Personal Injury caused by employment conditions?

[Guest]

Good morning

I would be grateful for any advice re the following please.

I have posted in the last few months about difficulties experienced by my daughter because of misconduct allegations made by her employers, Hampshire Constabulary (who she worked for for 11 1/2 years). The Misconduct meeting was on 4 December, she lost her case, has appealed and the person considering the appeal has requested extension until 25 January. There seem to be good grounds for taking this to a Tribunal but my daughter says she doesn't think she is strong enough to put herself through a Tribunal. During the 4 December meeting, some information came to light that seems to suggest that my daughter may have a case against her (now ex) employer for personal injury.

To re-cap - she was off work sick with a diagnosed form of repetitive strain injury (a trapezius muscle disorder), was about to return to work when on 8 May she was charged with misconduct (it was alleged that she was aggressive and rude to two civilian employees (PSI's) who were investigating a criminal report I made on 11 February). Her return to work was delayed because of stress caused by the Misconduct allegation, and again when on 19 May she came into possession of a report that one of the PSI's wrote about her calling into question my daughter's suitability for employment in her job as a 101 enquiry officer dealing with members of the public, and also expressing the opinion that she caused the 11 February incident.

When my daughter returned to work on 22 June on reduced hours, she was completely unable to do her job. She couldn't even pick up a telephone (says she couldn't get out of her head what the PSI wrote about her) and asked three times on 27 & 30 June and 2 July for temporary transfer to another department to help her get back to work. Further requests were made in letters in August & September. Her requests fell on deaf ears and she hasn't worked since 27 June - given that at work she had breakdown after breakdown and her GP said it was the work situation that was causing her to be unable to do her job . At the 4 December meeting, it emerged that temporary transfer to another department was reasonable under the circumstances, that there were suitable vacancies, that her overall manager (a police inspector) had blocked the transfer and that supervisors and the HR investigator who pursued the Misconduct claim also knew that she had asked for and been refused temporary transfer. It further came to light that the only valid reason for refusing the transfer request would have been if she was not performing up to standard, and that her stats prove she was one of the highest and best performers at the job.

It does not make sense that her employers were pursuing Misconduct proceedings wherein she was said to be unfit to do her job, that she asked for temporary transfer to do a different job, and that the police inspector who was the person who ultimately sent the complaint to Professional Standards dept insisted on keeping my daughter in the job that she was alleged to be unfit to work in. In the event, my daughter could no longer do the job, could not see a way that she could ever go back to work in that department and resigned.

Can anyone advise please?

Thank you.

[Openlaw15]

Re: Personal Injury caused by employment conditions?

Good morning

I would be grateful for any advice re the following please.

I have posted in the last few months about difficulties experienced by my daughter because of misconduct allegations made by her employers, Hampshire Constabulary (who she worked for for 11 1/2 years). The Misconduct meeting was on 4 December, she lost her case, has appealed and the person considering the appeal has requested extension until 25 January. There seem to be good grounds for taking this to a Tribunal but my daughter says she doesn't think she is strong enough to put herself through a Tribunal. During the 4 December meeting, some information came to light that seems to suggest that my daughter may have a case against her (now ex) employer for personal injury.

To re-cap - she was off work sick with a diagnosed form of repetitive strain injury (a trapezius muscle disorder), was about to return to work when on 8 May she was charged with misconduct (it was alleged that she was aggressive and rude to two civilian employees (PSI's) who were investigating a criminal report I made on 11 February). Her return to work was delayed because of stress caused by the Misconduct allegation, and again when on 19 May she came into possession of a report that one of the PSI's wrote about her calling into question my daughter's suitability for employment in her job as a 101 enquiry officer dealing with members of the public, and also expressing the opinion that she caused the 11 February incident.

When my daughter returned to work on 22 June on reduced hours, she was completely unable to do her job. She couldn't even pick up a telephone (says she couldn't get out of her head what the PSI wrote about her) and asked three times on 27 & 30 June and 2 July for temporary transfer to another department to help her get back to work. Further requests were made in letters in August & September. Her requests fell on deaf ears and she hasn't worked since 27 June - given that at work she had breakdown after breakdown and her GP said it was the work situation that was causing her to be unable to do her job . At the 4 December meeting, it emerged that temporary transfer to another department was reasonable under the circumstances, that there were suitable vacancies, that her overall manager (a police inspector) had blocked the transfer and that supervisors and the HR investigator who pursued the Misconduct claim also knew that she had asked for and been refused temporary transfer. It further came to light that the only valid reason for refusing the transfer request would have been if she was not performing up to standard, and that her stats prove she was one of the highest and best performers at the job.

