Unfair treatment

[Craig Wells]

I applied for some training at work. The only 2 things that disqualified you from applying for the training was 1) You must have worked for the company for more than 1 year. 2) You could have no formal warnings on your file. I thought great i can apply. I did. Unfortunately i was not selected to receive the training and so i asked for feedback to determine what i might need to do better next time. I was told i did not qualify for the training because i had in the past sent out some e-mails some of the support staff did not like and it was not fair on them being paid only minimum wage to receive such e-mails. Ok due to my mental health issues i do sometimes get overly frustrated in e-mails i write but at no time have i ever used foul language or anything abusive. Mostly it is asking why something takes so long and why it cant be done now. It is just frustration that i don't write down very well. I have had mental health issues since 2014. At a point in 2015 i was seeing a psychiatrist as i was hearing voices etc. I have since started to try and live more with my problems rather than bother the doctors etc. I do still take medication daily as i have done for over 4 years. My condition just sometimes gets me so angry and frustrated i don't always know what i am writing is wrong in some peoples eyes. I say some people as others have said they see no wrong in my mails. This is the problem i feel after qualifying under their only 2 conditions that i was then refused on the grounds of previous e-mails. Something that was not in their conditions or maybe counted for everyone else. they probably only had to pass the 2 conditions. Not once was i told in the feedback it was due to ability just due to previous e-mails. I know exactly what was said as it was by telephone and my telephone records every call for me. I set this up so i could listen to conversations again sometimes to totally understand what has been said. I cant always remember things well. I am not sure either if i had to to or if i did tell my employers about my condition when i started work. I felt i would never get a job if i did. But not 100% sure if i did tell them. Either way i still feel they have done me wrong and not selected me for training just because i have difficulties sometimes communicating. I have worked for them for over 18 months and never taken a day off sick with my mental health. This is the way they repay me. Anyone got any advice on what to do?

 

[MBE2017]

If you have mental health issues, hearing voices etc and have been on medication for several years, I think you need to prioritise your problems. There should be no stigma in admitting such problems, though I can understand why you might have thought to do so to your employer might have prevented you from securing a position.

So, rather than feel to annoyed and angry at not having been selected, ask how your employer could have allowed for such problems in your life if they are totally unaware of your condition?

Only you can make the decision on whether to reveal to your employer your problems, if not all you can do is to try to improve in the areas you have highlighted, and make an apology to any staff if felt necessary for the tone of previous emails.

Once your employer sees you in a different light hopefully your consideration for such future opportunities will improve.