Going On Holiday When Signed Off Sick

[Tickytocky]

AIBU to book a holiday when signed off sick from work ?

Huge backstory, but basically off sick with work related stress. Doctors note in place for 4 weeks. Desperately need a change of scene and some sunshine. Haven’t been off work for nearly 7 years. Haven’t had a holiday in 9 years not that that’s relevant (feels very relevant).

Would this be unreasonable of me ?

I was off sick with work related stress last year and my doctor said that of course I could go away and that it might be beneficial to have a change of scene. Being off sick does not mean that you can’t leave the house. I would go but not plaster it over your social media. Hope you feel less stressed soon.

It's being on holiday when you are supposed to be sick, not the trype of holiday! Ok, not everyone who is ill needs to lie on a chaise-longe having grapess peeled for them, but those covering your work may well be pissed off that you are well enough to arrange a holiday, pack, teavel, etc, when signed off

In theory, it should be fine. It’ll be beneficial for your mental health to go away. In reality, it’s going to depend on the environment, but you’re signed off with work related stress so I’m assuming it’s not great. Whilst they might not be able to do anything legally, the environment might be unpleasant, which upon returning to the office might make the situation worse. You know what has gone on, and you don’t need to disclose, but I think the reason you’re asking is because you know there will be tension on your return (if they find out).

I was off for 5 months a couple of years ago due to bullying from a new manager. I went on holiday at DHs insistence. I was an anxious wreck and kept wretching and being sick.
The break did absolutely wonders for me. I didn't post anything and although didn't keep it a secret didn't broadcast it either.
The manager didn't know about it but had sent me an email requesting a welfare visit right in the middle of when I was away. I said that wasn't a good time for me and pointed out that he was the reason I was off and therefore it wasn't appropriate for him to see me.

The point of this, is go and de-stress

I’m in HR too and one of the biggest employers in the UK has exactly that policy.

The OP doesn’t have annual leave booked and they aren’t cancelling a holiday due to sickness.

Sickness policies can require employees to be available for meetings. If they go away and aren’t available the employer can consider that not to meet the terms of occupational sick leave.

ETA - see the ACAS link someone has posted.

I was a manager handling sickness absences and we had a number of people off with stress or depression over the years. My view - and this is what I told them - was you are signed off work not signed off life. I always felt getting out and about or even on holiday was better than sitting at home stewing or staring at the same four walls. I hope you feel better very soon x

AIBU is not the place for accurate employment advice, as this thread shows.

OP, your company’s sickness policy will tell you what your employer expects of you.

Colleagues should be taking it up with the management who are not ensuring adequate staffing levels

Still unethical

That's a strong statement. What's unethical about taking active steps to improve mental health and reduce stress while on a mental health and stress related absence?

@mrsdineen2 Ok, maybe unethical too strong a word.
Nevertheless, not something i would do, nor anyone i know

Totally reasonable. I hope you have a great time.

Wowsers there are some really dark ages views about mental health in this thread.

😳

I wouldn't go on holiday if I was too sick to go to work. If your job makes you so sick spend the sickness leave looking for another job. Very unfair for colleagues having to cover for you while you're getting paid to go on holiday.

I did. I was off work with low mood and anxiety (certificated) and felt so shit I booked a holiday to the Algarve for a week. It was the October half term so my now ex and DD came too.

Go on holiday. It might help.

HR person here.

I went on holiday (happened to be booked prior to sick leave) whilst off long -term with work-related stress. In my case, it did me a power of good - it gave me time to think about what mattered to me in life and whether my job aligned with it.

I was open with work about what I was doing. I did post on social media. Colleagues who saw it were universally supportive and relieved I was managing to leave the house.

Provided you're still unfit for work with a valid fit note and meet the eligibility criteria, you are still entitled to SSP whilst on holiday. Occupational sick pay rules may differ (and could potentially be challenged at a tribunal as to whether they are unlawfully discriminatory), but even if your employer withheld occupational sick pay, they would still have to pay SSP if you were eligible.