It does not make sense that her employers were pursuing Misconduct proceedings wherein she was said to be unfit to do her job, that she asked for temporary transfer to do a different job, and that the police inspector who was the person who ultimately sent the complaint to Professional Standards dept insisted on keeping my daughter in the job that she was alleged to be unfit to work in. In the event, my daughter could no longer do the job, could not see a way that she could ever go back to work in that department and resigned.

Can anyone advise please?

Thank you.

Ok, was your daughter working for the police as civilian? What was her job type, ie give me enough information where i know the type of role she did. It sounds more clerical type job. What personal injury are you alleging, is it the repet. strain? There are potentially several issues here: disability (if it were a disability) discrimination; actions in tort for personal injury (in court ..so compensation is likely beyond £25,000); claims for tribunal claims unfair dismissal (limited to £25,000). Please type it concisely. The tribunal 25k may have changed. Why did she lose her internal claim (subject to appeal)? What reasons were given?

[Guest]

Re: Personal Injury caused by employment conditions?

Police Civilian employee since June 2004, resigned 28 November 2015, now unemployed since 29 December 2015. Job description at :
http://www.hampshire.police.uk/inter...s/police-staff

Alleging mental health issues - stress anxiety depression, as diagnosed by GP, since May 2015.
Between January 2015 and April 2015 diagnosed trapezius muscle disorder (a form of repetitive strain injury to neck, shoulders, upper back) apparently caused because of the requirement to sit plugged into and using computer system including typing for 57 minutes per hour for nine hours per day (working rota of six days/nights followed by four rest days).

Force Enquiry Officer June 2004 to summer 2006
Police Controller Summer 2006 to January 2013 (diagnosed acoustic neuroma, forced transfer to FEC because of reaction to police radio)
Force Enquiry Officer January 2013 to December 2015.

Thank you

[Openlaw15]

Re: Personal Injury caused by employment conditions?

Police Civilian employee since June 2004, resigned 28 November 2015, now unemployed since 29 December 2015. Job description at :
http://www.hampshire.police.uk/inter...s/police-staff

Alleging mental health issues - stress anxiety depression, as diagnosed by GP, since May 2015.
Between January 2015 and April 2015 diagnosed trapezius muscle disorder (a form of repetitive strain injury to neck, shoulders, upper back) apparently caused because of the requirement to sit plugged into and using computer system including typing for 57 minutes per hour for nine hours per day (working rota of six days/nights followed by four rest days).

Force Enquiry Officer June 2004 to summer 2006
Police Controller Summer 2006 to January 2013 (diagnosed acoustic neuroma, forced transfer to FEC because of reaction to police radio)
Force Enquiry Officer January 2013 to December 2015.

Thank you

I note the last time she worked was June 2015, so it's beyond the 6 months period for making claims to the tribunal. Why haven't you sought advice sooner? Have you had advice off a solicitor yet? What was the nature of the misconduct allegations? ref: "aggressive and rude to two civilian employees (PSI's) who were investigating a criminal report I made on 11 February." I think the only alternative now is claim through courts, ie personal injury claims must normally be made in 3 years since the problem.

[Amethyst]

Re: Personal Injury caused by employment conditions?

She resigned the 28th November. Notice period to 29th December ( OP states employed to 29th December so not pay in leiu of notice)

At the 4 December meeting, it emerged that temporary transfer to another department was reasonable under the circumstances

she was still fully employed at that point ( although had resigned and was in notice period and hadn't physically worked since June as off sick - so think those dates want checking )

ET is 3 months ( except equal pay / redundancy which is 6 I think) - constructive dismissal ? ( I don't know about PI via ET which is probably where you are coming from @OpenLaw? )

PI would be 3 years ( negligence ref breach of duty of care ??) so well within time limits there ?

[Openlaw15]

Re: Personal Injury caused by employment conditions?

She resigned the 28th November. Notice period to 29th December ( OP states employed to 29th December so not pay in leiu of notice)

Good spot! I was too busy looking at the italic writing above and getting sea-sick ha ha

she was still fully employed at that point ( although had resigned and was in notice period and hadn't physically worked since June as off sick - so think those dates want checking )

ET is 3 months ( except equal pay / redundancy which is 6 I think) - constructive dismissal ? ( I don't know about PI via ET which is probably where you are coming from @OpenLaw? )

Either way, she's in time for tribunals. I don't think tribunal 25k would be adequate if she has claims for personal injury. Anxiety/ anxiety etc is probably a psyche damages claim itself. Her salary is 25k a year too - so loss of earning for however long she's out of work from her final pay packet. If she was not paid full pay during sickness periods, that's claim too. 11 year career too.. loss of promotion opportunities.

