Got dismissed today. Advice please. .

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Got dismissed today. Advice please. .

I thought I mentioned I have stage 1 liver disease with chronic cirrhosis. It's a silent but deadly disease where at some point my liver will shut down. My best hope is a transplant but that is a very long process and if I have one I'll be very ill for months and on medication for the rest of my life. I have scans every 6 months to check for tumors and that there is no internal bleeding. It's all my fault due to drinking but being alcohol dependant is classed as an illness.y last scan showed my liver is in a very poor state. Does this help me with being dismissed or work providing a reference?

I'm afraid these are issues of a moral/ethical nature rather than legal. Were your employers aware of all this?

[Acjb007]

Re: Got dismissed today. Advice please. .

They knew I was in hospital but that was 3 years ago. The people manager said she knew when I told her. Not sure who told her.

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Got dismissed today. Advice please. .

They knew I was in hospital but that was 3 years ago. The people manager said she knew when I told her. Not sure who told her.

There's quite a difference between merely being in hospital and having a potentially life-threatening condition. You can be in hospital for a variety of reasons which may or may not be serious.

[Acjb007]

Re: Got dismissed today. Advice please. .

When I was in hospital my manager at the time visited me. He knew I was close to death.

[wales01man]

Re: Got dismissed today. Advice please. .

I cannot see where you are going with this? The chances of getting the job back are probably zero you say you were near to death 3 years ago but you are still here do you expect the manager to be a trained Doctor who can diaganose you then unlikely.
Drink has put you in this position now is the time to concentrate on sorting yourself out not trying to find excuses the best you can hope for is a neutral reference and get another job .
Disagree Drink is a Disease strange that how many other diseases do you buy by the bottle??????

Get this behind you before the stress forces you back to the bottle .

[MIKE770]

Re: Got dismissed today. Advice please. .

go forward - the past is the past, sorry we have to-day problems peeps have which are serious and time better spent there!

[Mr $quandaŁot]

Re: Got dismissed today. Advice please. .

Agree with the post 65.

You are going around in circles, trying to rationalise - even justify - your actions.

By the sound of it, a neutral reference is not on offer and, to be honest, I don't think that your former employer is in the wrong by not providing it.

[Berniethebolt]

Re: Got dismissed today. Advice please. .

Alcohol in itself is not a disease however it causes physical and mental addiction so to me that qualifies it as a disease. In addition people do not on the whole go out one day and think, I know what I will become an alcoholic , it can be a series of events in your life that lead you down that path and before you realise what has happened you are hooked.
Of course we all have free will but there are pressures on that free will and some of us are less able to cope than others
An interesting article http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2715956/

For the OP i really would not hold out hope of getting your job back , in any event being so ill, is working a realistic prospect . Talk to your GP , talk to a benefits advisor (not a DWP one) and get some ongoing support for your illnesses

[Acjb007]

Re: Got dismissed today. Advice please. .

I don't think I said being alcohol dependant is a disease! I said it was an illness. YES I picked up a bottle and poured vodka down my throat but is that normal behaviour or an illness. Doing it on an empty stomach at 7am and vomiting yet drinking more until I can normally function for the day and having to crawl around in pain as my legs were not working due to a toxic build up to me is an illness. I don't want sympathy just understanding.

- - - Updated - - -

Beeniethebolt: Thank you for your post!

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Got dismissed today. Advice please. .

I agree with Bernie above. :grin:

Alcohol addiction is an illness just like, say, anorexia; both start as mental health issues but, unlike other MH conditions, these have very serious physical effects. Having said that, you have said yourself that you have been sober for three years, so you were not drunk at the time the shoplifting occurred. If you had been, that could be a mitigating circumstance from a criminal law perspective, however, being drunk in itself would also be grounds for dismissal even without stealing anything.

At the end of the day, employers can easily dismiss people for a lot less than that actual stealing; showing off work you took part in whilst in their employ was regarded by one large corporation as 'theft' of intellectual property and even web browsing and posting online has been presented as gross misconduct for "stealing" employers' valuable time!

While I can't see an employment tribunal claim succeeding in this case, nor a reinstatement being possible, I still think it may be possible to negotiate a neutral reference (i.e. just dates confirmed) if you put forward all your personal health issues. It won't cost either you or them anything nor can they be sued for telling just the plain truth, i.e. when you were employed by them. It was possible to use mitigating circumstances to convince a judge not to give a custodial sentence to someone who stole a few grand from their employers and to order just a suspended sentence and community service due that person's circumstances so there's no reason not to try it with HR. :thumb:

If you are very ill then you should be looking into putting in a claim for ESA, using all your medical evidence to back it up. There is an initial 13 week assessment phase and you should claim as soon as possible because as with most claims, they cannot be backdated.

[wales01man]

Re: Got dismissed today. Advice please. .

Sorry I disagree with the views on whether its a Disease its a Choice unlike cancer my brother was an Alcoholic when he could buy a drink my mother died of Cancer she did not buy that in a shop or Pub .. Every thing aside we All know what drink can do many of us on here myself included have had many problem financial and health I did not turn to drink I got help and got si=orted

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Got dismissed today. Advice please. .

The subject of this thread is not to discuss whether alcohol addiction is something one can avoid or not, the OP has already said they're no longer drinking, however the damage to the liver has been done and is irreversible. The OP did't get sacked for being drunk either so this really is neither here nor there. :mmph:

[wales01man]

Re: Got dismissed today. Advice please. .

The thread turned to Alcohol related problems the OP has brought up the subject we all want them to get help the problem will not go away .

Time for us all to move on we have differing opinions on the subject its the OP who needs to argue there case with the employer hopefully he gets a result

[Berniethebolt]

Re: Got dismissed today. Advice please. .

Walesman, at the risk of sounding insensitive , many diseases including cancer , heart disease , lung disease, diabetes can in many cases be linked back to lifestyle 'choices'. The topic is a political hot potato and is most certainly a view held by the New Right influenced Tories such as Thatcher and Cameron. I am sorry about your brother and your Mother just as I am sorry for anyone who is seriously ill but the OP is 3 years dry which is a magnificent achievement and needs applauding

[wales01man]

Re: Got dismissed today. Advice please. .

Lets not turn it political we will all get barred !

Im just stating my view which differs from others