Fair independent Health Assessments for all

By John Wilson, 35 years, formerly carer at the British Home Hospital (BHHI) Streatham, London

I found your website via the Opel strike support. Being English, I live in Germany for good because I was prevented from working in the UK.

As a carer at BHHI I was employed there since 1996. In 1998, I had a bone cancer diagnosed and had an artificial shoulder inserted. After rehabilitation I resumed my work as a carer at BHHI in January 1999 without being off sick ever since.

I was a member of UNISON, but the union membership in BHHI was miniscule. Therefore, I acted as an employee representative when the nursing staff was not paid mandatory holiday enhancements (see Croydon Advertiser article at http://iccroydon.icnetwork.co.uk, type “BHHI“ into search facility).

This cost me my job. The BHHI suspended me as a response to my employee representative activities. Always having done activist causes before my operation, I had not learned yet that you have to keep your mouth shut when you have a disability. Although my sickness record had been exemplary, I was told I had to attend a health assessment paid for by my employer because I had a shoulder prothesis. At the assessment, I was only looked at and the doctor said she had already spoken to my employer on the phone. Upon that, I was found 100% unfit.

My Labour MP, Mr Geraint Davies, wrote to BHHI on my behalf, but regardless I was sacked on disability. Despite immense efforts, it was impossible for me to get another employment. The record of having been sacked for disability prevented any employer to take me on.

At the Employment Tribunal in 2003, I did not plead for compensation, just to have my job back, because of the difficulties to find a job with this reference. It was found lawful to sack someone with a disability because they can be considered a Health and Safety risk, regardless of how much sickness absence they have. Like in so many employer-friendly rulings, the case of Jones vs the Post Office was cited.

Therefore I had to move abroad, where references do not have the English importance and where the disability legislation is more in line with European law. As part of the procedure, my fitness to work was assessed in Germany by an independent mandatory body. The examiniation was very thorough (x-ray, ultrasound, lifting etc.) I was found 25% disabled. I am working as a carer on the community now.

To highlight the issues surrounding disability employment in the UK, I have put in a petition at the European Parliament. Also (with family backing) I have taken a Strasbourg law firm and in 2003 put in a case with the European Court of Human Rights re. breach of Human Rights for disabled UK citizens.

This is to set a precedence for British employee rights, particularly for those with a disability. This, after all, can happen to any of us. Currently, manually working people with a disability, chronic condition or weakness often have to conceal their disability for fear of losing their job. Otherwise they won’t be employed or lose their job and standard of living because they are declared Health and Safety risks.

I have had quite a bit of feedback from employees at BHHI and elsewhere about disability employment issues. The group of us are campaigning for

1) an employer-independent confidential detailed standard health assessment to assess fitness for work

2) Quotas legally binding for employers to employ a percentage of disabled people in their workforce.

Yours fraternally

John Wilson