Stage 3 Warning - DDA

[without_a_paddle]

Hi

I have Stage 3 Chronic Kidney Disease and I am covered under the DDA as having a disability. My last two absences on a Stage 2 leading to a Stage 3 RTU were kidney-related (water infection and inflamed kidney).
Will I be dismissed?

Thanks in advance.

[Pat Ostman]

Have you been informed in writing that disability related absences will no longer be discounted? If not, you should not be dismissed. Sorry about the italics but this is Royal Mail.

[IcanthelpthewayIam]

unfortunately just because your illness is covered under equalities act it doesnt completely protect you from the attendance procedure and dismissal, Royal mail have to make a "reasonable adjustment" to accommodate you, so saying that your going to probably need a little extra time off sick per year would be a reasonable adjustment but if that time off was deemed excessive (several months or more for example) then they would be entitled to follow normal procedures as they allowed you what would be seen as a reasonable adjustment and you exceeded it,

out of interest how much were you off in total in the last 12 months?

[banddy]

Hi

I have Stage 3 Chronic Kidney Disease and I am covered under the DDA as having a disability. My last two absences on a Stage 2 leading to a Stage 3 RTU were kidney-related (water infection and inflamed kidney).
Will I be dismissed?

Thanks in advance.

obviously you should have visited a GP or specialist when off with the "disability related" illness.
on that basis, you should get the doctor to confirm in writing that the illness was related to your longterm condition.
this "should" help mitigate the absences.

[Glenno]

Hi, this agreement still holds the field until about May sometime

Attendance Procedure

1. INTRODUCTION
This procedure is designed to help Royal Mail serve our customers by encouraging the high standards of attendance normally achieved and maintained by the vast majority of employees so that a reliable staffing base can be maintained. It:

• applies to frequent and/or lengthy absences from work (whether covered by a self-certificate or a Doctor's Certificate) because of medical conditions which do not justify Medical Retirement;

• applies to all employees of Royal Mail except casual/seasonal staff;

• consists of a series of stages at which employees will be encouraged, through advice and guidance, to improve their pattern of attendance to an acceptable standard.

The stages are progressive and specifically intended to help employees maintain appropriate patterns of attendance, and so avoid more formal action which may lead to dismissal.

At every stage of the procedure there is an opportunity for employees to provide an explanation for their absence(s) and for mitigating factors to be fully taken into account. Accidents which happen in the course of Royal Mail work would normally be discounted.

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.

Minimum national standards of attendance are built into each stage so that employees clearly understand what Royal Mail requires,

No employee will be dismissed on grounds of unsatisfactory attendance if Royal Mail's standards of attendance are consistently achieved. However, those minimum standards are not intended to have the status of an entitlement. Employees will need to demonstrate - by meeting the customer requirements on notification and certification of absence - that the sick absence was necessary. Deliberate abuse of these provisions will constitute misconduct and may result in disciplinary action.

[Theghost]

Hi, this agreement still holds the field until about May sometime

Attendance Procedure

1. INTRODUCTION
This procedure is designed to help Royal Mail serve our customers by encouraging the high standards of attendance normally achieved and maintained by the vast majority of employees so that a reliable staffing base can be maintained. It:

• applies to frequent and/or lengthy absences from work (whether covered by a self-certificate or a Doctor's Certificate) because of medical conditions which do not justify Medical Retirement;

• applies to all employees of Royal Mail except casual/seasonal staff;

• consists of a series of stages at which employees will be encouraged, through advice and guidance, to improve their pattern of attendance to an acceptable standard.

The stages are progressive and specifically intended to help employees maintain appropriate patterns of attendance, and so avoid more formal action which may lead to dismissal.

At every stage of the procedure there is an opportunity for employees to provide an explanation for their absence(s) and for mitigating factors to be fully taken into account. Accidents which happen in the course of Royal Mail work would normally be discounted.

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.

Minimum national standards of attendance are built into each stage so that employees clearly understand what Royal Mail requires,

No employee will be dismissed on grounds of unsatisfactory attendance if Royal Mail's standards of attendance are consistently achieved. However, those minimum standards are not intended to have the status of an entitlement. Employees will need to demonstrate - by meeting the customer requirements on notification and certification of absence - that the sick absence was necessary. Deliberate abuse of these provisions will constitute misconduct and may result in disciplinary action.

