O/T - Employment law query

[Sonic]

I’m hoping that someone on here might have some knowledge of employment law and might be able to advise me on a situation which a friend of mine is going through at the moment.

He is suffering with RSI due to having a job which requires a lot of keyboard work. The pain has got so bad that he has been signed off work for a few weeks. Management at his office have told him that they will have to assess whether or not he is fit to do the job any longer, suggesting that they may lay him off.
He’s been in the job for a few years so isn’t subject to a review in a probation period or anything like that.
My opinion is that he would be subject to the company’s sickness policy, including a reduction in pay if he is off sick for a long period of time, but on the basis that he may recover and be fit for the job again at a later time, can they legally dismiss him? I would understand if he had lost his arms in an accident or something like that, as there would be no argument that he could no longer do the job, but can this judgement be made and action taken in his current circumstances?

Your advice would be much appreciated, especially if anyone can refer me to a website which clarifies the legality of the proposed outcome.

 

[Tubby Mondays]

http://www.direct.gov.uk/Employment/Employees/fs/en

 

[Sonic]

http://www.direct.gov.uk/Employment/Employees/fs/en

Thanks for that but I'm having trouble finding an answer to these specific circumstances on the website. Does anyone know off the top of their head, maybe having come across a similar situation.

 

[Gritt23]

If his RSI is due to the job he has been doing, then the employer should be treading very carefully around him. H&S regulations are so stringent that they are bound to be in breach of something, whether it be hand rests by the keyboard, or limiting the time he spend doing keyboard work etc. If I was the employer in this situation I would be doing everything I can to accomodate him.

Therefore as the employee he should speak to the employer about the possibility of finding alternative non-keyboard work for him. Even if they don't find anything it would help his case in any subsequent claim, that he has shown willingness to carry on working in a job of equivalent standing and pay. The onus is then on the employer to demonstarte that they did all they could to accomodate him elsewhere and it was just not possible - however, in all liklihood they will find him something to avoid any RSI claim that he may make against them.

For the employer to lay him off due to ill health is not a straightforward proceedure. After a period of continued sickness (eg 3 months) or a succession of shorter periods, they would need to get medical advise on his physical ability to do the job. If the advise came back that he could either "not return in the foreseeable future" or that they believe the problem would only worsen and the sickness record as a result would worsen with it, then the employer may look to pay him up - his notice period would be paid in FULL, regardless of whether he's off sick through the notice, or whether he's already used up "company sick days" for the year.

However, the employer would still be open to the employee taking them to an Employment Tribunal claiming that he would have been able to continue working there if (for example): they could have made his working environment more comfortable, or if he feels they didn't do enough to change his job to suit him, or if he feels they could have employed him elsewhere, but failed to do so.



In your friends case, I would suggest them "assessing whether he is fit to do the job" is about them looking to get medical opinion on his injury. If I was him, I would be contacting them to discuss the matter, and to see whether nthere is alternative employment in the company that would avoid keyboard work.

 

[The Clown of Pevensey Bay]

This is from the TUC. It's a bloody good website.

http://www.worksmart.org.uk/health/viewquestion.php?eny=55

 

[Wardy]

Is your friend a member of a union? If so I would also suggest that he contacts them. Though they can not do a lot at the moment, they can offer free legal advice and be ready to step in should the employer want to go down the unfit to do the job route.