Major UK Award to Social Worker on the basis of Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity (EHS)

Early ill-health retirement’ and ‘Employment Support Allowance’ awarded on the basis of Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity (EHS)

Press Release 15th June 2022 Press enquiries to: [email protected]

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Sally Burns, a 59 year old social worker successfully won her appeal for early ill-health retirement and will now receive full pension due to disabling Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity (EHS).

Mrs Burns states, “I have worked in Health and Social Care for 35 years, supporting some of the most disabled and vulnerable members of our society and advocating to ensure their rights have been upheld. To have been on the receiving end of societal prejudice, discrimination, ignorance and misunderstanding, has been devastating. My career has been important to me and I’m disappointed to be having to retire early instead of working beyond retirement age as I’d planned. I am grateful to the doctors, other professionals and my ex-colleagues, who have been open-minded enough to take EHS seriously and who have had the courage to speak its message. It is thanks to them that I can move forward with greater security and hope.”

Mrs Burns was employed by her County Council, for whom she had worked for nearly 20 years. She is sensitive to non-ionising radiation (NIR), such as Wi-Fi and mobile phone emissions. When exposed she experiences dizziness, headaches, palpitations, sleep disturbance, vibrating sensations and sensitivity to noise and light. She feels pain in body areas which are nearest to the radiation sources, such as heat and pain at the ear from mobile phone use and abdominal pain from computer use. Her reaction is severe enough to have caused her to have to avoid using mobile phones and computers and to do what she can to minimise public exposures such as phone masts and public Wi- Fi / phone emissions. You can imagine how disabling that is in a society that has become so dependent upon use of these technologies in all areas of public life. She is disabled by Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity (EHS).

‘Reasonable adjustments’ were made in her workplace to accommodate her in 2017, but increasing dependency on electromagnetic technology (particularly increased during the pandemic in order to facilitate social distancing) rendered these adjustments inadequate to control her symptoms over time. Her initial request for ill-health retirement was refused, so she appealed this decision and subsequently won her appeal.

Although it was also initially refused, Mrs. Burns has now also been awarded Employment Support Allowance (ESA) from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

Read the Full Press Release With Citations Here