Why answer the question with 2 waving smilies?? Very classy.

[without_a_paddle]

out of interest how much were you off in total in the last 12 months?

Hi I was off four times during the past year, the one which triggered my Stage 2 warning was a dental
abcess, created when my dentist was removing my tooth and CRACKED it in half, leaving the nerve exposed and my face severely swollen. I was off for 9 days and taking Metonidazole which made me sick, lots of vomiting.

The manager put that on my absence report as 'toothache - 9 days' which is just appalling, as I have proof otherwise and it belittles the condition I was in. I should never have been issued with a Stage 2 in my opinion.

[without_a_paddle]

Hi, this agreement still holds the field until about May sometime

Taken that I'm a single dad of a young child and also suffering the stress of having kidney disease while witnessing my father have a kidney transplant a couple of years ago, I'd say the little 'wave' just about sums you up. There's always an unsavoury character like you in every office up and down the country, I'll bet. Classy isn't the word for this troll.

[without_a_paddle]

Have you been informed in writing that disability related absences will no longer be discounted? If not, you should not be dismissed. Sorry about the italics but this is Royal Mail.

No Pat, I've never received anything in writing. Thanks.

[without_a_paddle]

obviously you should have visited a GP or specialist when off with the "disability related" illness.
on that basis, you should get the doctor to confirm in writing that the illness was related to your longterm condition.
this "should" help mitigate the absences.

I was taken to A&E in an ambulance as I couldn't walk due to the pain with the inflamed kidney, so I need to get
my GP / renal doctor to confirm my illness by letter.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Why answer the question with 2 waving smilies?? Very classy.

Perhaps he was trying to draw attention to it - A wave does not just mean goodbye, it also means Hi, hello or I am here.

Hi, this agreement still holds the field until about May sometime

Taken that I'm a single dad of a young child and also suffering the stress of having kidney disease while witnessing my father have a kidney transplant a couple of years ago, I'd say the little 'wave' just about sums you up. There's always an unsavoury character like you in every office up and down the country, I'll bet. Classy isn't the word for this troll.

I understand why you are stressed but please don't jump to conclusions about smileys on here they have different messages when used in different contexts. No doubt you get colleagues who don't understand the impact of your condition and they jump to the wrong conclusion and say you are playing the system or are lazy. I hope both conclusions, yours over Glennos post and your colleagues about you, are both just as wrong.

[without_a_paddle]

Why answer the question with 2 waving smilies?? Very classy.

Perhaps he was trying to draw attention to it - A wave does not just mean goodbye, it also means Hi, hello or I am here.

Hi, this agreement still holds the field until about May sometime

Taken that I'm a single dad of a young child and also suffering the stress of having kidney disease while witnessing my father have a kidney transplant a couple of years ago, I'd say the little 'wave' just about sums you up. There's always an unsavoury character like you in every office up and down the country, I'll bet. Classy isn't the word for this troll.

I understand why you are stressed but please don't jump to conclusions about smileys on here they have different messages when used in different contexts. No doubt you get colleagues who don't understand the impact of your condition and they jump to the wrong conclusion and say you are playing the system or are lazy. I hope both conclusions, yours over Glennos post and your colleagues about you, are both just as wrong.

Point taken, and I offer my apologies, although nobody's ever accused me of being lazy. Or playing the system. As far as someone who has a 10cm cyst on a single kidney leaking blood goes, I'd say the majority of people have been extremely sympathetic in work. But you'll always get one character you can't stand in your office, and that isn't necessarily health-related.

[morselll]

Hi i just came across this thread and wonder if its still live, i suggest you ask for referal to atos if you havent already done so, and also talk to your kidney nephrologist, they will be able to help you, i am already at stage 5 kidney failure and am on dyalasis, you are covered by the dda, as time goes on you will need adjustments to your duty to help you adjust to what comes along with decreased kidney function i hope everything pans out ok,