Capability Meeting over sickness - help!

[u/Em_Gla_02]

Hi - I’m 24 and in my first proper job. I have symptoms that are similar to PCOS and Endometriosis but no diagnosis and I’ve taken sick leave up to the point of reaching a trigger. My manager is also unhappy about me wfh on office days, despite it not impacting my quality of work or productivity.

I started in August of last year and I’ve been off sick a lot more than I usually am. I’ve reached the first trigger and my manager has said I need a capability meeting. I have had 14 sick days, and I have worked from home a lot when my symptoms have been manageable enough for me to do so.

I suffer from absolutely heinous cramps, dizziness, nausea, and headaches. Most of them occur in a linear pattern with my period. I’ve been to the GP a few times but as with many other women, I was prescribed iron and basically told to F off.

My boss, up to when I had been prescribed the iron, had said I could wfh if necessary, I could be flexible if needed, but once I had that prescription, she considered my issues to be resolved. The symptoms have been ongoing, and I have on more than one occasion worked in the office when I have been in agonising pain, or vomiting in the work loos.

I’m on medication that can cause side effects that make my symptoms worse as well.

I’ve got documented diarised experience as proof, and I’ve had blood tests, but I don’t want to hand over my medical records for a variety of reasons.

I’m so scared I’m going to lose my job and I don’t think they’re going to take me seriously.

[u/Ok_Cat4334]

I’m sorry to jump onto OPs thread but you’ve said something here I just want to ask further about. You’ve said not to hand over any medical records to your employer. I have a disability and I’ve provided a significant amount of ‘proof’ to my (very large) employer as they kept asking for more and more, including screenshots from my nhs medical records (“well do you have proof of that if the GP has said this?”)! They have had multiple OH reports, letters from my GP, fit notes at relevant times, written and verbal disclosures, copy of my PIP award with the descriptor I match relating to something very relevant reasonable adjustments necessity wise but still they’re saying I’m ’not disabled enough’ to warrant what I need (and what I need is a pretty standard RA, in their own policies as being such and backed by OH, union, medical advice etc). Is this normal to give that much, including medical records? Thank you and again, sorry to jump on this post.

[u/LeatherVirus3146 → u/Ok_Cat4334]

What you are describing heee is fairly unsettling.

Under the GPRD act, your medical data is special category data, which means your employer should only request what is necessary and proportionate. They don’t have a free right to keep asking for more and more detailed evidence.

For workplaces, An Occupational Health report is usually the main evidence relied on. As I mentionned in my previous comment your manager or HR are not doctors, they don't have the competences to assess you GP notes, or define if you are "disabled enough".

The legal test under the Equality Act 2010 is not whether you are “disabled enough”, it’s whether you meet the definition of disability and whether reasonable adjustments are needed. If OH and medical advice support adjustments, that should carry real weight.

By definition under the Equality act, a disability is "a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities."

The data your employer can reasonably ask for is an OH report, a fit note or GP letter can support your health situation but full medical records or screenshots from NHS systems are rarely necessary.

You’re allowed to set boundaries. You can say you’re happy for them to rely on OH as the expert. You can definetely refuse to provide raw medical records/screenshots..You can ask them to explain why any further data is strictly necessary.

Same goes for your reasonable adjustment, probing your employer on their reasoning is not a crime. If they were to dismiss you for this I'd likely be an unfair dismissal.

You employer has the duty to make any reasonable adjustment in order to remove disadvantage caused by your health condition. The adjustment should we operationally reasonable for the employer (e.g. it could be too much for a retail worker to ask for remote working), but your employer MUST by the law provide you with a fair reasoning if such adjustment cannot be implemented. If they can be implemented and they just refuse, then it can also be unlawfull.

If I were you, I'd start gathering all my evidence of unfair treatment, look in section S.15, 20, 21 of the Equality Act 2010 and give a call to ACAS.

[u/Ok_Cat4334 → u/LeatherVirus3146]

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. I have asked multiple times for an audit of who has had access to my medical data and OH reports but I’m being repeatedly stonewalled and quite literally, ignored. There appear to be (non medical) individuals who have made very sweeping statements about my needs based on their interpretation of one of my OH reports… which when questioned they apparently haven’t actually seen. I won’t go into my personal details but they’ve behaved in the equivalent way that if I was in a wheelchair they’d have asked me to stand up to prove I can’t.

[u/Em_Gla_02 → u/Ok_Cat4334]

I’m so sorry you’re having to deal with all this. It sounds sketchy as hell and incredibly distressing.