PI would be 3 years ( negligence ref breach of duty of care ??) so well within time limits there ?

This is just tort alone. Yep for negligence depending on whether the employer has breached their duty. In other words did the employer do all it could compared to an equivalent employer. Direct liability against employer and or vicarious liability, where the other employees breached their duties towards her, albeit the employer is liable (as the police's liability insurance will cover it)

[Guest]

Re: Personal Injury caused by employment conditions?

More info - sorry for omission.

Civilian Force Enquiry Officer - first point of contact for all 101 and 999 calls to police, offering advice to public on points of law, processing all calls received and forwarding to appropriate department, taking Crime reports, liaising with other emergency services etc (can't give explicit details because of Official Secrets Act). NOT an admin role, NOT clerical, although involves a lot of typing by direct-inputting.

The reason for the Misconduct is that a Civilian police investigator (PSI) (one of two who came to my house re a criminal report I had made to the police that was originally deemed assault on my daughter and public order on me) insisted there was no crime, that the incident was entirely civil. My daughter, with eleven years service, disputed the PSI's opinion, the PSI complained to her manager, a police sergeant, who advised her to write a report, which he then used to instigate Misconduct against my daughter. There have been major consequences for my daughter, who became increasingly distressed and completely broke down when interviewed about the Misconduct so a supervisor wrote a further report, again alleging my daughter's rudeness at a time when she was probably unfit through illness to be interviewed.

The reasons given for her losing her internal Misconduct meeting was that the PSI's allegations were accepted as fact, backed up by the additional supervisor's report - the implication being that my daughter (and I as a witness to events) were lying.

[Guest]

Re: Personal Injury caused by employment conditions?

Two Police Civilian investigators (PSI's) came to my house about an incident that police originally advised was being looked at as assault on my daughter and public order act offence against me. The lead PSI insisted that the matter was nothing to do with the police, was entirely civil. My daughter (whose job was to offer advice to the public on points of law) disputed the PSI's opinion. the PSI complained to her manager a police sergeant who told the PSI to write a report about my daughter, which he then used to invoke the misconduct allegation. For those conspiracy theorists, it seems as though the Sergeant's actions may have been a tit-for-tat response to a complaint I had made that the police were not taking the assault/public order offences seriously (which I have since found out was recorded as a complaint against the sergeant even though it was a general complaint about no one specific, and at the time I complained I had never heard of the sergeant.

Advice from a solicitor some time ago was that any case they take against the police was based on Article 3 Human Rights (freedom from torture etc) and in their opinion my daughter did not have a sufficiently strong case. It is fair to say that at that time the employment issues had not escalated as they eventually did.

She has been "advised" throughout by Unison who, in my opinion, have not been helpful - born out by their own helpline, which has informed that Unison reps don't like to take cases against the police. This morning she has received the below e-mail from her Unison rep, which downplays all that has happened and is nothing like the opinions that are coming through on this thread.

Re-engagement with the employer is a decision I cannot advise on it is a matter for you to decide on.
I am sure there are many factors to take into consideration. What I can do is remind you of the salient points:

Proving a case for constructive dismissal can be a difficult thing to do at an Employment Tribunal (ET) but not impossible.
Winning at tribunal can also be difficult. Typically I believe the figures from ET payout are around the £4000 mark this information is circa 2013/14 and is a figure for unfair dismissal claims. A claim for damages in a county court may present you with different figures which I cannot provide.

Medical redeployment cannot be ultimately guaranteed but is something I am confident maybe able to be negotiated.
It maybe the case that you would accept the following terms of re-engagement:

Medical redeployment to a similar role on the same scale without having to apply ( automatic placement)
A further OH assessment that you are fit for duty in a new role.
Employment record of 11 years continuous service to stand with all benefits allocated to that amount of service I.e 222 hours of a/l.

An apology letter from HR about the failure of procedure during your misconduct procedure.

Please note that these are terms I would suggest to ask for not anything that has been offered. That I would look to negotiate on your behalf.

Would you like me to engage on your behalf?
You do have some time to think this over but not a lot of time. If you can please make a decision by this Friday

[Celestine]

Re: Personal Injury caused by employment conditions?

Justace

I can't tell from reading where the blue text has originated from.

If you are being advised 'off thread' by Private Message, then I must advise caution, we do not advocate taking advice off thread as we cannot guarantee if the advice and support is appropriate or correct.

