hi. my doctor has signed me off for two weeks with anxiety. on the very first day missed they have referred me to occupational health which seems, to me, to be very heavy handed. i became ill during holiday so got a medical certificate and sent it in quickly so they had advance notice and warning.
i have done some online research and it does seem to be unusual. i received notice of it (without a reason though) in the post along with a form for me to sign to a) release access to my medical records and b) agree to being referred. i'm not keen to do either of those things.
i emailed HR and asked for clarification as to whether it was standard practice for them to refer to OH on the first day of certified absence and if not to please explain why they had done so in my case as i was trying to understand. i also asked if they could clarify whether i was legally obliged to release access to my medical records as the letter was unclear and i didn't honestly feel comfortable to do so given i have only been off a couple of days and am seeing my own GP again next week and will know more then.
no reply thus far so i'm thinking it's alerted them to the need to cross t's and dot i's. i did think it was unlikely they'd actually be willing to put in writing that they've referred me so quickly and that it clearly is not standard practice for them - don't suppose you get to be a HR manager without understanding the implications of doing that.
any advice would be gratefully received - am i obliged to release my records? how should i proceed in terms of documentation (will keep records of communications and am now thinking only communicate in writing and not on the phone)?
it has stressed me out to be honest. work was really stressful and i wasn't being line managed at all. i thought i was coping with it but i was waking up at 3am without fail and had started having random panic attacks and a constant upset stomach. being signed off was a bit of a relief in that i'd have time to relax, calm down, take meds and get on top of things. now instead i'm stressed out by what seems a really.... unconventional? heavy handed? response to a 2wk medical certificate.
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TheHoneyBadger · 26/02/2014 17:10
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