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I have been suspended from work for call avoidance, I work in a Call Centre for one of the big high street banks and have been there for 9yrs. We are heavily targeted on staying in "available" to take calls, with a 20% allowance for breaks and off the phone work activity. I have severe crohns disease which I have had for the last 8 yrs (managers and HR are aware) and also have a physical disability from birth which means i cant walk without pain and my mobility is severly limited (i am 1 step short of being wheelchair bound) at work i have managed to cope despite my problems until a couple of months ago, call volumes have gone through the roof in recent months as we are seriously understaffed and due to this and problems at home (My wife who is also my carer has been diagnosed with a heart condition) stress levels are off the charts. This has led to increased need to go to the bathroom (15-20 times per shift) which then led to my "efficiency stats" going miles over the 20% expected levels. Even though my managers would turn a blind eye to this per say, I could see they were unhappy at this due to body language, tone of voice etc. I also felt the resentment from people within my team, the constant emails with my increased percentages being on going around the floor increased my stress and anxiety. I stupidly took matters into my own hands and decided that whenever I needed to go to the toilet I'd ring a number that was in a continuous loop so it didn't go against my stats. I felt I had no other choice. At times I could be in the bathroom for 30-40mins waiting for the pain to subside. This call avoidance has now been picked up and I have been suspended on full pay, the whole episode has made my crohns even worse and I am currently in hospital to get further treatment. Although work have been fantastic in always allowing me time off for regular appointments and sickness days off which I am grateful for I feel my illness hasn't been taken into account. Furthermore on speaking to other people in the bank I have been made aware of a dept called occupational health who should have looked into my situation and seen if I was fit for the job and if not then look into alternatives. I had NEVER even heard of these people until after I'd been suspended. It's been clear for a while I was struggling in work yet apart from being lenient with time off nobody considered alternatives. I have been told off the record that HR want to go for Dismissal even though they haven't even had a disciplinary meeting with me to get my side of events.
Where do I stand with disciplinary? Call avoidance is gross misconduct.
If i get sacked can I claim unfair dismissal/disability discrimination as NEVER once did anybody check my capability to do my job, from my sickness record it was quite clear I was struggling.
Sorry if I've waffled on. I would be EXTREMELY GRATEFUL for any advice as I am very worried that HR have already decided to dismiss even before taking my mitigation into consideration.
Where do I stand with disciplinary? Call avoidance is gross misconduct.
If i get sacked can I claim unfair dismissal/disability discrimination as NEVER once did anybody check my capability to do my job, from my sickness record it was quite clear I was struggling.
Sorry if I've waffled on. I would be EXTREMELY GRATEFUL for any advice as I am very worried that HR have already decided to dismiss even before taking my mitigation into consideration.
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