Holidays/festivals whilst on the sick

That sounds like me actually. I would hyperfocus to shut out the noise and then get told off for not hearing someone’s phone ringing and picking it up.

I have ADHD and unfortunately get burnout on occasion. I’ve been trying to get noise cancelling headphones for years to no avail even though occ health say I need them.

Your colleague sounds autistic. That is almost the same issue my DP has. He has had time off work because he could not concentrate on his job due to the sounds around him... and he works from home. He would get frustrated and dysregulated, then burnout and take time off. He has since had an assessment with someone from his work who specialises in autism/ND (it took a long time to get to that point... he has been in his job for several years) and has been given noise cancelling headphones (which he should have been given a long time ago).
He also likes going to pubs and places that would be loud. But he is not trying to juggle that with working at the same time, and can leave if it gets too much.

I know of a colleague who needs noise cancelling headphones at work and is excused from working around a certain piece of machinery so gets to do easier tasks sat down( we aren’t in a factory) The stress from noise at work means they are off sick regularly on full pay with no consequences. but they regularly go to live concerts and football matches. I also know someone who’s lost their only child to suicide and are in absolute shock and in all probability will be off work for the rest of the year. Both are considered MH issues My point being there will always be those that play the system and those who need the lifeline of not being fired when they’re in crisis.

This type of post just makes people view anyone off sick with MH issues with an air of suspicion. Stigma is alive and well it seems.

The GP signs them off, and they are probably on a waiting list for CBT. There was a post on here the other day by someone with severe health anxiety who has to wait for 92 weeks for therapy.

After the first 7 days, yes. But, it is SO easy to get signed off for MH by a doctor! So when I say ‘self diagnosed’ - people are absolutely doing this, then going to their doctor and repeating the same thing to them. The GP signs them off as most don’t want to sit there and grill somebody as to the validity of their claims and then they get 6 months off on full pay.

The point I am trying to make is that it’s a very easy system to game and people do it, in spades.

Obviously that offends you and has hit a nerve but it is what is it, there’s no point denying that it happens.

That really depends on one’s job and whether the workplace is healthy or toxic. The ‘good honest toil’ thing is all very well in theory, but some workplaces can exacerbate mental health issues.

I went on holiday when signed off sick after my mum died suddenly. It helped me a lot. I was in touch with my headteacher during the week I was away (I was off for 5 weeks). She was really supportive. I’m very grateful for that.

That’s ridiculous!

I was off sick for a total of 4 months with burnout. You are not supposed to leave the house for the first 7 days Except for medical appointments. In reality people do go and shop etc as there is not constant surveillance on your house.
Once the 7 days are up, you can leave the house from 10-12 and then 14-18.
If you want to go out for a meal you must send an online request to the health service with the name and address of the restaurant.
After 6 weeks you can ask to stay out later. I got until 23:00.
There is always the risk that they do turn up at your door to check - normally instigated by the employer and if you are not present at a time you are not supposed to be out you have 3 days to explain yourself or your sick pay is stopped.
I wanted to go swimming and I had to get a note from my doctor that I was fit to swim.
If you are long term sick, you are summoned to the health service to explain yourself. I was then also sent to a psychologist. My last sick leave was coming to and end and I still wasn’t good and I was summoned again and ordered back to work even though my psychotherapist and GP did not recommend it.
It’s a bit brutal and I barely left the house and hardly spoke to a soul other than the check out staff at the local shops.
It was hard when I was a single parent if off sick and just had to risk it.

We don't know what kind of work she did, or what kind of event she was able to attend.

However, her employer and (presumably) occupational health - who were aware of all the circumstances - decided she was taking the piss.

Normally when off sick, you have a responsibility not to act in any way that might worsen your condition or increase the length of time you are unfit for work. Her employer might have felt that by attending the event she was failing to meet this responsibility.

This post makes me so sad. It’s so blinkered. You think someone who has been made so unwell by work that they are off sick should be sacked? And leaving isn’t easy, jobs aren’t easy to come by at the moment.

