Hi Naomi ,
that is a bit of an odd situation and it is good that you have a Union to use .
Maybe an odd situation if the interviewers already know your History ... however i would imagine that they would still have to use the Equality Act 2010.

See here Direct.Gov...recruitment questions

This basically means that they cannot ask questions about your health or disability until you are offered a job or are in a pool of people to be offered a job.
Have a look at the link above and if nothing else , it will give you a guide for questions to raise with the union.

With regard to ill health retirement , as you know from posts on here it is a nightmare to get , so might not be an option anyhow, and in this current climate of benefit cuts , you might not be considered disabled enough to qualify for any help in the future .

Good luck with this and obviously let us know how it goes

Rich :)

Hi Naomi

Sorry to hear about your work situation.
I was redeployed within local government as I had been of sick for 6 months and I was unable to carry on in the job I was in. I was encouraged to apply for any jobs that I thought were suitable and I did eventually get another post where I remained very happy for 7 years. When I spoke at a later date to my then manager she told me that if you are a re-deployment candidate they have to interview you and also have to have a very good reason for not appointing you.
I wish you all the best with your future and I know as Rich has already said that ill health retirement is not easily attained.

Sue

Naomi

It is a dilemma on what you should do. For me personally, my job keeps me from descending into depression. I have a purpose to get up in the morning (ok sometimes I have to drag myself out of bed) but I think my health would deteriorate and I certainly would not be so mobile.

I think the biggest thing I would consider is, what if I suddenly started making a big improvement on medication and I had given up my job? Would I regret giving up a salary and a better pension? Would I be able to get another job if I were well enough to work again at a later stage?

As previous posts have said, they cannot take your health into consideration when interviewing. If your management team do know about your health issues, I expect they will be falling over themselves to make sure you do not get discriminated against, otherwise you have a case against them. If I were you, I would see what happens and what they offer you rather than jumping the gun and going for ill health retirement. Do not underestimate your capabilities. O.K. you may be lacking in the physical skills but I am sure your mental skills can be put to good use and you may find a job you really enjoy.

Keep us posted.

Take care

Jackie
xx