshment break. When he returned to the meeting he said that he was terminating my employment immediately from that minute. He said HR will email the decision later that day and that I could appeal. That was it.

I am still waiting for this documentation to come through from HR and I've been told to wait for how ever long it takes. The company's own sickness guidance states that you must appeal within 7 days of being told of the dismissal.
I have put in a SAR to the companies data officer today because I have a very bad feeling over the whole thing - not only have I lost my income/job but I've lost my death in service insurance.

So what can I do? What are my options now seeing as my employer is already being obstructive?

I know that I have a Protected Characteristic under disability law. I have already suffered discrimination from my employer because they have refused to carry over my unused holiday entitlement in 2024 & 2025 and I had to lodge a complaint at the end of last year and in February they agreed to 'award' me my correct entitlement but I had to fight for it. My store manager is very poor and has a history (which is ongoing) of denying staff their correct breaks, being difficult when wanting holiday, restricting access to our own work records online etc. It was a disagreement over my holiday entitlement, plus she told me some outrageous lies, that caused me to go off sick in December.

Sorry this so long but I'm hoping that someone can give advice as to how to proceed.
Thanks for any advice xx

Oh good you’re back. At least the other one had the grace to apologise.

if you read the thread, she’s already told you.

Please give this a rest. The op has explained this and it is not the point of her post.
From her description of the medical staff’s behaviour ‘rude’ is an understatement.

@Mothrasstillmoshing I’ve read your thread and hoping that your lawyer nails them to the wall.
Your energy should not have to be expended on fighting your employer like this, when you are dealing with an end of life diagnosis.
Let the lawyer fight for you… and you focus on those things that bring you pleasure.
Sending love x

@Mothrasstillmoshing I have not read the whole thread, only your posts. However, this appears to be a clear case of unlawful discrimination and unfair dismissal, coupled to which your store manager's behaviour in forcing staff to work "volunteer" hours in addition to their paid time means you are being paid below NMW. It is good that you are going to see a lawyer who specialises in employment law. Good luck with getting this sorted.

You've been told. Now pack it in.

Sadly I think that missed sepsis is all too possible, but nurses shouting at patients and ripping lines out would be so apparent to other patients and staff that I just can't see them doing it.

You don't seem to have spent much time in hospital.

Many nurses are wonderful. It's common to find those who are not. The op's experience does ring true if you've spent enough time in hospitals.

I think you’re conflating 'this doesn’t match my expectation/experience of how staff behave' with 'this therefore didn’t happen'.

Unfortunately, serious failings in care (including missed sepsis, poor communication & patients being discharged inappropriately) are all well documented in UK healthcare investigations and in multiple NHS ombudsman reports. Those parts are not inherently implausible.

As for the behaviour you’re questioning...distressing incidents involving restraint, rough handling & poor treatment during line removal are absolutely not the norm, but they are also not impossible in high pressure environments, especially when things have already broken down in terms of care and communication.

The fact that other patients “would surely have noticed” also isn’t a reliable safeguard. Hospitals are fragmented, bays are busy & situations can unfold quickly and behind curtains.

None of this is to say every detail is automatically true or false but “I can’t imagine staff doing that” isn’t a strong basis to dismiss someone’s account, especially when they are describing something clearly experienced as traumatic.

If your concern is accuracy (which it really ought not to be as why she chose not to continue treatment is her own choice & not the point of this post - even if it was that she didn't like the colour of the paint in the oncology ward), the appropriate response is to suggest a formal complaint process, not to imply it didn’t happen because it doesn’t fit an idealised view of NHS staff behaviour.

Have you misunderstood my post? I'm backing the op - not you.

Enough with the troll hunting, its time for you to leave this thread

I have no opinion on whether any one should or should or should not continue treatment. Where have I said anything about that? What I did suggest is that she should have made a formal complaint.

If she did and it was upheld these nurses would have been sanctioned. And the fact that you can 'imagine 'staff behaving like that isn't a strong basis for believing someone's account.

Its genuinely difficult to advocate for oneself when a patient. Throw in illness and fear and it become impossible.

Many people have faith that complaining about care in the NHS will mean that the complaint is dealt with fairly. Many people have seen how this doesn't happen.

As for you focusing on my use of the word "imagine", I've witnessed nhs staff behave like this on more than one occasion. I've also witnessed wonderful nurses and doctors go above and beyond, but it's naive to think there aren't some - enough - nurses & doctors who treat patients like this. Yes, even in oncology wards.

@Scotiasdarling it's also pretty shitty to attempt to pull apart a person's mention of their treatment in oncology when the point of the post is that she has terminal cancer and is being fired. Take it elsewhere or keep it to yourself.

No what you're suggesting is that she's lying - at least own that

Well good morning everyone and I probably don't want to know what I missed but thank you to everyone who has come to my defence.

