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Lost job due to hypo effects.

The Disability Discrimination Act now covers diabetes so employers must recognise and give special consideration...so allow more time off for sickness etc and be aware that the condition can affect ability to work... so give support. Therefore they MUST NOT discriminate against you because of your condition. I would read up on the Act and write to them quoting the relevant bits and say that you are not happy with the way you've been treated as you consider it discriminates against you.Talk to someone in CAB...they should be able to help you with the approach you need to take and should be able to guide you through an initial process, one you could follow before getting lawyers involved. Good luck!
 
Those are good points. I have noted them and will voice them at the right time. I am also going to read the DDA so that I can familiarise myself and quote sections.
x
 
Hi there, sorry for your situation, they seem totally out of order.

They should have allowed for this if they knew about your condition. You should have grounds under the Dissbility Discrimination Act at least, a sure case of unfair dismissal. Were there serious consequesnces to your actions. ?

Be carefull with the lawyers as the costs can rocket quickly.

When I had a complex legal dispute a few years ago, and could not get much help from lawyer s without spending a fortune.

I found a website, staffed by qualified professionals. lawyers, doctors etc and found a very helpful answer for £ 22.00

The site is called, www.justanswer.com, you post your problem, ask for a legal specialist in disability / employment law and you should get a reply in a day or so, if you are not happy with the reponse, you do not need to pay, but if you are its a very small amount compared to going to a traditional solicitor as they charge approx £150 - £250. per hour !!!!

You can see profiles of the respondents, ensure they are fully qualified / experienced etc.

Hope you can sort this out. Good Luck with it all.

Lois
 
Sparkly...I hope some of these advice here will help you in your case.
I just wanted to tell you that you can totally ignore the clause in your contact which states that you cannot go and work for a competitor. Competitor and radius clauses won't stand up in court, as by trying to enforce them, your former employer is denying you your right to earn a living. Many employers include them, but they're not worth the ink.

GOOD LUCK!!
 
Sorry to hear about it!

Sacked for wasting a few pieces of paper?

Am I missing something?
 
Thanks folks. To answer a few of those last queries:

Thanks for that website info. From what you say I can ask the question for free and am not held to having to pay for an answer I find incorrect or unhelpful.

No serious consequences arose from this misconduct. It is just a case of them not trusting me now as they want their staff to be above reproach and they cannot allow someone who has done this to work for them.

Diabetes UK said that they would expect my employer to accept my request as it should be evident to their lawyers that I have a good case.

Am checking in here regularly, so any further help or pointers gratefully received.

S x
 
Diabetes Uk have an advocacy service. they may well be able to help you.
I'm not a lawyer, but it looks like you employer is well outside employment law. Summary dismissal is difficult to justify, especially when the employee has never received a warning. Not to mention the DDA.
Call Diabetes UK
Hana
 
Hi Hanadr,
Yes, all parties supporting me are keen to go to tribunal and they are astounded at the position taken by my employer.
I am just taking every avenue that I can think of, so any further thoughts are very appreciated.
S x
 
Sparky, I went through the tribunal process around 10 years ago with a then **** employer who thought he could just get rid of all his staff without proper redundancy money and ignoring their contracts etc.

The tribunal process was very fair and everyone got to say their bit. It wasn't particularly intimidating once it got going. So my advice would be go for it and get the justice you obviously deserve.
 
hi Sparkly... sorry to hear this has happened to you. I'm not probably good for advice here as I haven't really had this... although I have since learnt that I have had some minor discrimination because of my diabetes (I recently read some of our Discrimination Act here... which does include diabetes). I think the main problem here is that people who aren't diabetic rarely would recognise hypo symptoms if at all. I often have to tell people around me I'm having one. There seems to be a lot of misconceptions out there. They are the ones misinformed! I guess your ex-employer is seeking medical advice for that reason to try and back themselves up. But on saying that I can't see how any medical professional could say you weren't having a hypo... they only need to contact your GP to find out you were ill at the time too. With my situation... I was told I wasn't considered for higher duties as they felt I was too sick to take on new things right now. hmmm.... is that really up to them? Employers are quick to make assumptions unfortunately. Also at my work they immediately put you on a support plan arrangement whether you like it or not after 3 days of absence in a 3 month period... your personal info gets passed around everywhere basically. Now with diabetes we can get real sick at times... so that's not hard to take those days say with an infection or whatever. I've been put on one myself and I'm unimpressed.... in my mind that is a type of discrimation too in a way as I can't help the fact I have a few chronic illnesses, including diabetes. If I want support, I ask for it... I don't need x amount of people to know all about me either. The things we have to live with :roll: Wishing you the best with this whole situation.
 
I like your comment about "the things we have to live with". That's so very true. From my own experience and also of diabetics in general, I feel that we all try very hard to 'be normal' and to be upbeat and not let diabetes get the better of us or get us down. It's really unfortunate that non diabetics can inflict their ignorance on us at these times and make us go through even more that we already are. With the growing number of diabetics I would hope too that there is also a growing awareness and tolerance amongst non diabetics, and if we all are upfront about certain times when we need a little help, then it'll all be for the greater good.

As I said, I do try to be upbeat and not let things get me down if I can help it. I guess I just need some input from other diabetics.

Sx
 
Thankyou to all those who have sent me private messages about their experiences of these particular aspects of hypo behaviour and about how their employers dealt with this. I am boyed by the fact that everyone so far has won their case and that their employers dealt with it far better than mine have done. It's nice to know that others have experienced the same things and it bodes very well for any legal proceedings. Thanks for the advice and pointers too by those who also know of those that have won too.
Sx
 
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