stage warnings and dda

[rmbman]

Hi.I have been issued with a stage 2 warning but some of the time off was for a known disability illness.Myself and my union rep,who was with me argued that the disability absenses should be discounted from the attendance proceedure.The manager replied that because Royal Mail had already made reasonable adjustments that the periods of absence would not be discounted and the warning stands.
I have already been up to stage 3 a couple of years ago, before my illness was diagnosed this ended with me being removed from the stage process.As regards the reasonable adjustments the recommendations of EHS were not acted on because of the cost issue,despite the promise that they would and what happened was I was allowed to move to a duty that became vacant which was easier for me to do,this duty was lapsed a few months ago and I am now on a new duty which is much the same as my old one.
I would like to know if the stage warning is justified and what my position is with regards to further periods of illness.I would also like to know about disability leave ie.can I be allowed time off when my illness flares up and would this be paid/unpaid.

Lots of info and questions I know but I would really appreciate the help.

[dudleylicious]

There are 3 comrades in my office who have had their duties "ring fenced" because of DDA,they cant be taken off those duties & when the repick comes round they have been assured their duties will remain safe .

Get yer rep to look into this ,afterall RM really dont want to go to court over disability, imagine the outcry if they did .

[Suffolkpostie]

Not completely sure about this myself mate, but i have recently been through the same kind of thing. My understanding of the DDA and reasonable adjustments are that if they have offered you a different role under 'reasonable adjustments' and you then find that you cannot cope with that role, then absences related to your illness will count on the attendance procedure.

If your original EHS report was not acted on regarding reasonable adjustments then you should get your rep onto it, RM cannot hide behind cost issues under the DDA, there is something called 'access to work' (A government body) where RM can ask for a percentage of any cost for equipment etc. and if your are unhappy with the reasonable adjustments given to you i think you can appeal and ask that your EHS report be adhered to.

You are allowed time off for Hospital - Doctor - Physio appointments etc but i'm fairly sure you cant just take time off.

My advice is to get absolutley everything in writing, something i am glad i did because in the current climate RM are trying to Ill Health Retire as many of us as possible.

Good Luck

[TrueBlueTerrier]

There are some documents in downloads on this subject so check these out


http://www.royalmailchat.co.uk/communit ... ty#p130351" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Sickness Absence and the DDA Equality Department Guidance

Attendance Procedure http://www.royalmailchat.co.uk/communit ... ty#p123633" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

·Absences which are incurred by employees who are disabled in accordance with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and which, in the view of the Employee Health Service, are related to their disability, will normally be discounted. However this may not always be the case and the following should be noted:

· These absences will still be recorded on the employee's sick absence record.

· The line manager will still carry out return to work discussions, explain that the relevant absences have been discounted and discuss whether assistance from Employee Health Service or Royal Mail would help with disability-related attendance problems, including consideration of any reasonable adjustments.

· Absences which are disability-related may be counted where it is justifiable to do so and in these circumstances the employee should be given advance warning that future absences will no longer be discounted.

or If you want to raise any disability issues with the CWU Equality Department then send an email to acrisp@cwu.org or phone 020 8971 7205