Constructive Dismissal Resignation

[MALLINJ]

Just some background.
i joined a company in Jan 2020 working in IT.
In my interview it was inimated that working from home was coming. This was a big selling point for me.
A few months in, Covid hits and we are working from home. New laptops, 2 monitors and a webcam for meetings.
We worked for over 2 years successfully this way, with the company making record profits.
Post covid we are asked to come into the office 1 day a week. People are unhappy. Top management reitterate that’s the end of any further discussion, it’s one day a week in the office.
Fast foward 6 months. We are now told we need to be in the office 2 days a week.
For info, my daily commute is now 1.75 hours each way. Previously it was just over an hour.
Anyway, i applied to request flexible working so that i could
work from home again.
The current office environment has changed. It’s noisy and people are effectively working from home in the office. Google meets surround you.
I have suffered with depression before and referred to this in my application.
My application was rejected on 2 reasons - quality of work and performance issues.
I appealed and asked for evidence of this. My appeal was rejected saying it was not my personal quality or performance! They restated the company policy and ignored any issues i have with depression.
I have ACAS going through a conciliation exercise at the moment.
I’ve just been off work with a bad cold and throat and couldn’t face going back in to the office as my head was spinning.
I made an appt with the docs to talk about my depression.
He was very understanding and couldn’t understand why, in my line of work, the company would not allow working from home.
He issued a sicknote for 42 days with recommendations
to work from home if my company is agreeable.
My company has basically said.
We are not signing you off to work from home.
We expect that if you are working, then you should be in the office 2 days a week.
If unable to come into the office, we will consider approving, but if high levels of needing to work from home, you may be issued with a performance improvement notice to increase office attendance.
My manager has already said he wants me in the office tomorrow, so that is not really the flexible arrangement i expected. The threat of a performance notice too is not nice.
According to google, if it is not possible for the company to follow the doctors recommendations, then by default, the sick note of 42 days comes into force.
My position is becoming untenable and would really like to resign. Do i have grounds for constructive dismissal? Will i get anywhere with a tribunal?
Dismissing my mental health like this is not acceptable.
Any advice would be useful before i do something stupid.

[Retromau5]

Hello. So is your fit note still in effect? And if so, how many days are left until it runs out? If it is still in effect, there's no need for you to attend work regardless of what your manager says as you're not fit for duty, that's the reason the fit note was issued by the doctor.

Also, have you been treated for depression by you doctor in the past? And how aware of your condition is your employer?

[MALLINJ]

Yes, my fit note with recommendations is still in effect till the end of the year.
I have been treated for depression in the past. I only made my current employer aware of it during my request for flexible working. Nobody likes to advertise they have had issues in the past. This was back in 2012 when i was going through a divorce.

[ULA]

Firstly what does your contract say about the location of your work?

So your fit note is to refrain from work, however with a recommendation that you can work at home. Effectively the recommendation is just that "a recommendation" and the employer does not have to accept that recommendation. Which means if they do not accept the recommendation then despite your GP saying you can work but at home for 42 days, if they insist you go into the office, then you have a fit note to say you are unfit to work in the office.

At the moment, in my opinion and from what you have set out, despite how you feel you have been treated, there is not a strong enough case for constructive unfair dismissal. This type of claim is a tough one to prove and the onus is very much on the claimant to do so.

My suggestion for a way forward is that you request your company to send you for an Occupational Health (OH) assessment. The purpose would be to ascertain either your ability to return to work 2 days per week with possible reasonable adjustments or that you cannot work in the office due to health conditions.

[MALLINJ]

Thankyou for your reply. It’s very much appreciated.
My contract still says my place of work is Head Office.
The current setup for me is a hybrid of 2 days in the office and 2 days at home. I work compressed hours, so only work 4 days.
Doesn’t depression fall under a disability these days, and doesn’t an employer have to make reasonable adjustments to help with this?
If the travelling and work environment is causing my depression, the doctor’s recommendation to remove those issues from my working day is the solution.
In my opinion, my employer is only concerned with getting me back in the office 2 days a week. The threat of issuing a performance improvement target is also not good.
They have talked about occupational health referral, but only in terms of workiing to get me back in the office.
If they will assess objectively, then perhaps they will understand my issues and make the sensible recommendation?
The other issue of rejecting my flexible working request and appeal on quality and performance, which is unfounded, is currently with ACAS.
In all of this, they have ignored any references to my depression.

[ULA]

Thank you for clarification on the contractual position regarding your work location.

For your depression to be considered a disability it needs to fit the definition under the Equality Act which is: "you have a disability if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial, adverse, and long-term effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities."

Your employer has a responsibility to consider reasonable adjustments but this is best done by your employer getting all the relevant medical advice e.g. a medical report from your GP and/or an OH assessment report. Depending on what reasonable adjustments are suggested they can work with you to see what can be put in place to support you.

[MALLINJ]

Thankyou. The company is getting occupational health involved at the moment, so i’ll see where that leads.
I’ve also got a follow up appointment at the doctors next week. I won’t do anything too hasty just yet and take it one day at a time.

[ULA]

Thank you for the update and as and when you need further advice just come back to this thread.

[MALLINJ]

Update as of today 9/12/24
Have been prescribed medication by the doctors for me depression.
ACAS have suggested an exit package might be a solution.
My employer have asked for a proposal.
I’d rather they make an initial offer, as i don’t want to come in too low or too high.
I’m 60 next July and know i need to factor in how long it could take to find another job or source of income.
Are there any things i should include as standard, and what sort of figures are deemed acceptable in these situations?
My annual salary is £52k and bonus is circa £5k regularly.
Any suggestions would be really helpful.
Thankyou.

[ULA]

You should consider completing a Schedule of Loss I have uploaded a template one, as that will provide a guideline starting point.