To ask if any NHS HR on here can help

[Perijobwoes]

I am perimenopausal. I get terrible brain fog. HRT helps but I may need to come off it for health reasons.

I am petrified I’ll lose my job if my brain fog returns. Im the main earner. DC still in school.

What’s the process if someone can no longer perform their role? Would I be redeployed? I could manage an admin job but would I maintain my current pay? Or would I have to leave? I have very supportive management but I know I am not doing as well as I used to and if I have to come off HRT and the brain fog comes back I’ll be worse still. No one is at risk BTW - I’m not a Dr or nurse.

NHS Manager here - also perimenopausal. Brain fog is horrible - so is anxiety about brain fog. There are now good supportive policies in place for women going through peri/meno - please ask your manager or have a look on the intranet. Speak up so they can support you and make reasonable adjustments to help you. Also, try and drink 3litres of water a day - this has really helped with mine. Make sure your brain fog is documented as a real medical condition in the first instance as they have to support you with this. If it got to the stage where it was so awful you could not do your job and they had tried all supportive measures, then redeployment may be an option but that would be very extreme. Good luck OP - sending hugs xxxx

Hi OP

I work in NHS and have recently just gone through OH.

I have mental health issues quite bad. Management really supportive. OH adviser was external but nice.

They've let me reduce my hours so gone from FT to PT. You can only make 2 requests per year to change your hours.

I have regular meetings with line manager.

They referred to OH as a supportive measure.

What are you worried about? Are you in trouble in work with your performance? Or is your question a what if scenario?

Thanks so much for the advice and solidarity. I’m terrible at drinking at work so that’s something I can do. Hugs back. 😊

Sorry to hear this. I’m glad you feel supported.

I am already part time and can’t afford to be more part time.

I haven’t done anything wrong. I have my review coming up soon and I'm not worried about that. It’s more the worry of coming off HRT. My brain likes to know the worst case scenario and then have a plan for it.

I hope your mental health improves. It’s a fragile thing and so easy for our mental health to be depleted 💐

These menopausal symptoms are (a) temporary anf (b) legally classified in the same way as a disability for employment law purposes.

They can't sack you for being menopausal but employers do have the right to manage people out of positions that their dusability means they actually cannot perform. However the sharpness and capacity of your brain will return when your hormones settle down so if they start talking about redeployment to a role with lower demands make sure it's planned as a temporary secondment with your existing role kept open for you (filled on a fixed-term contract) so that you can come back when you are ready.

That’s really helpful. Thank you.

It seems quite extreme that your brain is so effected even on HRT. Are you sure your symptoms are due to the menopause? Has everything else been discounted?

Yes thank you.

I did think back to a particularly incompetent admin worker I once worked with and it was so hard to get rid of her, but her managers were taking steps towards that. I just don’t remember what they were.

Capability proceedings?

You sound like you'd be willing to work with them, if it came to it, though, which is a much stronger bargaining position.

Get your full bloods and health check done now in case there is an undiagnosed deficiency contributing to the symptoms.

From my experience (hr nhs) I have only known of us to support and find alternative ways of helping.

you will be expected to bring some sort of outcome to the table too. So have a think

you have to continue to get that support from your GP too.

Thank you. I know my manager will do everything to keep me because she knows I’m dedicated and hard working and under normal circumstances do a really good job. She’s also the same age so gets it. So from everything you and everyone else has said I feel reassured that it would be unlikely that I’d be managed out. It’s more likely to be me that decides I’m not worth the money and goes - but I’ve given my entire adult life to the NHS and always worked over and above and always set my standards high, so I think it might be ok to be a bit meh at my job for a while. Until I’m through this quagmire!

How are you doing OP