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Posted By halesowen Baggie
Say an employee becomes blind in one eye, employer asks for doctors certificate to say he is fit for work, doctor will not issue one, employee is 60s and VDU operator, also for a periods during the day a lone worker.
The company in question has stopped her from working on H&S grounds, he has took this to tribunal. Who do you think will win?
Thoughts please this is not my employer by the way. Ive been asked this.
Was the higher duty of care case Paris v Stepney borough Council I have not got my Diploma notes where Im working?
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Posted By Ghaam
is the company suggesting that the use of the VDU may make her blind?
What is the reason for not allowing the employee to continue working?
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Posted By halesowen Baggie
No the company is not saying the VDU will make the person blind.
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Posted By Martyn Hendrie
If her doctor is not prepared to state that she is fit to return to her current job I don't think they will have a problem provided they have acted reasonably. That would include looking for alternative employment, for which she is fit, within the company.
If she is genuinely not fit to carry on with her current job this is not an H&S issue but an HR issue.
The company could engage their own Occupational Health doctor and get a second opinion.
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Posted By Martyn Hendrie
sorry should be he not she
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Posted By halesowen Baggie
I have just spoke to the director of the company involved, it seems he has a degenerative illness that caused the blindness in one eye.
The guy has no problem with the employee coming back to work as long as the doctor says he is fit to do so.
It is that the employees doctor will not sign him off as fit to work that really worries him.
Somebody has 'blew' in the employees and now it is going to a tribunal.
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Posted By Dave Merchant
Problem is that the employee's physician presumably has a reason for not signing off, and unless we know the reason there's no benefit in discussing who's right. A GP doesn't want to keep a patient off work as it impacts on their statistics, so something is clearly going on beyond the info in the original post.
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Posted By Sally
I would be surprised if the lack of vision in one eye is the reason the doctor is not wanting to sign the person back to work. It is surprisingly common - I only see out of one eye and know lots of people who do.
the increased duty of care really only applies where there is a risk of eye injury - unlikely in a vdu/office scenario.
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Posted By Phil Grace
I am not aware on any statistics (for GPs) that count up how many people they sign off work!
There is a wealth of evidence that indicates the majority of GPs have no idea of what goes on in the "world of work". They spend perhaps 7-10 minutes with a patient. In that time they have to understand both their patent's condition AND what the patient chooses to tell them about the working conditions. It is really not wise to rely on a GP's opinion when it comes to assessing a persons ability to work. As has been said involve an Occ Health doctor who can talk "doctor to doctor" and determine whether the person is fit to work and whether any restrictions or modifications to the job/task might be needed.
Phil
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Posted By John Cook
I have read the various posts to the question but the one thing that confuses me is what appears to be a request from the employer asking that the person's GP declare them fit for work.
Is there a current certificate in force stating that the person should refrain from work or is it that the company are looking for the GP to certify the person fit for specific work?
If it is the second issue then surely the GP is correct in not providing such a certificate as that is not their role.
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Posted By Kieran J Duignan
The statement associated with the question raised confuses the HR issue of terms of contract of employment and the OSH issue of safeguarding from injury.
To the question 'Who will win?', an important part of the answer is exactly what the claim is and under precisely what law or regulation the claim is made. It's often easier to demonstrate breach of contract than personal injury.
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Posted By Fred Pratley
If the GP is signing this person off as unfit to work then any employer would be ill advised to ignore this advice.
If GP is not signing off AND is unwilling to declare as fit, a way forward would be to ask the RNIB to do a workplace assessment for which they charge. If results are in favour, send to G.P. and ask for a revised opinion.
RNIB will also advise if any special equipmento is appropriate which is heavily subsidised by the access to work programme.
Alternatively, get an Occ Health doctor in to give an opinion which will outweigh any GPs.
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