ill health retirement

[hunnybunny1690]

i just been diagnosed with chronic psoriatic arthritis which basically means my joints etc are crumbling and doing my job will be impossible.i dont want to resign and leave with nothing so could someone tell me if i can ask for ill health retirement or voluntary redundancy , or do i have to wait for my boss to refer me,go through atos etc.
many thanks for any help.

[General Mannerheim]

Unless you really want to finish, your condition will probably come under the DDA and they should be really looking to offer you some other type of work or other adjustment otherwise you will have to go off and stay off until Atos decides to offer you ill health retirement at least six months down the line.

Also when they do make an offer they will more often than not only offer you ill health with a lump sum which after holidays etc is around about 40 weeks pay,you will then of course either have to get another job or go onto sickness benefits like Employment and Support Allowance(except they don't support you )or some sort of incapacity allowance.....then joy of joy you get to go for a medical with Atos who will say your fit for work and you will end up on Jobseekers Allowance of either £65 a week if your single or £102 for a couple.

[gj1023]

Basically if you can still work, then VR is your only option. If you are covered by the DDA, then they have to make adjustments, to allow you to continue to work. If RM can`t or even with adustments it proves impossible to work, then go sick and Atos will make a report on you based on GP/ specialist . If you cant work for nine months, then it is ill retirement with lump sum . If you cant work for ten years , then it is ill health retirement with immediate enhanced pension


I woke up with MS end of Nov 03 and the first attack left my hands and arms affected 24/7, I continued to work till Oct 09. By then my legs had joined the party. I could not continue to work , so was sick till 28th May 10 . After 8 months, of fun and games with Atos, I was offered Ill health retirement with immediate pension and took it.

[easter bunny]

you have to be on the sick first to qualify for ihr... also you wont get tma while on the sick..make sure you get covered under the DDA (that shouldnt be a problem ) and make sure your not on a stage 2/3.....I cant see the problem why you wont get it... The battle ahead though is lump sum v pension...Theres a hell of a lot of difference between the two....Fight like hell for the latter....

[gj1023]

The battle ahead though is lump sum v pension...Theres a hell of a lot of difference between the two....Fight like hell for the latter....

I don`t understand why there would be a battle ahead. Atos will make there report, based on your GP and specialist reports.
If hunny`s problem is as they say , then they should be ok . Because the report to RM from Atos will say hunny is unable to work for RM in any shape or form and her condition will make her unemployable , same as mine. Then as that would be for 10 years or more , then it is immediate enhanced pension. As I said ill health with lump sum, is for someone off for nine months to ten years and expected to resume full time work , when they recover.. If you have a condition you wont recover from , then it is immediate enhanced pension.

[postghost]

i just been diagnosed with chronic psoriatic arthritis which basically means my joints etc are crumbling and doing my job will be impossible.i dont want to resign and leave with nothing so could someone tell me if i can ask for ill health retirement or voluntary redundancy , or do i have to wait for my boss to refer me,go through atos etc.
many thanks for any help.

Sorry to hear that.
Take care of yourself and try not to worry about the outcome to much. Wishing you the best of luck

[easter bunny]

The dfference between ill health retirement with lump sum v ill health retirement with pension is as I said huge...It is pretty much life changing. One is 9 months and the other is 10 years.
However , this is the important bit...The diagnosis for which either one you are given, is made at the time by ATOS the company employed by Royal Mail. It is the OPINION of that Doctor which will result in something which will affect you financially for the rest of your life..
I had heard stories from all over the country over the last year (since I was given IHR) where staff who were finished were given the 'cheaper' version of IHR when it could and should have been a pension.
Dont forget the pension would be enchanced and the differences between the 2 save or cost the business a fortune (something which they can ill afford right now).

The CWU always inform members to contact HQ when given IHR to make sure they have not been short changed...

[General Mannerheim]

The dfference between ill health retirement with lump sum v ill health retirement with pension is as I said huge...It is pretty much life changing. One is 9 months and the other is 10 years.
However , this is the important bit...The diagnosis for which either one you are given, is made at the time by ATOS the company employed by Royal Mail. It is the OPINION of that Doctor which will result in something which will affect you financially for the rest of your life..
I had heard stories from all over the country over the last year (since I was given IHR) where staff who were finished were given the 'cheaper' version of IHR when it could and should have been a pension.
Dont forget the pension would be enchanced and the differences between the 2 save or cost the business a fortune (something which they can ill afford right now).

The CWU always inform members to contact HQ when given IHR to make sure they have not been short changed...

Yes thats what happend to me.
I was told that I was getting the full pension then an Atossser quack told me that he was downgrading it to just a lump sum,when I argued with him and it did get quite heated he said it was because and I quote(phone recorded by the way )"That as your only 42 Royal Mail will not want to pay you year on year a pension and a big lump sum".

[gj1023]

Sounds terrible what some of you have been through, bad enough coping with illness, let alone RM trying to opt out, of paying up..

I think it depends on what condition you are DX with , if it a condition like mine, ( PPMS) , whereby tthere is no chance of recovery . inside the 9 months to 10 year period. They can`t downgrade the payment. If you have a condition, with even the slightest chance of recovery inside that time frame , they seem to be arguing the toss. For myself it was straight forward, no union involvement (my rep was aware of precedings) , no arguments . Atos report, RM meeting, ill health retirement with pension, job done.

[easter bunny]

The problem is that if you got ten doctors to comment if a patient would recover within 10 years or not, you would have ten different opinions. With the royal mail you are at the mercy of just one doctor who wont know your full medical history.

When I was given IHR to the best of my knowledge my own GP wasnt even consulted. I praise the lord every night that the doctor who saw me from ATOS recommended IHR with pension at the tender age of 36.

Personally, my dealings of them are excellent together with my own DOM who agreed with the recommendation ,My enchanced pension with 18.5 years service to it was pushed up to near 40 years....

However, as a CWU rep for many years I know many colleagues whose experiences with ATOS pushed them to breaking point....

[gj1023]

"The problem is that if you got ten doctors to comment if a patient would recover within 10 years or not, you would have ten different opinions. "

I disagree with that , like I said it depends on what condition, like mine, no doctor would ever say I have a chance of recovery .

To make a report for RM , Atos have to gather all available info , GP/specialist etc. Why that did not happen to you , only Atos knows.
Just glad for you that it went well.

My dealings with Atos was a a bit keystone cops, it took 8 months. I had one meeting with them , they wanted me to go 70 miles for a 9.30am meeting. They did not receive reports from GP, I had 5 consent forms in 1 month. After all that I had to wait a week for another phone call, before they would send their report .
The chap who rang was brilliant , and a telling comment was , "if asked he could and would not defend Atos" Anyway had a chat , rang me back 15 mins later to read me his report and sent it (via email ) to RM , when I said it was ok.

My Lino and the lino who dealt with IHR were brilliant , no problems

[Thorby Bislam]

Does this mean then, that for someone aged 55 or over, it would be better to get the lump sum as they would be able to claim the pension anyway under the new rules ?