Jump to content

Equality Act 2010


Guest AnnieX

Recommended Posts

Guest AnnieX

Ocd is mentioned in this Act. ( hope I've got it right) My question is what does this really mean? Also, on a personal level when am I officially mentally ill? When do I tell my employer I am ill and need help! Am I obliged to say something? What if I apply for a new job?

Link to comment

Ocd is mentioned in this Act. ( hope I've got it right) My question is what does this really mean? Also, on a personal level when am I officially mentally ill? When do I tell my employer I am ill and need help! Am I obliged to say something? What if I apply for a new job?

I have a similar problem but I would be reluctant to go into too much detail on a new job or even you're existing job. All they really to know is that you have a mental illness, the details are private.

It's very unlikely that your employer will understand even if you told them it was OCD, in fact most people find it hard to understand any mental illness unless the person has first hand experience of it themselves.

If you are going for a new job do some research into your employer before telling them about your medical history, I'm in the building trade which is very macho and you won't get much support from a company like mine and more than likely you won't get the job. Pregnant women get sacked where I work so I don't expect fair treatment.

Link to comment

Hi Annie,

If you go to the OCD Action website www.ocdaction.org.uk you can download an informative document aimed at Employers called "Employing People with OCD What You Need To Know"

I did this about 4-5 years ago when I was really struggling with a heavy workload which was not helping my OCD.

As a result of reading this publication I got my OCD therapist to write to my employer explaining my difficulties. My employer had me assessed by their occupational health doctor, who agreed that he felt my OCD was sufficient to be deemed a disability under the Equality Act 2010. .Accordingly he recommended my Employer make reasonable adjustments to my working practices - I was able to shed the excess work that was dragging me down, and this helped my OCD management enormously.

In my recent troubles at work after a reorganisation, I again used the Equality Act 2010 as a bargaining tool to restrict the number of times per week I should be required to work from our offices in Essex - this time with the support of an employment lawyer - and I was successful.

Our own LauraMac has done some investigations into the Act, and placed some useful information on her ocdni.co.uk website - from the home page, click OCD Info, and then OCD At Work.

Incidentally, also on that site you can, from the homepage, click on "your talent" and amongst the inspiring stories there, you will find my own - which I worked with Laura to write!

Best regards

Roy

Link to comment
Guest AnnieX

Thanks for this. I have looked on the sites mentioned (great photo) .

Think you are right Dubs, we need to take care with who we disclose information to. I have made reference to my illness, but am worried about the implications, if I pursue it as an issue.

Link to comment

The equality act is there to aid employers and employees in keeping people in work with reasonable adjustments. It isn't a bullet proof vest for employees though against disciplinaries, dismissal etc.

If you don't inform your employer of current issues you can't expect them to have made reasonable adjustments.

It's toothless unless you work for an organization that gives a damn. Many companies simply sack you and deal with the consequences, the fines are so small that it makes it worthless.

Link to comment

depends on the severity dubs. If they do it quicky then yes they can be low but if it's sustained and long fines can be higher. But remember, the money isn't there as a punishment, its there to compensate the victim before they get back to work so to fine a company for someone on 18k 18k it would have to be very bad because that person on 18k would have mitigated their losses and got employment elsewhere

I've witnessed how little compensation people get for unlawful dismissal, the lower your wage the less you get. Someone on £20,000 pa would be lucky to get £6000.00. Often a union or solicitor will not take on your case unless its bomb proof and then there is the time you have to wait from filing a case and getting a result.

The UK has some of the worst employment protection in Europe, if you have a mental illness you are more likely to be a victim of work place bullying, redundancy and disciplinary action. I'm going through disciplinary action at the moment and they have taken full advantage of my illness knowing full well that I'm pretty incapable of defending myself.

Sometimes it's better to keep your medical records to yourself.

Link to comment
Guest legend

would you not tell them if you had another disability ?

regardless , ocd is a disability and has every right to be disclosed and protected under dicrim laws , and I personally

feel an employer would need to know on the flip side of the coin as well

Link to comment

would you not tell them if you had another disability ?

regardless , ocd is a disability and has every right to be disclosed and protected under dicrim laws , and I personally

feel an employer would need to know on the flip side of the coin as well

It depends on the employer, but I wouldn't be disclosing anything without careful consideration. No matter what laws they pass there are a large number of employers who don't give a damn and rule by fear. There are 170,000 workers in the UK who are still not paid the min wage, employers will continue to break the law while fines are so small

The age old saying in employment law "fit for purpose" the can sack you as soon as they deem you no longer fit for purpose.

