You could just say you tried, but didnt? There is no way to prove that, and if they tried, that would most certainly not be legal

"Can they do this, and could i be let go over refusing to try it?" - they can ask. You can refuse. Find your own treatment. If the absences go away, the problem goes away too.

@MansNotHot lying about it when this comes to an employment tribunal (as it is highly likely to do) would be perjury though.

In the UK it is illegal for an employer to discriminate against someone who suffers migraines.

Bradford factor is the most idiotic nonsense ever. If you have migraines during two weeks on Monday, Thursday, Tuesday and Friday, and I’m off for three weeks including these four days, Bradford factor says you are worse.

How long have you been with that employer? I.e. has it been 2 years?

I've added the written warning for this to the post above.

@ComicSansSeraphim I've been here for over 3 years now

At the meeting referenced in the warning letter, did you explain your absences? Does the ONLINE PORTAL documentation reference this? (I'm unsure how many meeting have occurred).

I did explain the absences to my manager at the time and they're all in our online portal here's an example from when i was off for 2 days. {TFISH} called 23/05 to advise has bad migraine and vertigo and unable to leave house. {TFISH} contact 24/05 advising still has bad vertigo from migraine and unable to attend.

You may wish to point out to them that 'alternative medicine' is that which has either not been proven to work, or proven not to work. 'Alternative medicine' that has been proven to work is called… 'medicine'.

@Tetsujin I said that during the meeting which was met with responses along the lines of "well it could work for you" and "its worth trying" which again i'm very sceptical of especially as it will come out of my pocket

Questiion: I am very confused, I assumed in UK law it would be iillegal to discipline an employee for being sick. Can you clarify the rules/policy that allow them to do this? Isn't it extremely illegal to discriminate against someone with an illness/disability?

@BenjaminGruenbaum UK gov site sites "You can be dismissed if you have a persistent or long-term illness that makes it impossible for you to do your job. Before taking any action, your employer should: look for ways to support you - for example, considering whether the job itself is making you sick and needs changing give you reasonable time to recover from your illness If you have a disability (which may include long-term illness), your employer has a legal duty to support disability in the workplace. Dismissal because of a disability may be unlawful discrimination."

Link to the reference used - gov.uk/dismissal/…

btw, mention to your neurologist - 'I wonder if it could be cluster headache rather than migraine' just to see what [s]he says.

@BenjaminGruenbaum To expand on the UK gov site - you cannot discipline an employee for genuine illness. You can in some circumstances end their employment "without prejudice" - for example, if a truck driver had a medical condition which meant they were no longer allowed to drive. However, the employer would first have to see if alternative work could be found for them - e.g. is there an open role they could do in the office instead?

@Tfish: Please explain, what do you understand when you say "holistic medicine"? I have the feeling that we have different understandings about it. I ask this strictly related to health issues, not the job conflict.

@virolino the only holistic medicine they specifically mentioned was acupuncture which out of all options is the only one i'd try but due to the costs are high and you need to attend multiple sessions. They kept pushing the "holistic medicine" as a whole and suggested i'd would need to research what i need.

Is there written documentation about them asking you to try holistic medicine?

@N.Virgo I've requested a copy of the minutes from the meeting, hopefully it's all on that

I've included the relevant part of the meeting minutes

@Tfish: i just read more about holistic medicine. Unfortunately, it sounds good (and theoretically should be the best approach), but reality is more on the disappointing side of the matters :( I hope you get better soon.

How do you (and your employer) define "holistic medicine"? I don't think there's a standard definition, and in some cases, it only means conventional modern western medicine that considers the whole person, not just the narrow set of symptoms that are the present concern. (It might include diet, exercise, mental health, environmental exposures, other medical concerns...)

It sounds like ultimately they're going to fire you unless your Bradford factor improves, whether you try holistic treatments or not. I'd focus on whether that dismissal will be legal or not, not the medicine.

As a sufferer of migraines since childhood I could not pass by without leaving some personal experience. As I child I visited many GP's, opticians and other specialists about migraines I had all of my life. Until much older in life I didn't realise I very rarely drink any water, I still don't ( I have water in tea/coffee obviously but not glasses of water ). I often go weeks at a time without a glass of water. I know realise that migraines were a symptom of dehydration for me, and sometimes due to tiredness). This may not apply to you but no specialist I saw ever asked am I drinking enough H20

The Bradford Factor should just be an indicator - the employer should then use common sense to figure out if a disciplinary is required.