[Guest]

Re: Personal Injury caused by employment conditions?

Sorry, no offence or contravention of your rules was intended and if I'm able to, I will gladly delete the blue text.

I was asked if my daughter had obtained legal advice and responded to that question. Co-incidentally, the union that my daughter was a member of during her employment emailed her this morning and I copied that email into the response about whether she had obtained legal advice.

[Celestine]

Re: Personal Injury caused by employment conditions?

No contravention at all! Just checking that information had come from an external advisor such as a solicitor or union rep. Sometimes people get sent messages by Pm and we have to check that this is controlled, but doesn't apply in this case. xx

[Openlaw15]

Re: Personal Injury caused by employment conditions?

Justace

I can't tell from reading where the blue text has originated from.

If you are being advised 'off thread' by Private Message, then I must advise caution, we do not advocate taking advice off thread as we cannot guarantee if the advice and support is appropriate or correct.

Op indicates the source for blue text is via a Union rep

[Openlaw15]

Re: Personal Injury caused by employment conditions?

Two Police Civilian investigators (PSI's) came to my house about an incident that police originally advised was being looked at as assault on my daughter and public order act offence against me. The lead PSI insisted that the matter was nothing to do with the police, was entirely civil. My daughter (whose job was to offer advice to the public on points of law) disputed the PSI's opinion. the PSI complained to her manager a police sergeant who told the PSI to write a report about my daughter, which he then used to invoke the misconduct allegation. For those conspiracy theorists, it seems as though the Sergeant's actions may have been a tit-for-tat response to a complaint I had made that the police were not taking the assault/public order offences seriously (which I have since found out was recorded as a complaint against the sergeant even though it was a general complaint about no one specific, and at the time I complained I had never heard of the sergeant.

Advice from a solicitor some time ago was that any case they take against the police was based on Article 3 Human Rights (freedom from torture etc) and in their opinion my daughter did not have a sufficiently strong case. It is fair to say that at that time the employment issues had not escalated as they eventually did.

She has been "advised" throughout by Unison who, in my opinion, have not been helpful - born out by their own helpline, which has informed that Unison reps don't like to take cases against the police. This morning she has received the below e-mail from her Unison rep, which downplays all that has happened and is nothing like the opinions that are coming through on this thread.

Re-engagement with the employer is a decision I cannot advise on it is a matter for you to decide on.
I am sure there are many factors to take into consideration. What I can do is remind you of the salient points:

Proving a case for constructive dismissal can be a difficult thing to do at an Employment Tribunal (ET) but not impossible.
Winning at tribunal can also be difficult. Typically I believe the figures from ET payout are around the £4000 mark this information is circa 2013/14 and is a figure for unfair dismissal claims. A claim for damages in a county court may present you with different figures which I cannot provide.

Medical redeployment cannot be ultimately guaranteed but is something I am confident maybe able to be negotiated.
It maybe the case that you would accept the following terms of re-engagement:

Medical redeployment to a similar role on the same scale without having to apply ( automatic placement)
A further OH assessment that you are fit for duty in a new role.
Employment record of 11 years continuous service to stand with all benefits allocated to that amount of service I.e 222 hours of a/l.

An apology letter from HR about the failure of procedure during your misconduct procedure.

Please note that these are terms I would suggest to ask for not anything that has been offered. That I would look to negotiate on your behalf.

Would you like me to engage on your behalf?
You do have some time to think this over but not a lot of time. If you can please make a decision by this Friday

Start a thread for the criminal assault - as human rights and criminal assault is a different problem to employment issue. You do not have to as it is obviously sensitive information however. Nevertheless this should have been reported as a crime, depending on how sex assault is defined. Even touching clothing can be criminal assault under the 2003 Sexual Offences Act 2003. There is case law dealing with this. The Union in any event have duty to act impartially, they have their own lawyers on tap and have their constitution (rules for operation of the Union, remedies etc). A Union rep however who has dual role in the particular environment and representing the Union could give rise to a conflict of interest. The Union owes your daughter a duty, in short.

[mariefab]

Re: Personal Injury caused by employment conditions?

If the union rep could negotiate the medical redeployment suggested in that email it would be a very good result indeed for your daughter.

[Openlaw15]

Re: Personal Injury caused by employment conditions?

If the union rep could negotiate the medical redeployment suggested in that email it would be a very good result indeed for your daughter.

The problem is the daughter in question suffers with repetitive strain injury and if she were put in a similar role the injury will just exacerbate. It just depends what the daughter would like to do, she should not forfeit the 25k salary but she could do a role where she is not exposed to this injury type.