To think my manager should have contacted me ?

[CondensedMilkSarnies]

I've been off work for a few months with a severe injury. I've heard nothing from my boss in all this time , although I have tried to contact them but they never answer their phone, I have also left messages.

I'm due back in on Monday and have just had a text from a random member of staff ( def not management) to say that my boss has asked if I can call occy health to make an appt. and then another couple of texts telling me that boss has told them about what work I'll be doing if I'm not fit enough yet to do my proper job .

I'm not very happy that a) my boss can't be bothered to contact me
b) they've discussed me with another member of staff

Over reaction or not ?

[RedHelenB]

A bit of an over reaction yes. Wait and see what happens when you are back.

[se22mother]

Is it possible that the manager 's own function is changing and ownership of the department has moved? Frequently happens in my industry

[LivingInMidnight]

I don't think it's an overreaction. Your boss shouldn't be discussing your health with someone else without your permission, I've had to ask the union for help with this before. Your boss should absolutely have been in contact with you, and if they needed to ask someone else to take over they should have told you. It's stressful enough going back without it seeming like your manager isn't interested.

[Ditsyprint40]

I don't think it is an overreaction to be annoyed. Surely they should have made contact/the effort to respond to you. And I wouldn't be happy with the contact now being made via text via another member of staff.

[Waffles80]

Excessive contact of someone who is signed off can be seen as harassment.

Maybe your manager is being uber-cautious?

[CondensedMilkSarnies]

I know my manager doesn't care about us staff, I'm just a bit annoyed that I've been discussed with a junior member of staff.

SE22 no change in management structure.

[JustSpeakSense]

I think you're overreacting a bit. If I were you, I'd be glad that they were preparing for my return and have given it some thought.

Wait and see how things are when you return, good luck for your first day back.

[CondensedMilkSarnies]

I was the one that emailed and asked if I needed to see
Occy health. I guess it's just confirmed to me that we are just a number at work.

[CondensedMilkSarnies]

I'm dreading going back and feel really anxious about it , this has made it worse. I'll have to have a word with myself I think

[LivingInMidnight]

I was in a similar boat in November. It'll be ok once you're there!

[Waitingfordolly]

YANBU I would have expected your manager (or possibly HR if you have it) to be in touch to discuss what you need and what you will be doing. Sounds like it's just generally crap though rather than anything personal.

[Iris65]

YANBU.
Managers are supposed to have regular contact if an employee is off long term unless there are reasons otherwise such as stress, mental health or harassment/bullying.
Your manager should definitely not have discussed your illness with anyone else either.
It is also good practice for the employee to have a return to work meeting before being plunged in. At this meeting or by email you could say that you were surprised to not be contacted and that you were disappointed that such an important part of your return was delegated to someone junior and that's you didn't know.
I work in education and the personnel management is very, very poor. I have been shocked by some the bad practice I have experienced.

[AmeliaJack]

Could it just be that they had a discussion as a team regarding workloads and the potential need for accommodations? That wouldn't be unreasonable or unusual. It also wouldn't explicitly be a discussion of your health.

Text messages is deeply pathetic though. You should have had an email or phone call from your boss.

Obviously going back to work is a big deal for you and you are naturally a bit anxious about it. Remember though, from everyone else's perspective it's just another day at work.

If you've been off a long time then you're usual work has been parcelled out between other people and to a certain extent will have become the new normal. A discussion about changing things again isn't unwarranted.

I hope you have a good day, please don't worry too much.

[Iris65]

YANBU.
Managers are supposed to have regular contact if an employee is off long term unless there are reasons otherwise such as stress, mental health or harassment/bullying.
Your manager should definitely not have discussed your illness with anyone else either.
It is also good practice for the employee to have a return to work meeting before being plunged in. At this meeting or by email you could say that you were surprised to not be contacted and that you were disappointed that such an important part of your return was delegated to someone junior and that's you didn't know.
I work in education and the personnel management is very, very poor. I have been shocked by some the bad practice I have experienced.

[CondensedMilkSarnies]

Thanks all, a team meeting would definitely not have happened ! My job isn't one where my workload would have to be shared with others . Hard to explain without saying what I do though but it's not office based.

[harderandharder2breathe]

Yanbu

Contacting you while you off is often avoided but certainly they should respond if you initiate contact! (I'm currently on long term sick, I speak to my manager to advise her when I get a new sick note, but don't hear from her otherwise. However when I had a question about annual leave, she responded the same day and sorted it out for me).

They certainly shouldn't be discussing your health with a random colleague and using them to pass messages to. You might be off with something you're happy to discuss which is fine but many people aren't and it's undoubtedly against all official policies.

[brasty]

Are you sure the manager is not signed off sick?

[CondensedMilkSarnies]

Def not off sick .

[AmeliaJack]

Ah, I see. It does sound poor.

Presumably (fingers crossed) there should be a meeting with HR as part of your return to work - I might be giving them some feedback on the process.

[alleypalley]

YANBU. Welfare meetings while off work are important, and at the very least a back to work interview should have happened.

[CondensedMilkSarnies]

And if they were off sick then why did they contact other member of staff and not me ?

Oh well , I didn't think I was part of the inner circle at work ( who get bought birthday and Christmas presents) at least I know for sure now

[brasty]

Because if someone is off sick for a while, someone else picks up essential bits of work. So in that case, I would not expect whoever was off sick to contact you, but whoever was picking up the work.

[CondensedMilkSarnies]

Fair point Brasty