'welfare ' meeting

[FlipnTwist]

I have put in my 3 month notice at work and i am currenty signed off with work related anxiety.I have been asked to o to a welfare meeting about my continued absence , resignation and 'potential' return to work
Do I have to go?
I have started an employment tribunal against them and do not want them to finish me before the finish date I have given which just takes me over the magic 2 years

why have they put 'potential return to work' rather than 'return to work'

Well they'd be crazy to let you work your notice and so I suspect they'll terminate anyway and pay you in leu of the remainder to stop you getting 2 years. Discrimination claims do not need two years of course.

If your claim is dismissal related (constructive dismissal) and you've already submitted it, it will have gone in too early.

I would go

I think once you have resigned and your end date is past the two year mark they can't then instigate any kind of action that would bring forward your end date if you don't want it. Perhaps they will want to propose a settlement in your favour though. This meeting sounds like it's to cover their arse and look at reasonable adjustments that would allow you to return, even though they know you are unlikely to.

discrimination and bullying claim

How long are you signed off for?

6 weeks initially but obv GP doesn't want me to go back at all

If you've put in your notice then I highly doubt this meeting is for your benefit. I would assume they're trying to work the situation for their own gain. I'd give it a miss.

There is no magic 2 years for discrimination cases in employment law - your rights are protected from day one. The only time that the 'magic 2 years' would be necessary would be if you were claiming constructive dismissal on the grounds that their bullying of you (for non-discriminatory reasons) was so severe that it amounted to a working environment you couldn't continue in and therefore they were in breach of contract, but to claim that you'd have to leave with no notice. What you've done is go off sick and resign, giving a notice period that takes you over the 2 years service. Which is not the same. So which is it?

Lougle

I don't bthink that is correct- the TUC website states

The law allows you to give your contractual or statutory notice when you resign and still claim constructive dismissal. However, you should give no more than the minimum notice required under your contract, Otherwise, your employer is likely to argue that the relationship has not irreparably broken down after all.

It is legally permissible, FlipnTwist, but the usual advice is that for most constructive dismissal cases you need to show that to continue working there is not possible, e.g:

"If an employee claims constructive dismissal after working their notice period, the employer may say that the situation cannot have been as bad as claimed as the employee continued to work. It is therefore advisable for an employee to seek independent advice before resigning with an intention to claim constructive dismissal." ACAS

The brutality of constructive dismissal is that it is entirely at the employee's risk. They have to resign, and lose their employment, with no guarantee that their constructive dismissal claim will be successful.

The premise on which CD is founded is that the contract of employment is effectively 'torn up', there is a repudiating breach and therefore it is as if the contract no longer exists. Therefore aspects such as notice periods are no longer applicable.

This is why CD is technically so complex and the employee rarely comes away with a full pocket of compensation. Precedent is very weak because very often a settlement agreement is cobbled together by the legal team of the employer and the employee is bound to silence, and it doesn't reach Tribunal.

I agree that discrimination is a different claim, with different timescales associated, ie it is applicable from day 1.

OP, the fact you have gone on sick leave at the crucial time, whereby it will tick over into the 2 years will not have gone unnoticed by your employer. They are trying to sound you out, to know what your intentions are. Did you cite CD when you handed in your resignation? btw if you are intending it to be a discrimination claim, then you need to cite harassment based on a protected characteristic, rather than bullying.

My claim is for discrimination including consequential financial loss.The solicitor I spoke to said it would be best to try and eke my employment out to the 2 year mark.
There is no risk really as I am not oin back there under any circumstances.I had never been mentally unwell in my life.Now I can barely leave the house some days without enduring panic attacks.

That sounds horrible. Surely your solicitor is the best person to advise whether you should attend this meeting though. Have you been able to speak to them today?

When is the meeting?