Dear Thelma,
Thank you to Anne and Sue for unpicking the issues and making suggestions of ways to approach this case.
I agree that HR issues are not our concern. 

The employee is due for a review and one of the options was to allow then to return on trial basis should they state they are fit to return to work.  The last time when the employee attend the OH dept they stated they vomit on there travel but i do not think it was suggested to do a risk assessment as they believe at the time they where very ill and gave a 4 wks sicknote but 2 days later they was suddenly fit to return.

When they return to OH  this time they will be assessed to ascertain fitness to return to that role. The concern for me is that we had very little information from their GP when last approached   them. It is unlikely that if we request further info on the employees health that he will give us helpful info about the current health status of the employee. We do not have sufficient medical information about the employees illness apart from possible liver problem and impending investigation under the care of a consultant.

I do not want to think that we have allowed someone to return to work prematurely and they claim that they are forced to return to work because there job was threatened.

I cannot possibly understand all those symptoms this employee have reported to us have suddenly dissapeared in 2 days.

Many Thanks again





At first site this is quite complex. If I were dealing with this I would
unpick the issues as this makes it easier to "see the wood for the trees".

1. Whether she is to be dismissed or not is out of your hands - that is a
management problem - they own the problem so leave it to them to resolve.
Capability or otherwise is not an OH issue.

2.You have more info than you are able to include on JISC but you seem to
think she may now claim that she is well enough to return to work - that is
just a complicating factor. Despite investigations re her health being
ongoing this may be because she thinks that the employer may be about to
instigate disciplinary action in relation to her non-attendance. This may or
not be the case. Many people have serious health issues which are being
investigated and they are still able to attend work and give "effective
service". The only proviso being if she has a liver condition is there
anything in the workplace which she handles which could cause her additional
problems eg materials which are potentially hepatotoxic such as solvents.

3.If she is likely to vomit unexpectedly then there are issues associated
with working in a sterile area - so a "risk assessment" in relation to this
would be an appropriate next step.

3.Is it likely that her condition could be covered by the Equality Act 2010?
- if so then what modifications could assist her to remain at work. You can
make those recommendations - management are then responsible for acting on
them.

Does this help you to identify the central issues?

Anne

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