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help please any hr types? to do with my sick leave for anxiety and depression

11 replies

madmissy · 16/07/2009 18:09

i have also posted this over in mental health but perhaps better suited here.....


bit of background on me, sept/oct time alot came to boiling point with me and i have been signed off work since then with anxiety and depression.

i am now in the care of the out patients at my local hospital and therefore have a community nurse and a consultant.

i have also just today started anxiety management therapy for the next 8 weeks from aug i am due to start therapy with my husband and then whatever follows on from my anxiety therapy

i am reviewed every 8 weeks with my med certs so far and i am now getting employment support allowance.

i have today had a request for a meeting with work and the hr manager is to attend also. i am now really panicking about that.

does anyone have any idea what they are likely to chat about? i am only part time now since having my children and my sickness record over the last few years has obv not been great.

i am also now 17 weeks pregnant..

god i feel sick just thinking about it all i have feeling they will ask me to leave? my job is shift work and stressful i fully intend to go back to work as soon as i am straight (whenever that maybe )but dont think i can face that job im so confused

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RibenaBerry · 16/07/2009 18:22

Madmissy - does the letter say that it is a disciplinary about absence? How supportive are your employer generally?

If you have a good employer, and the letter doesn't indicate that the letter is anything disciplinary related, they won't ask you toleave. You can't do a disciplinary without notifying someone in advance what it's about anyhow. Most likely they want to chat about your condition, how things are going and how they can support you. They may also want to get a feel for whether you are likely to be well enough to come back before starting maternity leave (because, if not, they can plan round a longer period).

If it causing you anxiety, could you ring HR in advance, explain that the letter has made you nervous and ask what the meeting is about?

madmissy · 16/07/2009 18:28

thanks for replying!

well work can come across as caring and i used to think they were very supportive however i had lots of stress when i cam back after my first dd they refused me felxi hours and th it was hell.

i think that they will just ask again like you say what can we do to help but tbh nothing!

this is letter

Welfare meeting

Further to our email regarding arranging a visit to get an update on how you are and any progress.

We have organised a meeting for Wednesday 22nd July 2009 at 1515 in our Training unit.

You have the right to be accompanied at this meeting by a company colleague or a trade union official certified as competent to act in such a role, from a union recognised by the company.

Please contact the undersigned on * if you are unable to attend, alternatively we can make a home visit.

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CarGirl · 16/07/2009 18:31

it sounds as though they are fulfilling their duties to keep in touch with you and establish how you are etc. Try not to panick.

madmissy · 16/07/2009 18:39

ok.

stupid i know i just panic at anything at the mo

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madmissy · 16/07/2009 18:40

is that something that they can do though if i am going to be off for the forseeable future?

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hotbot · 16/07/2009 19:09

err they want an update on your progress, you need to look at your sickness and abs policy - even tho you are genuinely sick - most employers cannot afford to support your absences indefinately. i would personally take along your union rep so you at least have someone supportive with you.

flowerybeanbag · 16/07/2009 19:35

Do take your union rep if they are saying you can do that.

They won't be going to dismiss you at that meeting, don't panic about that.

However. You have been off continuously for 9 months, is that correct? If that's the case I am shocked and disappointed that you have not had any similar meetings already, to see how you are getting on, update on your progress and take steps to establish the short, medium and long-term likelihood of you being in a fit state to return to work.

Have you had nothing like this? No visits to or from Occupational Health? No requests for doctor's reports?

Long term it is perfectly possible to dismiss someone in these sort of circumstances, if all reasonable steps are taken to assist the person back to work but it becomes apparent that this is not likely to happen in the foreseeable future. 9 months is a very long time to be off continously and as hotbot says, employers can't support absence indefinitely, even if they are not actually paying you any sick pay.

Given you are 17 weeks pregnant, I agree with Ribena that they are probably wanting to take a view as to whether there is any chance of you coming back before maternity leave so that they can plan around that. I think they are unlikely to dismiss you while you are pregnant/on maternity leave anyway, most employers are rightly very cautious about taking any action like that in those circumstances, even where it is completely unrelated.

RibenaBerry · 16/07/2009 19:52

Flowery - totally agree with everything you've said. I didn't go into it because I thought most employers wouldn't touch the health issue with a bargepole with the impending maternity leave!

flowerybeanbag · 16/07/2009 19:58

I think that's right, the chances of them taking any actual action now madmissy is pregnant is slim, they are most likely to 'coast' to her maternity leave then deal with it as and when she is due back.

Particularly given they didn't seem in much of a rush to act before then anyway - if she's 17 weeks now she must have been off for months before the pregnancy even became an issue. Absolutely shocking management if they really had no meetings of this kind previously.

madmissy · 17/07/2009 09:22

yes i will have a union friend with me i think.

8 months now and i have had one other meeting where they came to my house and i have had occ doc about 6 months ago i was told that i was to have another meeting with the doc but that was about 3 months ago now and nothing

i was giving doc certs but they now goto esa for my pay from them

as for pg i have not given them the formal letter to say so yet but i guessing that it would have got back to them. i will hand them letter when i see them

im so wary of them wanting me to leave because after my maternity leaves previously they made it very difficult and drawn out as they could it was awful

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madmissy · 17/07/2009 09:23

and yes the pg side of things it was unplanned my AD's stopped my pill found out at 8 weeks

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