Sickness during Guards Probationary Period… now possible personal injury claim?

[Stigy]

Thank you for your reply . Actually I wasn't wearing safety shoes but this is because although I ordered them through my depot manager months ago they have not been delivered, so I haven't been issued any yet. My depot manager is chasing it up so I am kind of hoping they won't pin that on me ☹️

Hi Samma,

To be honest, the footwear shouldn’t really be an issue as long as you didn’t injure yourself at track level, where footwear makes a big difference. If it was on the track or between the track and the train, sensible footwear would suffice anyway (so just no Nike Airs or Flipflops). Looking at this from a rep’s point of view, if the company came in to a meeting and tried citing your footwear as causal to the incident, I’d see it as clutching at straws frankly, UNLESS, there was a reason why footwear was vital (route learning, I’m assuming you were probably walking on platforms or between platforms and trains…..no different to if you were a passenger).

The main concern here is say would be your length of continuous employment (assuming it’s 4 months since joining the company and you weren’t already employed by them prior to this job). As you probably know, under 2 years (hopefully to change soon) your rights are very limited to literally only having Equalities Act 2010 rights (discrimination/protected characteristics), so it is easy to dismiss an employee without much warning or reason.

As others have said, take advice from your RMT rep and go from there. Generally the railway don’t just want to get rid of people they’ve paid to train. Good luck!

It may be worth a different thread but, with all due respect, there’s nowhere near enough information here to say whether your particular situation will be relevant to the OP’s position, and of course it will also come down to individual employers, managers etc. No two of these scenarios are ever identical!

He had a point to be fair, in that within a probationary period (or within 2 years in general) working rights are pretty limited to take in to account the Equalities Act 2010 only. We don’t really need much background unless there’s an allegation of discrimination contrary to the EA 2010. That’s sadly the way it goes, but hopefully will change soon.

 

[samma]

Looks,w I'm pop Matt

Hi Samma,

To be honest, the footwear shouldn’t really be an issue as long as you didn’t injure yourself at track level, where footwear makes a big difference. If it was on the track or between the track and the train, sensible footwear would suffice anyway (so just no Nike Airs or Flipflops). Looking at this from a rep’s point of view, if the company came in to a meeting and tried citing your footwear as causal to the incident, I’d see it as clutching at straws frankly, UNLESS, there was a reason why footwear was vital (route learning, I’m assuming you were probably walking on platforms or between platforms and trains…..no different to if you were a passenger).

The main concern here is say would be your length of continuous employment (assuming it’s 4 months since joining the company and you weren’t already employed by them prior to this job). As you probably know, under 2 years (hopefully to change soon) your rights are very limited to literally only having Equalities Act 2010 rights (discrimination/protected characteristics), so it is easy to dismiss an employee without much warning or reason.

As others have said, take advice from your RMT rep and go from there. Generally the railway don’t just want to get rid of people they’ve paid to train. Good luck!


He had a point to be fair, in that within a probationary period (or within 2 years in general) working rights are pretty limited to take in to account the Equalities Act 2010 only. We don’t really need much background unless there’s an allegation of discrimination contrary to the EA 2010. That’s sadly the way it goes, but hopefully will change soon.

Thank you for taking time to reply .
I know I don't have many rights , I'm just hoping they behave decently but I guess it'll all come down to the severity of the damage to my knee and the recovery time and I won't know that until the MRI is done .
I have joined the union now so I'll speak to the next week ☺️

 

[samma]

Hey , thank you for everyone who took time to reply !
Well after 4 months I am finally back and have just finished my route learning . I did completely rupture my ACL, tore my meniscus and had severe bone contusion...I don't do anything by halves !
I did manage to keep my job although it was touch and go , luckily the union brought up the fact I may not have had the accident if I had been issued with the correct safety footwear . I just wanted to update you and thank you for all your replies , it's really appreciated ☺️

 

[Stigy]

Hey , thank you for everyone who took time to reply !
Well after 4 months I am finally back and have just finished my route learning . I did completely rupture my ACL, tore my meniscus and had severe bone contusion...I don't do anything by halves !
I did manage to keep my job although it was touch and go , luckily the union brought up the fact I may not have had the accident if I had been issued with the correct safety footwear . I just wanted to update you and thank you for all your replies , it's really appreciated ☺️

Thanks for the update, glad it all worked out for you!

