Hiya, massive blog post I know, but it's good to share...
Now, I returned to work yesterday (no fanfare required). So far, so good, you think. Well, I was asked to do a return to work interview with our health and safety manager, which is where things started to go wrong. Here is me naively thinking that I just relay all that happened to me over the last two weeks and get a bit of consideration until this course of painkillers is over. Well, you would be dead wrong. He decided, quite unilaterally, to demand proof from my doctor that I can perform specific duties and pending the outcome, I am on very restricted duties. He is concerned that I could pose a danger to myself and others by being at risk of passing out. Huh? It only happened once, when I was asleep. I am perfectly capable of recognising the early warning signs of hypoglycaemia when awake, my consultant, doctor and diabetes specialist nurse are all happy with this, so why aren’t my employers.
So, anyhow, off I toddled to see my doctors, thinking he would just knock out a simple scribble and that would be the end of it. How wrong was I! I showed him the letter detailing what my employers require to know and he firstly gurned and then started a diatribe on how employers are trying to make doctors culpable if things go wrong. Anyhow, he said it will take him a week to do this letter and that my employers would have to pay. I asked if I could pay to expedite matters and he indicated that I could not and legally, my employers would have to pay. Further to aggravate matters, he signed me off for another week, with the comment on the MED3 form saying my absence from work would be due to “waiting for completion of doctors letter”. Great. So I am supposed to not attend work while he writes this letter. I asked him informally as to what he would put in such a letter and he indicated that he would find me fit to perform such duties. Marvellous. I did tell him that I could not afford to lose another weeks wages, but he said that I would have to stay off and work should pay me, as this was in effect a medical suspension.
I returned to work somewhat irate and arranged to see the company chairman immediately, as I have his mobile number and his schedule, this was easily achieved. I relayed this sorry tale from inception to date with him and he said as long as the doctor said that I was fit verbally, he is quit happy to let me return to work whilst we wait for the letter, as we have satisfied the legal forms on this and are just awaiting written confirmation. I had him inform our Health and Safety man the good news for the avoidance of doubt on this issue, so after much wrangling, I am back at work. My back still hurts a lot, but at least I am earning again. Thank the Lord / Goddess / Praise be to Allah / may Buddha have mercy (delete as applicable).
A thought did occur to me. Does this country’s medical and safety profession really want people to work, as they seem to be going out of their way to prevent this and I could quite easily have taken the easy road out and stayed at home, which I probably would have done if I did not have a holiday coming up soon. Whatever happened to wanting to get people of government incapacity benefit and into jobs, when they seem to be preventing people who want to work from doing so.
Rant over I think. I am now tired and have about as much chance of gathering some enthusiasm as a disabled African homosexual has of getting Goebbel’s autograph. (Sorry, not a nice reference I know, but that's the mood I’m in — bolshy, upset and not giving a monkeys). On a positive note, I had a lovely chat last night over IM with the leader of the Transgender group I sometimes attend. Still not sure as to how I am going to get there, but it was a nice chat all the same and perked me up some. Thank you.
Okay, going now, before I find some group I have not upset yet. And people wonder why I have not written anything for a while, but when I appear to be living in a Carry On movie, I can't seem to get much done. You take care and be happy — wishing you all the best — Jay.
Comments
The way the world works...
...is rarely logical. And once politicians get involved, what little logic that remains is swept out of the window.
A couple of years ago, I had the misfortune to spend a few months on JSA (Jobseekers' Allowance). The "minimum requirements" to prove to the clerks that you are able to work, are available to work, and are desperately seeking work are laughable. IIRC, you can get away with as few as 2 applications a week - and the methods of finding work are evidently geared towards non-professional jobs - speculative approaches by letter, phone and visits; looking at the jobs displayed in the JobCentre (fine if you're a chef, factory/warehouse operative, HGV driver etc. - chances of finding anything that requires qualifications there are negligible) and/or by phoning JobSeeker Direct (a call centre with the JobCentre database - ironically, the preferred method of finding further details / applying for many JobCentre vacancies is by phoning JSD); vacancies in newspapers, vacancies on the 'net.
So I go in, charging all guns blazing, registering with a handful of jobsearch websites, as well as checking vacancies on numerous others. Then on one memorable 'signing-off' session (you have to attend the Jobcentre fortnightly to sign the declarations that you're still able and available to work) the clerk informed me "You don't have to do this much to find a job".
Excuse me? I thought your job was about helping people to find work - not telling them they're trying too hard! And politicians wonder why some people become locked into "benefits dependency", whereby these people are fit and able to work, but only do the bare minimum job hunting effort, then by playing the system, somehow survive on benefits...
-oOo-
Meanwhile, in other paradoxical news, the local fire service are planning to close 7 'retained' fire stations (i.e. ones operated by retained firefighters), lose 1/3 of the engines (and transfer the rest to the remaining 11 stations), lose some retained firefighters and gain some full time ones...
The details have yet to be sketched out, and there are already opposition campaigns mounting. But of course, these plans are all about "improving services", and the response times will be the same (10 mins urban, 20 mins rural [1]). It's absolutely nothing to do with saving bucketloads of money. Oh no, not at all.
[1] Yeah, right. Kenilworth will apparently be served by Leamington Fire Station, which is ~7 miles away on the 'wrong' side of the town. Speaking from experience, they'd *really* struggle with those response times in rush hour.
--Ben
As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!
The short answer.
Here's the short answer to your question. Yes, they want you to work. But since there was a medical issue they don't want to be sued if you are injured because you were worked too hard, so they have to know what you are medically capable of doing so they are covered.
The doctor has evidence to back him up that it a person should be able to perform certain duties after a certain amount of time, so your doctor is just whinging. It doesn't get him out of having to be there to explain himself if something happens, but he would be safe from prosecution... for the most part. There are always exceptions.
http://lilithlangtree.tglibrary.com/
~Lili
Write the story that you most desperately want to read.
Doctor's blessing to work.
In 1979 I was injured off work, a dislocated ankle and torn ligaments. My first action was to go to my employer to find what my coverage, was. As we were chartered under federal law, (The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad ), federal unemployment laws prevailed, I was not eligible as I had not worked for them for one year yet. Workman's comp did not apply as this happened off the work site. As I had not worked for a year all I had was out-patient coverage. After having my leg cast, I returned to work, NOT. I could not return to work until the company doctor in Chicago, 80 miles south of us approved me as completely healed. The reason, if I were to be further injured at work, I might place the whole thing on workman's comp insurance therefore the company would have to pay until I healed. For the next month I worked on active duty in the Air Nation Guard unit that I was a member of, performing building wiring and machinery control wiring, including working on a ladder, with my leg in a cast.
One thing that I did find out is that you can not drive with your leg in a cast, I believe that there is a law against driving while plastered.
I loved working on the rail road but five months later, April 12, 1980, the Milwaukee road shops in Milwaukee were closed, all 5000 of us were furloughed, never to return. A few years later that proud railroad was no more.