Obviously if you were doing something fundamentally incompatible with the issue you were off with - e.g. you were signed off with a broken leg and off climbing Everest) your employer would have reason to question the authenticity of your absence, potentially via a disciplinary route. But your case doesn't sound like that, and a holiday will probably be therapeutic for you.

I went on holiday whilst recuperating from an accident a few years ago. I couldn't have gone to work - I was still on crutches - but that didn't stop me being able to go on holiday. I couldn't actually do much but it was good to get some sunshine and warmer weather and be able to use the pool for exercise. My physio and surgeon both said they thought it would be good for me. I did let my employer know and they were fine with it. Obviously if I'd plastered pictures all over social media of me water skiing or paragliding they'd have had something to say about but I wasn't doing anything like that! Being unfit for work doesn't mean you have to be housebound and it's almost always beneficial to be as active as you can. I can't honestly remember if my employer's policy was that I had to tell them, but even if it wasn't required I felt more comfortable knowing it was all above board. It meant that if anyone thought I was up to no good and decided to report me nothing would come of it as it had already been agreed.

Is it permissable to go on holiday if you are signed off from work if you are physically unwell? My husband, for example, has a condition that causes him significant back pain and I always assumed if he's signed off with it he wouldn't be permitted to to on a holiday?

Do it! Look at it as helping your healing journey

People will talk but that's because they want to think you are sitting around being sad.
Go on holiday. Live your life, you only have one.

I wouldn't be posting it all over social media for your own sake when you do return to work, but if see no issue with this- it is guaranteed some of your colleagues would disagree, so if you are planning to go back probably wouldn't Facebook it to keep the future concern for stress down.

Why wouldn't you just take your holiday for once instead of dicking around with sick leave? :-S

Let HR know, and take the holiday. It will definitely help your recovery and you should be doing everything you can to get better - a holiday is a good step towards being back in “normal life” . Do not overthink it or worry about it. And don’t flaunt it!

Being on vacation during MH leave is actually a LOT better than taking it when you return to work. You can then use your annual leave to take say two afternoons a week off, so there’s less impact on your team and you can ease yourself back into work.

I had a colleague off work for 7 months, she was managing the team parallel to mine - so I was dumped with covering her work (not really my employer’s fault at first as HR had no idea she would just keep extending the GP sick note so they didn’t plan cover for months). She left me with a right mess because she hadnt been doing her job properly so that caused stress as she was trying to cover up.

I inherited her big mess, a team in crisis and was still doing my own job so I was knocking out 70 hours a week to fix what she had wrecked.

I did agree to it because I liked her, felt sorry for her MH, wanted her to recover and come back and see it would all be okay. As the months wore on she started posting SM about her “battle” with work related stress (aka being really a bit shit at her job and not telling our manager because she was too scared of being told off).

And then she comes back to work on full pay but only works four hours a day to help her readjust, does nothing much differently to show that she will manage things better and doesn’t even call and say “thanks for your help covering” and THEN demands to take two weeks holiday at our busiest time of year from her annual leave so she doesn’t get stressed again (blackmail).

I promptly quit without a job to go to and got a better job. I was wild with annoyance at her, she was utterly selfish and it didn’t occur to her what I must have gone through, sorting out her shit.

I really do have sympathy for MH - I’ve had plenty of my own struggles and I’m menopausal - but because now people use it as an excuse for being ineffective at work, and then flaunt their “struggles” like a bad of pride it makes it harder for people like you and me - good people, who want to do the right thing.

Take the holiday now, get better, return to work and look for another job which you can handle without getting stressed. That’s my advice.

I wish I had done this when I had burnout. I would have recovered better and faster than mooching around at home feeling stressed and sorry for myself. I wanted to, but the whole thing about booking it and spending money was too overwhelming at the time and I wasn't functioning well enough to go through with it. I would have been far better off lying on a beach in Spain. I would just keep it on the down low - no photos online, don't tell anyone at work, try not to end up with tan levels that could not have been achieved in your back garden.

I'd seriously question the legality of a clause like that.