I have long term mental health conditions. Most of the time I am ok but occasionally I need time off. I want to just hibernate in bed but getting out and about is vital to my recovery. My health and recovery is not my colleagues business.

There seems to be a lot of judgement here without knowing all the facts. I have a friend who works in a school currently signed off by the GP due to stress caused by the job and the pressure from the headteacher. If she hadn't been signed off I dread to think what would have happened. Whilst off she is out and about because she's not ill but work has become untenable and she needed a break. She will probably leave but she needed that time away from the stress.
I also have another friend who posted pics of her husband fishing and out at the local wildlife park whilst they are both off sick. He's off because he's got a very aggressive form of cancer and they took the kids out between his chemo and she's off because her husband has cancer and has to be in hospital for his chemo, he gets a few days out between rounds if he's well enough.
To an outsider they both probably look like they are taking the piss.
I agree some people do play the system and take the piss but we can't assume everyone is.

That’s why there shouldn’t be long term sick payment for mental health - if you are well enough to be out having a good time then you are well enough to be at work in some capacity. If it’s the job making you “unwell” then they should quit / be sacked.

Eh?

So she had a broken leg and they thought she was putting it on?

Who do you have to ask? Your employer? The government? What do you do if you at a single parent? A carer for a relative? Who monitors your movements? Does someone watch your house? I have so many questions about how this can possibly be.

I'm longterm sick for some serious 'MH disorders' right now. I've taken my DC on holiday and away for the weekends - when I feel I able to leave the house and in a better place between sections and hospitalisations.

I also post these pictures on SM for several reasons. I want to be reminded that I can be happy by looking back on them, I am trying to pretend to others that I'm ok (people I don't work with don't necessarily know I'm off) - this is a trauma response. I want my DC to have access of pictures showing us happy as a family, in case my illness becomes worse and I kill myself.

There are other reasons too. None of which are of any business to the people I work with.

Social attitudes to sickness are bonkers. Honestly, I'm the first person to admit a certain percentage of the population are deceitful little toads, and they lie and cheat everywhere they go, including in the workplace. So obviously some people claim they're sick to get paid time off work when they're not. I've encountered them for myself!

But that said, being seen outside the house isn't evidence someone is fit enough to work! Last winter I called in sick for the flu. I think I spent most of that week sleeping (it's a bit of a haze tbh), but eventually I had to go to the corner shop for more paracetamol and soup. I spent two hours gearing myself up for the walk to the shop and I had to keep pausing to sit down on people's garden walls on the way there and back. I got home, took my paracetamol, and... went back to sleep.

So yeah, I left the house. But can anyone really delude themselves that I could have made it through a 12 hour shift? I'd have been present but I would have contributed nothing to the team except germs.

I would probably have thrown up in the work toilet, sat down to recuperate after vomiting and then fallen asleep on the floor.

They shouldn’t be posting and rubbing it in thee colleagues face who are covering from them
whike they’re off, they will encourage everyone to do it

That is why GPs issue fit notes... they can say you can do light duties etc.
On another thread, I said about a colleague who broke his leg (we were hospital porters) and was told he could still do his job in a wheelchair 😂imagine that... a porter in a wheelchair having to push patients in wheelchairs. This place is mad sometimes. That, or work "on the phones" (no such thing).

Depending on the job, you could do some work. As in, if she works at a gym, teaching combat won't be possible, but she could maybe do admin work. designing displays online etc.
I'd say OP that's it's also about the employers making adjustments where possible, so people can at least do some work, in line with physical/mental needs.
But I wouldn't want people to feel they have to stay home (unless infectious) when they're off.

Not when you are signed off sick from work.

As does work

Yep, I had a colleague/friend who had bipolar and was off with manic episodes. He was not safe to work where we did at all (kid's hospital), but he would be out having what would look like an amazing life outside of work. Total hell for his wife though.
The word at work was he was off "with stress", and that caused stigma etc too. They had no idea the real reason why.

My work wouldn't accept me into the office when I was past 20w pregnant and they don't want me in unless necessary now pre-surgery.

They don't want the liability of those more at risk! But also they genuinely don't want to create health issues in their staff by bullying them back when they should be healing.