Need Help: Medical Exception Return to Office

[dubdub123]

Ive had an incredibly stressful few months and will try to capture the key points here regarding reasons for looking for renote working

Almost 2 years ago I moved employment and the employer has an office based in the county that I live in and also another county approx 3hrs drive away. The office that my unit works from is the further away office (they were aware of my location when I started).

initially, there were no asks to return then over time there was an eagerness to return to the office.

At corporate level, in the US it was rolled out there initially but there was flexibility regarding the office and it appears to be ok to work in any office.

Our local management were ok with us taking a similar approach and one week of every month I would predominantly go to local office, and take one day in the further office.

My son then experienced mental health crisis (he was unable to attend school, waitlisted for CAMHS etc) and I obtained a short term exception.

At the start of the new year, I discussed options with then manager and while it was clear corporate would be looking at attendance it was more at a macro level. It also became clear that unless employees were in their assigned office for the full 5 days, they were not meeting expectations.

I had not been attending as I had to stay home when my son went onto SSRIs due to higher risk due to his age profile. There were really no concerns raised with me my my then or my current manager.

There is now a push from HR to get people back to their office and Ive received and email that Im not meeting this expectation and there will be ongoing communications and possible negative impact to performance driven bonus (and who knows what else).

Im under immense stress at the moment and had to go onto SSRIs due to the ongoing issues with my son. Im also neurodivergent - following from my sons journey I realized that Im also autistic and Ive completed an ASD assessment. Im now undergoing ADHD assessment.

At one point a few months ago, I had considered looking for a medical exception but being honest I was concerned that I could end up labelled and it could impact career move prospects, particularly if applying to local office. However now it seems like the most appropriate request and Im waiting to hear back from HR regarding id this is even an option still. My manager was not aware of this option and thought that HR were no longer taking exception requests.

Is anyone familiar with a process to request accommodations or exceptions? I believe that Occupational Therapy resource drives this. Whats required?

What (if any) are my rights under Disability act?

This is a large multinational and this push is across the board and I appreciate that it is not personal in any way. I have strong performance reviews from past couple of years and no concerns from manager, but this is being driven at a higher level.

Im extremely stressed at the minute and between anxiety and the extreme tiredness being caused by SSRIs there is no way I could do that trip for one full week out of a month.

Might i get an accommodation to either work remotely or alternatively work in my local office? Does that seem reasonable given current circumstances?

Because of the nature of this topic its nect to impossible to reach out to others within the company, that have gone through the process.
To be honest Im concerned this stress could result in a worse outcome where I become very ill and for mine and my familys sake I want ro avoid that.

Any guidance much appreciated.

 

[messyleo]

So sorry to hear of your situation. I think your best bet might be the local office as a compromise
If you ask for an accommodation this is normally something like "i need silence to work due to medical condition x" and Occ Therapy or doctor then typically confirm this. You might well see the solution as WFH but the employer could come back with "we will give you a separate office space - problem solved" - it is normally needs based so the accommodation addresses a specific medical need.
Also depends on the employer attitude whether they want to go above and beyond or play hardball
They only need to consider reasonable accommodations to the existing role, not redesign the role or change it, so depending on their attitude they may (or may not) try to manipulate this to their own advantage if it suits them

 

[Salvadore]

It’s probably necessary to distinguish between your employment rights and what one might otherwise hope would be the response of a reasonable employer.

To take the title of your post first, there is no legal provision for a medical exception of the type you’ve described. It is therefore an option administered by your employer and the terms of its application is therefore a matter for them. Your recourse to this may depend on how it’s expressed in the employee handbook or any other written material.

Regardless, there is nothing to preclude you from seeking an accommodation that would allow you cope with the domestic circumstances you now face. A reasonable employer should do do their best in this regard, particularly if you can show there’s no impact on productivity (you haven’t addressed this aspect in your post). You may need to provide medical evidence of why your presence at home is necessary and to otherwise provide the necessary assurances that productivity won’t be an issue.

You’ve raised the possibility that any compromise may influence how you’re perceived and affect your career prospects as a consequence. It sounds like this is a chance you have no option but to take but there may be steps you can take that would positively influence others’ perception of you.

In terms of the location of your employment, this should have been expressed in your contract. If it contains the fairly standard provision that you can be asked to work anywhere, it makes things more difficult.

However if you really want to pursue this (and/or your employer isn’t willing to compromise), you could submit a grievance under the company’s policy and follow it up with a complaint to the WRC. The basis would be that the company’s unilateral change to your working conditions is causing you avoidable hardship and that there is no operational benefit for insisting on the change they propose.

Given your preference to be positively perceived for career progression, this may be very much a last resort.