Return 2 work/Half pay

[weirdo]

good evening,

I'm having trouble deciding what to do next:

Ive been off work since May, after an accident at work, knee trouble, which on 25/10/11 I was operated on, nothing major, just a bit of keyhole.

In October I was advised that my pay would be reduced to half pay, which i was expecting, so I applied to my DSM's better nature and asked Him if it was possible to take my leave that I had to come, as the half pay was going to cripple me financially.

He said that He'd see my manager on his return from A/l and sort something out. Happy days.

This was 20/10/11.

I emailed him again today 22/11 to tell him that I will be returning to work on 29/11 and why he refused my A/l request, as I've been on half pay since my last email to him in October?

This is his Responce:


Weirdo you need to be refered to atos before returning to work speak to manager to arrange this. As we need to make sure we are not getting you to do anything your are unable to so you need to be on a rehab plan.with regard to your holiday pay it is not policy to do this as you are entitled to the time off whe you are fit and well. This request has been refused by me in the past as you also have to be booked back off sick and this would not be a true reflection of your record.

Now, here's the problem:

Do I return to work, as my sick note runs out on 28/11?
I have been on to Hr and they say that he should be giving me my leave, as there is a function on the new PSP system that lets you do this.

Should I stick a B/H complaint in as this is an abuse of his powers?

and how do i get a decent Union Rep involved as the two clowns who run our Branch are as far as I'm concerned, are in my DSM's pocket?

It's doing my head in a bit, so any advice would be grateful.

cheers

Weirdo

[DAF85]

Ive been off work since May, after an accident at work, knee trouble, which on 25/10/11 I was operated on, nothing major, just a bit of keyhole.

If you are off as a result of an accident at work then as far as I understand from personal experience, you should not be going onto half pay (and this time off should not be counted towards any stage warning)

Get onto your area rep asap and also onto Simpson and Miller for a compensation claim.

As HR have said, annual leave should be granted so again, get hold of your AREA rep. Put the refusal in as a grievance rather than B&H.

If it turns out you do should be on half pay (absence not caused by AoD), then again you are entitled to return to work with a fit note that your GP/specialist should state what you can and more importantly cannot do, and RM should try and accommodate. It is up to your manager to approach ATOS for a referral (with your permission) and for him to decide whether he will follow their advice.

[fishtank]

PSP System...it looks like HR have it wrong.
If he tries to move you onto Annual leave without first moving you off Sick Absence then he would get a "Collision".
Since you didn't have your op until 25/10/11 it would look very dodgy if you went straight from the knife,off sick absence and onto annual leave.

Sick whilst on holiday

There is no change to policy or approach as a result of PSP. If an Annual Leave record already exists on the system and then a subsequent Sick Absence is entered this will create a ‘collision’, but it will allow the User to make the entry. The same principal applies if the sick absence is before the Annual Leave or on the same day. A manager will receive a collision notification prompting them to amend or delete the Annual Leave record if the dates overlap.

If a manager does not amend or delete the Annual Leave record, this will be picked up when the Absence Collision Report is run by Payroll. An Exception message will be generated but this will not prevent Payroll from running, as the Sick Absence will always take precedent. HRS will then contact the Manager to inform them of this issue.

In such instances Annual Leave will not be deducted from the employees Quota but the record will still exist so this will need to be amended or deleted to ensure records are accurate.

Plus the Way Forward states...

Annual leave may not be taken as an alternative to sick leave (except where it runs concurrently with it in the case of extremely long absences in order to satisfy legal requirements). Employees who have been off sick must not start annual leave unless they have recovered, and should notify the office of their recovery before starting any annual leave.

There are some interesting points in Stringer Vs HMRC but as long as RM give you the chance to take your annual leave it's not relevant.
As far as i was aware though the 6 month half pay rule was waived for AOD's so i would chase the money not the manager who appears to be at least trying to go by the book.
And he's right...don't go back without a rehab plan.

[weirdo]

Ok thank you,

So, I shouldn't be on half pay, and Hr have got it wrong.

Intresting, that If I don't have a rehab plan, I can't go back to work, and still be on half pay.

If i'm fit for work, of sorts, then when I don't return to work, will Rm stop my pay?

My Gp says i'm fit for light duties, as does the knee specialist.

How preverse.

Also fishtank, I'm not sick whilst on holiday, but the reverse, which I was informed by Hr that on the psp system there is an element that over rides the collision.

[weirdo]

Also, if anyone has a link to the document that explains about AoD and half pay then i would be grateful.

[fishtank]

I didn't say you can't go back without a rehab plan it's just that if your manager doesn't have one he is faced with three choices.

1.Put you back on normal duties.
2.Send you home as unfit to carry out normal duties.
3.Try to find somewhere to hide you until your rehab plan comes through.

It's better to have one in place because 1 and 2 are unacceptable to you and 3 will mean some "interesting" paperwork for him.
To be honest a lot of managers refuse to entertain option 3 nowadays.

[fishtank]

It has to be classed as an Industrial Injury and registered with the DWP.

http://www.royalmailchat.co.uk/communit ... OD#p397191" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's a piss poor copy but it's been passed around a bit..

[weirdo]

Fishtank, you are a star thank you and DAF, and I may try option 2!

[weirdo]

I've just been going through my paper work, and the numpty that I am, have just found the BI 100A form from the DWP, as I signed on when they put me down to half pay.

I shall post that tomorrow plus a copy of that document Fishtank posted.

Also, why would my manager or DSM not know about this?

Why would they not inform me or act on it?

Why have my area reps been so quiet?

Why why why?

[POSTMAN]

It has to be classed as an Industrial Injury and registered with the DWP.

http://www.royalmailchat.co.uk/communit ... OD#p397191" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's a piss poor copy but it's been passed around a bit..

I've heard it works a charm.

[pokos27]

you should be able to get ssp as well as rm wages.

[NumptyBumpty]

Get it classified as Industrial Injury and you get an extra 6 months full pay.

With regards to paid annual leave while sick, the advice from HR is correct. You are entitled to it and your manager cannot deny that request and I can't understand why he would want to deny it. You would still be recorded as sick but you would be receiving full pay.

There is a difference between pre-booked Annual Leave which causes a collision with your sick absence (or any other absence for that matter) and paid annual leave while sick. Paid annual leave while sick is used when you are on half or no pay to restore your pay back to full pay. It wouldn't be recorded on the system as Annual Leave it has its own absence type.