Holidays/festivals whilst on the sick

Right here:

'Ranging from mental health walks'

Oh the work police ..the worst kind of gossip.

Thanks. My old boss was an absolute knob.
I could have and should have got him fired for the way he treated me.

This is absolutely awful. I’m glad the tribunal (obviously) threw it out but how stressful for you.

I was off sick with MH issues... and I was reported to my boss after being seen in a pub "smiling", and my boss hauled me up in a tribunal as they considered I was not "depressed enough" to be off sick because I was smiling in a pub with friends.
It got thrown out. I was an inpatient at the time, and my friends took me out to a pub for a change of scenery.

You're upset because your colleague, who is off sick because of poor mental health, is going on a walk specifically to improve their mental health?

Exactly.

A management problem. The sickness, the understaffing, the non management of employees who take advantage. All management problems.

Hating the individual and following their exploits on social media wont make a jot of difference to the OP's situation. OP has a management problem.

When my husband was off sick for almost six months after major, major surgery with complications he went out for walks - long walks with a coffee shop in the middle - most days after the first 6 weeks back at home. Regaining his fitness was essential. There was no way he could have worked though - after a couple of hours out in the morning he would sleep most of the afternoon, and he was quite mentally traumatised by the whole thing too.

We went on a week’s holiday a few weeks before he returned to work, and visited family a few times.

All totally encouraged by his boss.

I know of someone who was off sick for mental health reasons. They felt that if they went out, and people saw them, that people would think they were well enough to be back at work.

There were times when they had no choice but to go out, and the people they bumped into didn't judge as they thought. They all saw going out of the house, and doing every day things, such as shopping, gardening, a meal etc as a positive step to feeling better.

I was told by a GP the benefit of walks and exercise on mental health. I also know of health boards that have put booklets together suggesting places to walk and things to do, specifically with mental health in mind.

I persinally have taken leave/been on holiday before, because I felt I needed it for my mental health. I knew I needed time to do things for me, and my mental health benefitted as a result. Neither time did I feel the need to be off sick, but if I hadn't put myself first and taken that time then that could have been the result. If others had felt how I did, I may have suggested they take time off sick.
If I knew of someone off ill for mental health reasons , and they had gone on holiday I would probably see it as them getting rest/relaxation, they needed. A festival, I may/may not feel the same way, but it is still a way people telex and enjoy themselves, which has positive benefits.

You have said you work in a school, but we don't know the job of the person in question. Being well enough to take part in normal leisure activities, is totally different to being well enough to be responsible for 20 + children at one time.

There will always be people that play the system, but i wouldn't assume that to be the case. Maybe I wouldn't be posting on social media what i was doing, but if they are not doing anything wrong, then they probably don't see wht they shouldn't.

I have a member of staff off on extended sick leave because of his mental health. It is costing me quite a lot to cover his post while he is off. However, when I spoke to him last week, I encouraged him to go on the holiday that he had already planned for next week prior to his sickness. I hope it will do him good and help to facilitate his recovery. I can't see that moping around at home is going to help.

How awful. I suffer with various mental health based illnesses, currently no longer working, and feeling trapped brings the symptoms on. One of the illnesses being agoraphobic in nature.

That sounds like you are under house arrest.

Are these lazy, feckless employees paid enough to care about their job?

You know what’s also a management problem? Lazy feckless employees who take sick leave in order to facilitate their social life.

Clinical depression is a fucking illness. So is severe anxiety. I never understood either until a family member got ill. It was fucking brutal. Their personality just evaporated. What was left was a physical shell, them, but not THEM. And no amount of "sort yourself out" speeches could help. They got fixated by noises, unable to do anything except focus on certain sounds. It was actually scary to witness, having known them all their life before they got ill. I wish people would stop using the terms depression and anxiety for normal life stuff. It makes genuine illness seem trivial. I dont know much about most things, but I can say that real mental illness, real depression or anxiety, is serious. And going to the park, or seeing friends may literally keep someone alive for another day. So don't judge.

So depressed people can't use a spa?

Tribunal waiting to happen.

Well they were talking bollocks .

When I was signed off with severe anxiety my GP actually encouraged me to go on holiday. YABU.

Mental health issue could mean stress, anxiety, overwhelm or that old concept of a ‘nervous breakdown’. It means turning up for a structured day of work, complex concepts, dealing with difficult situations and managing people or children is just not possible and makes the situation worse.
Taking time off from these things that trigger the reaction is why they’ve been signed off. To recoup, get physiological support and build up their capability.
It doesn’t mean they aren’t capable of or should avoid events, exercise, activity or socialisation. In fact those things would help immeasurably.
Their sick leave is their business. You don’t know what else they are going through. If you are short staffed that’s not their issue but managements.

I was in hospital for two weeks and in my second week now at home with a respiratory problem and have been told to try and walk as much as possible to try and improve my lung capacity. I have not been fit for work.

I knew of someone years ago who was dismissed from their job for posting pictures at a spa whilst off sick with depression.

They ended their life a month or so after that.

You really don’t know what people are going through based off of pictures alone.

A colleagues dad died suddenly, it was awful. She was called home from work, we all heard her mum through her phone. Had about 6 weeks off, kept extending it after the funeral to 8. Came back all bouncing with stories of dates she’d been on, a couple of one-night stands etc. Everyone deals with grief in different ways but we thought it a strange thing to broadcast after bereavement leave.

Her employer probably thought (quite reasonably) that if she could get herself to a community event, she could get herself to work (with reasonable adjustments if needed).

I have an office job and can WFH but I’m not going back until I’m ready and have the all clear from my consultant.
I’m only a week post surgery but already very mobile so will be socialising out in my village as part of my recovery!!

I guess if someone's work place is causing their mental health problems then anything other* than work will help.
I wouldn't have the audacity to post pics of me getting pissed up at a festival.

I wish we could say MH problems/issues, not just "off with mental health" - we all have mental health