I work for a large company on a government run scheme as an electrician. In early February this year i was working in a customer's house when i became ill. My customer had to phone for an ambulance and i was taken into hospital and i was diagnosed with SVT (Supraventricular tachycardia) which is an abnormal increase in my heart rate.
After my trip to the hospital my doctor advised me to stay off work until i was referred to see a consultant. I had a similar incident in August 2009 whilst working for the same company but nothing was diagnosed. I saw the consultant in late April this year and he put me on some new medication but as i was still suffering svt attacks he said he wanted me to stay off work and he would review my progress at my next planned appointment. During this time i had recieved a HR home visit where i was informed an independent doctor would assess my health.
This OH doctor came and saw me and agreed i suffered with SVT and agreed with doctors opinion i should stay off work.
In early June this year i had another HR home visit, this time my line manager came along with the lady from HR. It was suggested that if my doctor was happy to sign me fit to return to work on light duties, my boss said work in the office assisting with planning, ordering, remedial etc the company would go with this until the medication was ok or until i had an operation to solve this. I said i would be going back to the hospital in late June. We all agreed to meet up after this.
I went back to see my consultant in late June, he said he would try one more type of drug (Flecainide) and again if this did not eradicate the SVT he would put me forward for an operation (abalation procedure - I would be off work for 1 week, the consultant said the op is 95% successful), he said he would see me to discuss this in late September this year. He agreed that i could return to work on light duties such as office work and i was provided with a certificate noting this for the period upto my next consultation with him.
I forwarded the certificate over to my boss, hoping i could now return to work, about a week and a half later i recieved an email from HR saying they wanted to do another home visit.
At this home visit which was early July, my boss then informed me there was now no office work available or light duty work. He said due to the uncertain nature of what will happen at my next hospital appointment, they could no longer keep my job open as an electrician as it was costing them money using contractors. He said i was welcome to apply for other jobs in the company which may suit me at this moment in time. He said HR would provide a list and she would let the recruiters know about me and what jobs i have applied for. I said could i go back to my electricians job once i had the op, he said no. The HR lady also said i would be seen by OH doctor again to assess my fitness to do office work / or be electrician.
My boss finally added that if could not find a suitable job within the list of jobs from the company i would be summarily dismissed as not being fit to do my job. I asked for timescale of all this happening he said 6-8 week.
As of today, i have heard nothing from my company, i have sent email finding out what my pay situation is, when is the doctor coming, where are all the notes from the HR home visits which the HR lady promised( on the first 2 home visits i had to sign her notes page, on the final visit i was not asked to sign anything), no company jobs list.
Please can someone me on how i stand in this situation. Is the company acting fairly? What type of pay should i currently be on? Can they dismiss me like this? Should i apply for other jobs within the company?
Thanks
After my trip to the hospital my doctor advised me to stay off work until i was referred to see a consultant. I had a similar incident in August 2009 whilst working for the same company but nothing was diagnosed. I saw the consultant in late April this year and he put me on some new medication but as i was still suffering svt attacks he said he wanted me to stay off work and he would review my progress at my next planned appointment. During this time i had recieved a HR home visit where i was informed an independent doctor would assess my health.
This OH doctor came and saw me and agreed i suffered with SVT and agreed with doctors opinion i should stay off work.
In early June this year i had another HR home visit, this time my line manager came along with the lady from HR. It was suggested that if my doctor was happy to sign me fit to return to work on light duties, my boss said work in the office assisting with planning, ordering, remedial etc the company would go with this until the medication was ok or until i had an operation to solve this. I said i would be going back to the hospital in late June. We all agreed to meet up after this.
I went back to see my consultant in late June, he said he would try one more type of drug (Flecainide) and again if this did not eradicate the SVT he would put me forward for an operation (abalation procedure - I would be off work for 1 week, the consultant said the op is 95% successful), he said he would see me to discuss this in late September this year. He agreed that i could return to work on light duties such as office work and i was provided with a certificate noting this for the period upto my next consultation with him.
I forwarded the certificate over to my boss, hoping i could now return to work, about a week and a half later i recieved an email from HR saying they wanted to do another home visit.
At this home visit which was early July, my boss then informed me there was now no office work available or light duty work. He said due to the uncertain nature of what will happen at my next hospital appointment, they could no longer keep my job open as an electrician as it was costing them money using contractors. He said i was welcome to apply for other jobs in the company which may suit me at this moment in time. He said HR would provide a list and she would let the recruiters know about me and what jobs i have applied for. I said could i go back to my electricians job once i had the op, he said no. The HR lady also said i would be seen by OH doctor again to assess my fitness to do office work / or be electrician.
My boss finally added that if could not find a suitable job within the list of jobs from the company i would be summarily dismissed as not being fit to do my job. I asked for timescale of all this happening he said 6-8 week.
As of today, i have heard nothing from my company, i have sent email finding out what my pay situation is, when is the doctor coming, where are all the notes from the HR home visits which the HR lady promised( on the first 2 home visits i had to sign her notes page, on the final visit i was not asked to sign anything), no company jobs list.
Please can someone me on how i stand in this situation. Is the company acting fairly? What type of pay should i currently be on? Can they dismiss me like this? Should i apply for other jobs within the company?
Thanks
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