How do people with Diverticulitis hold a job / home / insurance?
Posted , 2 users are following.
This has been weighing more and more on my mind, as my doctor wrote me off work for 6 weeks to recover, and upon sending this to my HR they reminded me I have less than 6 weeks of FMLA remaining which I assume is them stating their intent to terminate me.
I'm wondering of people who have suffered this condition with multiple flare ups in a year on this forum, do people just go through employers? Or how they survive in terms of income and insurance?
Any input would be appreciated, I'm kind of shocked my work is being so up front about the end date of FMLA like it's a warning shot, I'm not sure if I should be doing something before I get to the point of termination.
0 likes, 4 replies
rommon
Posted
I didn't mean to come off as I am about to lose my job as I anticipate recovering before my return date, I'm just wondering if community members had run into this type of situation.
Someone advised I ask this here as I'd get the most honest answer from people who've gone through this, but I understand people's privacy and disgression, just didn't want to come off the wrong way.
Guest rommon
Posted
The law in the USA is different from here in the UK. I can only advise you to keep full written records of absolutely everything - doctor, hospital, tests, medication, description of attacks, frequency, severity. Also if you are in a Union, seek their advice.
I also suggest you follow all the advice on this forum to prevent a recurrence. By that I mean make all the diet and lifestyle changes, keep a food diary, eat small well cooked thoroughly chewed meals with lots of soluble fibre (once you have recovered) and cut out the high fat, highly processed, mainly takeaway food. At the first sign of a recurrence go on a liquid only diet for 48 hours then a low residue (no fibre) diet for a few days. If it doesn't settle, then it's back to the doctor.
In the UK each company seems to have their own sickness policy. My neighbour gets 6 months sick leave with full pay, followed by 6 months on half pay before payments are stopped. This allows for major illness, acidents and operations. However I have heard in some companies it is just 2 weeks and then by law the company can terminate the employer if it is a job with specific physical requirements, cannot be filled by existing employees or will cause real problems to the business.
sally11558 rommon
Posted
I have had the same problem with my employer. I needed to take time off due to a Diverticulitis flare up and have been issued with a Stage 1 warning. I am appealing it. I have been lead to believe this is classed as a disability and employers should take this into consideration under the Equality Act 2010 (UK). I would be interested to hear other people's views on this in similar situations.
Guest sally11558
Posted
I suggest you Google "Dismissal due to illness - UK". There are requirements an employer is required to fulfill. This is one extract I found.
"So when will a dismissal for ill health be fair? Assuming that the employer can demonstrate that capability is the reason for dismissal, it must then follow a fair procedure. Unsurprisingly though, what constitutes a fair procedure for ill health dismissals is more complex than it is for, say, misconduct or redundancy. However, case law has established that it requires three key elements: (1) obtaining medical evidence, (2) consultation and (3) considering alternative employment. As for reasonableness, a number of factors should be taken into account, including the employee’s length of service, the effect of their absence on the workforce, the requirement for the role to be performed, the likelihood of the employee being able to return to work and the nature of their illness."
I bet they are just firing off the notice as a bog standard "this is our written procedure so that's what we do, regardless of the circumstances" - bully boy tactics, and have not asked for any medical evidence or spoken to you. Good luck with fighting your case.