Link to comment
Guest AnnieX

would you not tell them if you had another disability ?

regardless , ocd is a disability and has every right to be disclosed and protected under dicrim laws , and I personally

feel an employer would need to know on the flip side of the coin as well

Can I ask - if ocd is a disability, do I need the medical profession to tell me I have a disability ? Or do I just tick the box on the form that says I have a disability ?

Equally if I can't tell people in my own family because I know ( yes this is not an ocd doubt ) they will judge me. Then how can I expect fellow employees not to do the same? I am not ready to be the next topic of office gossip, whether this is fact or not the ocd will make me believe I am. I need allowances at work, the modern world requires this ( like the travelling issue) .

I am not ashamed of my illness, but I am realistic about the consequences of being honest. I have been at work long enough to see this in action.

Please help !

Link to comment
Guest legend

the info provided has to remain confidential and is protected under data protection rules

ocd is classed as a disability, that doesn't need confirming .

Link to comment

We can all understand this problem. The problem being that whilst we want people to understand our illness, we want others to step forward and do it for us – it’s not called “The secret illness” without reason, and secrecy prevents understanding. I don’t really know what advice to give you because I have no knowledge of ‘the Act’, but I know that, at some time, we will all have to stand up and declare to the world that we have OCD. I believe that secrecy is one of the biggest of triggers to an anxiety melt-down, and this potential appears to be evident in your post. What if? What if? What if? It really boils down to the type of illness. Some types of OCD, such as intrusive thoughts, may never be detected, whereas repetitive actions and contamination will be detected by an employer at a very early stage. In such cases, should you fail to advise an employer beforehand that you require certain allowances, then that employer can’t be blamed for adverse reactions should your work be affected as a result. The way things stand at the moment is down to the individual applicant and employer, but until such time that people open up about their illness and explain it to others, it will continue to be misunderstood, even considered something laughable, being nothing more than people with a fetish for tidiness. If your illness is visible, then attempting to conceal it at work is a stress you can do without. I’m retired with a part-time job, and a young woman, who had been there for a couple of months, said to me “Big things don’t bother you do they but little things do?” I told her that I didn’t know what she was talking about. She then said “If I did this – it would annoy you, wouldn’t it?” She folded a page of my notepad, and made a sharp crease, which did annoy me very much. So, as stated, if your problem is visible, it will be found out eventually.

I understand your industry because I was an area engineer responsible for contracts within Wales and SW England. These mostly involved large contracts, such as reconstructing RAF airfields, new hospitals etc, and though it is a tough place to exhibit OCD symptoms, I’ve always found that people changed their attitude to me after in-depth explanations – ignorance was the villain. I’ve read that OCD only affects intelligent people, and that idiots have immunity. Well, I don’t believe that at all, but it could be worth fostering that myth as a selling-point to a new employer.

Link to comment
Guest AnnieX

Thanks for your replies. I will see how the next few months go, change is always difficult but not a bad thing. I feel for me personally now may be the time to tell the world, and start to be a bit more honest about who I am.

Link to comment

Can I ask - if ocd is a disability, do I need the medical profession to tell me I have a disability ? Or do I just tick the box on the form that says I have a disability ?

Equally if I can't tell people in my own family because I know ( yes this is not an ocd doubt ) they will judge me. Then how can I expect fellow employees not to do the same? I am not ready to be the next topic of office gossip, whether this is fact or not the ocd will make me believe I am. I need allowances at work, the modern world requires this ( like the travelling issue) .

I am not ashamed of my illness, but I am realistic about the consequences of being honest. I have been at work long enough to see this in action.

Please help !

The only thing I can suggest is listing you have a disability and if they want to know the details then they should ask for a medical report from either your GP or occupational health, that way it should remain confidential. The problem these reports will cost your employer money and they may just brush off your declaration and file it with everything else. Be aware though if you are going for a new job employing someone with a mental illness is viewed as high maintenance and most employers will avoid taking you on.

It's cut throat out there for many many people and sickness, performance and acceptability are factors in redundancy selection and guess what if your scores are low because you have a mental illness it isn't gonna help you avoid redundancy.

Probably not what you wanted to hear but that is the reality out there.

Link to comment
Guest AnnieX

Telling the world - bad idea, the world isn't ready. Neither am I . Those who can need to speak out, but there will always be those - that can't . Just like fighting this some will win others will continue to struggle.

Good Luck, whatever your path.

Link to comment

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...