occupaional health/am i fit for my job

[jts]

i was injured at work 2 years ago. suffered with siatica for 23 months. not a big problem. was able to continue working with pain killers. i had 2 weeks off with this injury. rushed back to work because of short staff issues. my work colleagues had to take the burden of my illness. big problem for me is i woke up one morning, unable to walk. the pain was unbearable. rang nhs direct. they advise me to go to the nearest hospital. i though i had a dvt in my leg. as they did. i realised the by the doctor asking questions the injury sustained was due to my siatica which happened 23 months previous the hospital think i have slipped a disc. i think the disc as been slipped or on the verge for 2 yrs. hence the suffering i have been going through. still under pressure at work did nt want a sick note just strong pain relief to get me through the weekend. then maybe the siatica would settle down and life would continue as normal. now been off for 5 weeks got to have mri scan fri no results for me or my employees as yet. they are now wanting or pushing for me to go to occupation health to see if i am fit for my job. i was not at fault when i sustained these injuries. i am not into suing. can you please advice what i should do to stop this. within the 2yrs i have had this problem i have only had 3 days off work. all the above about my employee is from work colleagues who have rang me to let me know. what my manager is thinking of doing. where do i stand in this matter. do i have a case against my employees for not supporting, helping me in anyway. all relevant documation was filled in by my employees at the time of the injury. i have never seen or signed anything

[Paule]

Re: occupaional health/am i fit for my job

Without knowing full details of what happened previously your employers will have a duty under Health & Safety to make sure employees are fit for work,
It you have a medical problem that may affect your work they have a duty to access that, and they are doing so by asking you to attend occupational health for an assesment.

If they just let you work, knowing that you have health problems, they will become liable if you have an accident relating to this, and they did not do any safety checks or H&S assesments on you.

eg, if they just let you carry on and you picked up a box and slipped your disk, your could sue them for that, as they did nothing to prevent it or advise you against doing that type of work.
Now they want to assess your health so they can put in place restrictions on your workload, not only to protect themeselves but to protect your health as well.