is going to atos compulsory

[wheresourmoney]

Hi, i hope you can help me, i am a postie who suffered a back injury about 7 years ago while on duty, and every now and again it flares up,[about every12 - 18 months] depending on what i have been doing,and i am given medication which normally sorts it out within a week or two.Two weeks ago my back went while bending down to put some letters into a low letterbox which has resulted in me geting signed off for two weeks,In the two weeks i have had off i have kept my manager informed of my progress but on top of that my manager has been ringing and when the answer phone has kicked in, he has hung up without leaving a message and when i dial 1471 it says that the caller has withheld the number,i know it was him because i picked the phone up this am before the answerphone came on then dialed 1471,anyway he was asking when will i be returning and what my progress was,he then told me that he will be coming round to give me some forms to refer me to atos.My question is does this come down as harresment, and after hearing all the bad things about atos do i have to attend a meeting with them.many thanks

[demon]

tell him you will contact him when you are fit to go back and yes it would be classed as harrasment if he calls you more than once a week and tell him you will see atos when you return to work as you are not fit to get there doctors said

[wheresourmoney]

Many thanks demon for the swift reply,however a postie has just hand deliverd a letter to me from my lino stating that consent to allow atos access to my medical records is entirely voluntary,but without the atos report he would have to" consider my case,including the consideration of my continued employment". im not even on a stage 1,is this the normal wording for a" request for informed cosent" form, or am i overreacting.

[youwot!!!!!]

write back to him asking for a B+H form off the intranet as you feel harrassed.

[arnold cheshire]

tell him you will contact him when you are fit to go back and yes it would be classed as harrasment if he calls you more than once a week and tell him you will see atos when you return to work as you are not fit to get there doctors said

atos do phone interviews

[General Mannerheim]

It's not harassment it's just your manager being concerned for your well being.

[fishtank]

It's not harassment it's just your manager being concerned for your well being.

They even have a name for it...it's called the sick absence contact strategy or S.A.C.S.

[robd]

Ignore the bravado of some of the other replies,unfortunately if you don't consent to see/speak to ATOS then you could be deemed to be non-compliant and un-cooperative.
As a condition of employment you are being offered rehabilatation and are effectively refusing it,i would be careful because they are making you aware of your entitlements and it's not harrasment.
The stage is not neccesarily relevant,however if it got to stage 3 and they had to take into account you would not seek medical advice your chances of remaining in employment would be reduced.
good luck mate

[enzio]

Ignore the bravado of some of the other replies,unfortunately if you don't consent to see/speak to ATOS then you could be deemed to be non-compliant and un-cooperative.
As a condition of employment you are being offered rehabilatation and are effectively refusing it,i would be careful because they are making you aware of your entitlements and it's not harrasment.
The stage is not neccesarily relevant,however if it got to stage 3 and they had to take into account you would not seek medical advice your chances of remaining in employment would be reduced.
good luck mate

that good advice the only thing to add to that is you go a long with it as once atos does a report you will know where you stand in the job allso you might be able to get your self covered under the dda

[andy2007]

Ignore the bravado of some of the other replies,unfortunately if you don't consent to see/speak to ATOS then you could be deemed to be non-compliant and un-cooperative.
As a condition of employment you are being offered rehabilatation and are effectively refusing it,i would be careful because they are making you aware of your entitlements and it's not harrasment.
The stage is not neccesarily relevant,however if it got to stage 3 and they had to take into account you would not seek medical advice your chances of remaining in employment would be reduced.
good luck mate

that good advice the only thing to add to that is you go a long with it as once atos does a report you will know where you stand in the job allso you might be able to get your self covered under the dda

Also, I strongly suggest that you INSIST on a face to face appointment, with a quaified Doctor. I injured my back a couple of years ago, and had one of their phone assessments. Which decided that my injury wasn't too bad, and I could do shorter hours, but my normal duty (gradually increasing the hours). And I ended up in a much worse state, as a direct result. How can they possibly assess a back injury properly, over the phone?!?!?!? At least if you're seen in person, they can do a proper assessment of your injury.

[wheresourmoney]

Thanks everybody for your input,i wll definitely be putting into action some of your comments as soon as i return to work,