 

[AverageJoe]

Hey , thank you for everyone who took time to reply !
Well after 4 months I am finally back and have just finished my route learning . I did completely rupture my ACL, tore my meniscus and had severe bone contusion...I don't do anything by halves !
I did manage to keep my job although it was touch and go , luckily the union brought up the fact I may not have had the accident if I had been issued with the correct safety footwear . I just wanted to update you and thank you for all your replies , it's really appreciated ☺️

Great news

 

[Horizon22]

Hey , thank you for everyone who took time to reply !
Well after 4 months I am finally back and have just finished my route learning . I did completely rupture my ACL, tore my meniscus and had severe bone contusion...I don't do anything by halves !
I did manage to keep my job although it was touch and go , luckily the union brought up the fact I may not have had the accident if I had been issued with the correct safety footwear . I just wanted to update you and thank you for all your replies , it's really appreciated ☺️

That's a good outcome.

Hopefully you have the correct safety footwear now then?!

 

[185]

Good to hear this has worked out. An accident at work should never be considered sickness or employee caused.

 

[I_am_Nobody]

Hopefully you have the correct safety footwear now then?!

Knowing the Depot Admin, I darn well hope so! I’m surprised that the correct footwear wasn’t ordered by depot in advance… then again, standards at said depot have slipped in the last few years. It’s a shame.

 

[greatkingrat]

Good to hear this has worked out. An accident at work should never be considered sickness or employee caused.

Saying accidents are never the fault of the employee is just as ridiculous as saying they are always the fault of the employee.

 

[185]

Saying accidents are never the fault of the employee is just as ridiculous as saying they are always the fault of the employee.

Well.. erm.. that implies it's probably not an accident then?!

 

[samma]

Hey I'm after a bit of advice . I had a serious accident at work last year , I'm back at work now but unfortunately because of my injury I don't know if I'll be able to continue in the role of a guard . I am now thinking of making a claim against my toc for my injury . I work for SWR and I am not sure if I'll have to do this before we are renationalised, I wanted to wait to see how things pan out but now feel a bit pressured.
Has anyone else made a claim , is it an easy process ? Unfortunately I wasn't in the union at the time of my accident as I'd only just joined so I'd have to do it on my own , thanks

 

[greatkingrat]

I think this is something that needs legal advice. You should be able to find a firm that will offer a free initial consultation before committing to proceed further.

Just to note though, that having an accident at work doesn't automatically mean the company are at fault.

 

[AlterEgo]

You need to get legal advice. Be mindful that you are not anonymous here and your employer and probably your management are reading this and know who you are from your story. Do what @greatkingrat says and find a firm that offers a free consultation.

 

[PupCuff]

Hey I'm after a bit of advice . I had a serious accident at work last year , I'm back at work now but unfortunately because of my injury I don't know if I'll be able to continue in the role of a guard . I am now thinking of making a claim against my toc for my injury . I work for SWR and I am not sure if I'll have to do this before we are renationalised, I wanted to wait to see how things pan out but now feel a bit pressured.
Has anyone else made a claim , is it an easy process ? Unfortunately I wasn't in the union at the time of my accident as I'd only just joined so I'd have to do it on my own , thanks

You have three years from the date of injury to bring about a personal injury claim. Whether or not you're in the union is broadly irrelevant aside from the choice of legal firm, there's not any dodgy deals go on behind the scenes between union reps and claims handlers that would give an increased chance of settling.

A personal injury solicitor should be able to give you legal advice based on the specifics of your case. Employee claims aren't uncommon, some have merit and succeed, others, significantly less so.

 

[Towers]

I would consider whether redeployment to an alternative role on medical grounds might be an available option first, if you have not already done so, and then perhaps decide whether you feel that a claim for compensation is still something you wish to pursue. It’s very common for TOCs to look at redeploying those who cannot continue in a frontline role for medical reasons, an obvious suggestion in your case might be a role in a ticket office, for example.

 

[samma]

You need to get legal advice. Be mindful that you are not anonymous here and your employer and probably your management are reading this and know who you are from your story. Do what @greatkingrat says and find a firm that offers a free consultation.

Thank you for your reply , perhaps I should have posted anonymously

I think this is something that needs legal advice. You should be able to find a firm that will offer a free initial consultation before committing to proceed further.

Just to note though, that having an accident at work doesn't automatically mean the company are at fault.

Thank you ☺️