Hopefully this section will go some way to answering some of the questions. We hope to provide enough information to answer your questions, further information may be available by searching the internet.
If you have any questions or concerns relating to the topics discussed here or have a question not covered here please don't hesitate to contact us and we will do our best to find the answer to your question or you can check with your local Citizens' Advice Bureau.
Can my employer see my medical records?
Information about your medical history should be kept confidential, and should not be released to people who are not involved in your medical care without your consent; that includes both family, employers and insurance companies.
So to summarise; no, an employer can only see your medical records with your written permission.
Sickness
Returning to work
Although you are likely to encounter some difficulties, you may find that going back to work is less of a hurdle than you fear.
These days there is a lot more help and support available to those with mental health issues returning back to work; both OCD and Depression fall into that category.
There are a number of organisations that now offer advice and support to people searching for employment.
- The Disability Employment Adviser (DEA) at your local job centre provides advice and help for people with disabilities including mental health problems. If there is no DEA at your job centre ask to speak to a Personal Adviser or New Deal Job Broker.
A DEA can advise you on what job would suit you best, a referral to a work preparation course, a referral to a occupational psychologist and much more.
- The Citizens' Advice Bureau also give free, confidential, impartial and independent advice on employment issues.
It is important to be realistic about what you can and can't do. Don't try to return to work until you are ready and then look for a job that is right for you at that particular time. You need to think carefully about the number of hours you can work and the kinds of tasks you can manage.
You also need to decide whether or not to tell people at work about your mental health problem as this can be tricky. You are not bound to disclose details to your employer. On the other hand you must not give false information if you want the protection of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDE).
Benefits:
Before returning back to work get good advice on your benefits before
you start work. Otherwise you may find, if you lose your job, for whatever
reason, you are unable to claim the same high level of benefit. Ask for
advice on how to protect your income from your local Citizens Advice Bureau
or Welfare Rights Agency.
Disability Discrimination Act (DDA):
The Disability
Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995 covers people with a range of disabilities
including mental health problems. It makes it unlawful for any employer
to discriminate against a disabled person who is applying for a job or
already in employment.
Employers also have a duty to take reasonable steps to enable the disabled person to work, through measures such as flexible hours or making sure instructions are written down, for example.
Notice of dismissal
Who has no legal right to minimum notice:
The law does not give the following employees the right to a minimum
period of notice:
Those
employed for less than one calendar month by their employer. From the
1st October 2002, the law gives some employees on fixed-term contracts
who have worked for their employer for one month the right to notice.
Crown
servants.
Employees
who have been dismissed for gross misconduct.
If you have been accused of gross misconduct, you may wish to make a claim to an employment tribunal. There is a strict time limit for doing so. You should consult an experienced adviser as soon as possible, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau.
If you have no legal right to notice, you will still be entitled to 'reasonable' notice or the notice your contract gives you.
If you work your normal working hours in your notice period, you
are entitled to be paid your normal pay.
You may not be able to work during the notice period because you are:-
Willing to work but are given no work to do
On
holiday
Off
work through sickness or injury.
If you do not work during the notice period for one of the reasons above, the law says you should usually still get your normal wage. However, there is an exception to this rule. If your contract gives you at least one week's notice more than the law gives you, you lose your legal right to be paid during the whole of the notice period.
If you are in this position, you should consult an experienced adviser,
for example, at a Citizens' Advice Bureau.
Pay in lieu of notice:
If your employer has dismissed you without giving you notice that the
law or your contract says they should have, the employer should pay
you in lieu of notice. ‘In lieu’ means ‘instead of’.
This is also called severance pay. The only exception to this is when
you have been dismissed because of gross misconduct.
The amount of pay in lieu of notice you should get will depend on how much notice your are entitled to. You should get pay in lieu at the rate of your normal wages. For example, if you are entitled to four weeks' notice, but are only given one, you will be entitled to three weeks’ pay in lieu of notice. You may be entitled to more than this, depending on what your contract says.
People often have problems with notice of dismissal. These are often to do with notice and sickness, maternity leave and holidays. If you are experiencing problems with notice, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens' Advice Bureau.
Back
to Top ^ | Homepage
| E-mail this page to a friend
OCD-UK is a non-profit making charity and not associated with any other
organasation.
Medical information is provided for education/information purposes only, you should obtain further advice from your doctor. Any links to external websites have been carefully selected, however we are not responsible for the content of these third party websites.
Copyright © 2004-2008 OCD-UK. All rights reserved.
WC3 XHTML 1.0 Validated | WC3
CSS Validated | Sitemap
| Accessibility
