HR Help needed

[teaandcake19]

Does anyone know anything about employers duty of care to employees? This is potentially very identifying, but my STBEX is claiming he suffered an accident at work, following which he suffered a head injury. He then claims he didn't know he was suffering concussion (despite a scan at hospital). He went back to work a week later and made a mistake, following which his confusion and concussion made him resign.

Now my understanding - an accident at work would mean an accident form at least. And I don't believe any reasonable employer would let someone return to work with such visible head injuries. They were strikingly visible. As part of their duty of care shouldn't his employer have sent him home? It's a public sector employer, and he was in a role where there is a possibility that he could see the public - I don't believe there's any chance he wouldn't have been sent home.

There's a whole load more to the story, that I don't want to post. However I just need to understand a bit more about an employer's duty of care to an employee when they are clearly ill, and know they are mid divorce. What would be reasonable to expect?

I work in HR for a semi-state organisation and would find that difficult to believe.

Obviously, process and standards vary hugely by organisations and individual management, but public sector tends to be very risk-adverse when it comes to stuff like this.

Where I work, process for an injury like this would be-
Employee taken to hospital by manager or colleague.
Employee accompanied home (and checked on that evening and the next day with next of kin also contacted and assurance that someone was home/could check in), or family member comes to hospital and takes over from manager/colleague.

Incident report completed ASAP by manager and sent to H&S and HR, with employee input as soon as is feasible.

Occupational health referral (but employee off in the meantime and under the care of their own GP and submitting sick certs). Occ health to determine likely length of absence plus any reasonable accommodations that would be needed.

Fitness to return to work cert from employee’s GP would be sought before they returned.

Wouldn’t ever enter into a disciplinary/investigation of any employee so soon after a return to work from an injury without another referral to off health to ensure they were capable of entering such a process.

To be fair, where I work, we’re very by-the-book but, apart from that, I do some work with a labour court as an adjudicator and have never encountered the chain of events you listed above.
If it was proven to have happened, I’d look very unfavourably on the employer.

@JudgeJudee thank you so much for such a quick and comprehensive reply

That's in line with what I was expecting and I know his old boss from when I used to work there. He's a good guy, and would be not only very much by the book, I know he'd go beyond it, especially given the length of time my ex worked there (the best part of 20 years). It's really useful to know what you've said though. I'll speak to my solicitor about how much he is allowed to get away claiming he resigned following an unbelievable chain of events! Following this I'll imagine he eventually got a much lower paying job!

I think he thinks I'm stupid! Still it'll come out in financial disclosures hopefully!

I'll speak to my solicitor about how much he is allowed to get away claiming he resigned following an unbelievable chain of events!

Just to manage your expectations a little, unless he admits it, it may be difficult to get proof. A company won’t disclose that information to you.

Over my career I’ve had a good few instances where wives/ex-wives have called asking questions about their husband/ex-husband’s salary/dismissal/pension/resignation etc and we’ve never disclosed information like that.

@judgejudee thanks - I did suspect that would be the case! After everything he's done though, I'll speak to my solicitor about what is possible to get the court to order. He's signed a statement to say the accident took place at work at least.

Thankfully I know his previous salary and pension info! I imagine the idiot will now have a job paying significantly less.

Can I ask what you think would happen if it was proven?

Haven’t been in your situation but, if he did resign from a job to spitefully reduce his capability to pay maintenance etc, what could you then do?

Not being smart arsed by the way, just not familiar with how it works.

”Haven’t been in your situation but, if he did resign from a job to spitefully reduce his capability to pay maintenance etc, what could you then do?”

Also curious. No idea if there is anything you could do but unless you’re sure there is, it might not be worth the headspace/effort.