I can assure you that everything I've said is true but to be honest I don't need to explain myself. What I have outlined here is actually a tiny fraction of what happened to me @Scotiasdarling
I chose not to make an official complaint because my health was completely wrecked by chemo etc, I nearly died during surgery, I was broken & scared and I just wanted it to all disappear into the past. Going through the trauma of an official complaint would not have helped my MH tbh. As to regards of what happened when my PICC line was ripped out it was in a closed room, no patients about as I the last one left. It was so violent that I never told my DP what actually happened - I left the hospital after going mute and my last look was turning around to see the two nurses cleaning my blood off the wall and chair. Also when I got sepsis confirmed after a chemo cycle, A&E discharged me because they were too busy to do IV antibiotics and just sent me home with 2 AB tablets telling me to contact the community nursing team the next day for treatment. So you can fottfsof and keep going love!

Hi everyone!
The dismissal letter and minutes of Thursday's meeting have now been received but I've had to ask for the minutes of February's meeting (for context & clarity) and have now got those too.

My letter confirms that my employment was terminated last Thursday and that I will receive 4 weeks pay in lieu of notice, my outstanding holiday pay and nothing else. Oh and I have to immediately return all my keys and equipment. My locker has my shoes in and personal items so that will need emptying.

The tone between the minutes are at opposite ends of the spectrum. February's was very positive in getting me back into work and then last week's is skewed and negative despite my personal circumstances being the same. The only change is that I'm on hefty doses of vitamin D to improve my energy levels and I said that after 2 weeks I was much less tired (my cancer type prevents my body utilising vitD so periodic intensive amounts are needed to top me up) and I was feeling good. In reading the minutes of last week's meeting it is obvious that the intention was to dismiss me all along and the questions were leading me into implying that I was unfit. I am a truthful person and my autism makes it impossible for me to lie (I never lie and choose to stay silent rather tell an untruth) but I can now see that I should perhaps have lied through my teeth. Incidentally, my ADHD and autism were not mentioned once in the minutes of last week's meeting despite it being mentioned by me many times and all the evidence of incapacity was put solely on the tiredness/symptoms caused by cancer. I actually said that ADHD/autism was actually the main reason of why new duties such as end of day tasks would be difficult and gave very valid reasons why etc but it's all been ignored.
I'm kicking myself for not making a grievance complaint against my manager back in December because in February's meeting the discussion regarding my manager's behaviour has not been minuted or mentioned. All the area manager said last week was that it was all in hand and that having 'interviewed' every employee they all said that they were very happy and that there wasn't a problem. I'm meeting one of my now ex-colleagues later this week for lunch and will see what they say voluntarily as I value the friendship more but I'm certainly not expecting her to put her neck out as she needs the job more than I do. I'm more concerned about the NMW abuses because I like my colleagues but they're being screwed too & they'll all be afraid to act now. Yes, I really should have joined a f**king union. Hindsight is so wonderful and annoying.

I'm going to contact ACAS today or tomorrow depending on how long the wait is this afternoon. I have 7 days from today to appeal.
My DP wants me to just accept it but that comes from his heart - he just wants me to rest and do my hobbies so that the stress doesn't make my health worse.
I may wait to see what turns up on the SAR as well but I'm going to see what ACAS say first and then decide but my internal sense of justice says fight it all the way.

Do what feels right for you x

If you feel you can fight it then I would. It’s unlikely you will ever be back working there whilst the complaints process moves very slowly along.

Why were you not sent the minutes of the February meeting? You can now contest them as not accurate because they haven’t included the discussions of XYZ.

Glad you got the papers through.

Think the key for me here is that they are unlawful through process. Regardless of he said she said, they don’t appear to have followed an appropriate or reasonable capability process in order to dismiss you on terms of capability? That’s unlawful, that case can be as open and closed as that.

id go back to what do you want from this. I think the missing element is the potential death in service benefit that you are now without as a result of an unlawful dismissal taking place.

might be worth getting a lawyer to look at this for you. Though there’s no guarantees that amount could be secured against the number of hours you work.

@RandomMess
He says that he thought that he'd already sent them. I think that he withheld them deliberately. The reason why I think that is that at Thursday's meeting he had multiple copies of everything relevant (OH report, sickness guidance & my job description) just in case I forgot to bring them myself and there was a copy for him, the note taker, me and my DP who accompanied me. Someone that organised does not forget to include the minutes of the first meeting. All he did was a quick verbal whip through from his memory and he had relevant bits already written down on a piece of paper that he kept hidden from us. Odd huh?

You have to do what's right for you.

Have you checked if you can still get your death in service payment with your terminal diagnosis?

This will make you all laugh (or maybe not) about my manager which I've just mentioned on my thread in the work topic.
We have to do annual fire safety training by online course and we get certificated for completing it. I've not done one for three years. When my personnel file arrives via my SAR I'm betting that it will show that I've done it and passed it every year for the last five years. The manager wants us working and she completes the fire safety course for each retail assistant and then signs it off as completed. She does the same for all training unless it's new and relevant. In the last five years I've only had one annual review but I'll bet my record shows that she's conducted it in person every year. She has told me all this herself. She only interviews assistants that she thinks could work harder.

@Chilly80 DIS benefit isn't mentioned at all in the dismissal letter. It is mentioned in the last line of the minutes and has been written as my only response to being sacked and in a way that makes me look a bit pathetic and money grabbing.

I would be tempted to do it as a “fuck you” to the horrid manager and query all those courses you were never permitted to do etc.

Ultimately I would want to go to a nations paper!

Do what is right for you, you can stop at any point. They may settle quickly once you evidence they have followed due process.