Off sick for years

[BoredandStuck]

Someone I work with has been off work sick for over two and a half years now. That seems a really long time without them being sacked or let go. Has anyone else come across anything similar or longer?

Depends what they are off with I suppose?!

I worked as a temp medical secretary in the NHS years ago covering a secretary who was on long term sick. Easiest job I have ever done, worked with a lovely consultant surgeon, he was an absolute dream to work with.

Now I can’t remember all the ins and outs as it was 20 years ago but from what I can recall, NHS allowed 6 months on full pay then reduced pay thereafter. She came back for short periods after she had been off for 6 months then did another 6 month stretch. She had been doing it for years apparently - claimed job stress. Why HR allowed it to continue is beyond me.

Yes, same here. It's never happened at any company I have ever worked for, someone being off sick for multiple years, (and in some cases, insurance that pays their salary indefinitely!)

As I said earlier, I am surprised that any insurance company would keep paying someone's salary for many years while they're off sick. I guess it depends what they are off for, but surely most insurance companies - and most employers - after a year (or maybe a year and a half) would review this, and if the employee showed no signs of coming back, they would surely offer redundancy (like pay them off as some posters have said.)

No insurance company I know of is going to happily pay someone's wage for multiple years. There are always clauses and caveats in insurance policies, like with pet insurance they only cover so much, and so many things, and only for a certain period of time. So it surprises me to hear of any insurance company happily paying out someone's full time salary indefinitely (so they can stay on the sick until they retire.)

I'm not saying anyone is lying or I don't believe them, I have just never known it happen. As I said earlier, when my DH was made redundant some 17-18 years ago, the insurance company (that we had our unemployment insurance with) did NOT want to pay out, and did everything in their power to not pay out.

.

The insurer will be DESPERATE to close the claim and some of their tactics are breath taking. Private investigators, trackers, hidden cameras, intrusive frequent examinations, compulsory appointments for spurious reasons, they try all sorts. If the claim still continues you can be sure that the case is bomb proof.

Exactly @Supportedinstep !!!

The poster saying that they're surprised that the insurers haven't investigated does not imply that she thinks it's a scam. Where on earth are you pulling that bizarre assumption from? She has no way of knowing either way if it's a scam, she's just saying she's surprised that the insurers haven't done further investigations, as insurers do.

How do you know that your team +1 is the right resource level for your work? Perhaps managers were looking to streamline and reduce the people in your team, recognising that fewer people are needed than was the case. This individual being off just proves that 🤷‍♀️. I guess if you don’t like the role any more, maybe it isn’t as cushy, perhaps look for a different role somewhere else? I’ve often had people be off ill, or on mat leave and role isn’t backfilled….you just make efficiencies and prioritise the work. So long as managers know what work, if any, isn’t being done, that’s fine. There is usually some slack within most teams in my experience.

Do you know what's wrong with her? I used to work with someone who was off sick for a really long time with mobility issues. The company got suspicious and called in investigators who discovered that she was perfectly fine. The investigators got footage of her walking her dog then lifting and carrying large items. Needless to say she was sacked and they took her to court to get the money back they paid her in wages. Don't know if they were successful with that, though!

Because she has no idea whether or not the insurers have investigated.

So why did she assume, only based on knowing that the person in question will be paid to retirement, that they hadn’t?

What a ridiculous response

It’s perfectly possible that the claimant themselves have no idea of the level of surveillance they’re under. That’s kind of the point of covert ops.

I suppose that is fair enough if they do catch people swinging the lead. The DWP should do the same thing.

Back in the 90s I took a job with a large insurance company and the contract stated that the cover for sickness would be full pay for 6 months then 3/4 of the salary afterwards. I later became a union rep and we went through a merger. Part of the company insured machinery and factories and plant equipment which needed to be inspected. One of the engineers as they were called who did the inspections had been ill for 3 years and asked me to speak to HR to get him made redundant. I asked him if he was sure as they would pay him until retirement when he'd get a full pension...he was in his 50s. He was adamant he wanted redundancy as he could get a job that his illness wouldn't be effect so he was happy to go.

Decent employers will support sick staff and try to get them back to work if possible, they will employ external experts and make arrangements to try to help.

Surely they only investigate people under suspiction of committing fraud?

My friend has been off sick for nearly 10 years, and has had medicals triggered with her work/insurance when she changes GP, which has been very stressful for her as her consultant has said she can never work again.

Thank you @SeekOIt I appreciate that.

Sounds like it would be better if she applied to be in the Support Group of ESA... If she is never going to be able to work again, it sounds like she would be eligible for ESA.

She is under an income protection thing through her employer and gets a percentage of her salary, and will do until retirement. I don't know what percentage of her salary she gets, but even if it was half, she would be getting £35k.... way more than ESA.

Oh well as long as this makes her better off, then it makes sense to stick with this as long as she can. I just thought it may be less stressful as she has to keep explaining herself when she changes GP. Then again ESA often makes people have assessments, and you sometimes have to keep reapplying. (I know someone who has been put on it indefinitely and hasn't had an assessment - or had to reapply since 2018, but some people have to reapply every 3 years...)

Because she is not too sick to work. She is at home with two small children and was pregnant for 9 months and is now at home with 3 small children. If she can do that, she can easily do the job I am covering.
She is obviously stringing the company along until they are a bit older and she sorts out childcare.
She is also a neighbour of mine and I see her out and a out all the time....and it is also my job to receive the sick notes, so I know what she is saying is wrong with her.
I know there are genuine cases, and hidden illnesses etc. but that's not the case here.

There are employment protections for some chronic illnesses.

This is a management problem, rather than the poor bugger off sick problem. Management may not be able to let the sick employee go and then replace, but they should absolutely make sure that either the existing staff can cope with extra workload or, if not, getting temp staff in to cover.

a colleague looking back seemed to have many episodes of sickness.
however we are a caring team,
we knew what was wrong with her,
it was obviously tough without her but we didnt begrudge her

i do remember when i worked in occ health and someone who was off sick with a bad back hurt themselves moving a fridge!
there is a lot of fraud in the nhs and this is a case!

There was a guy who was off sick for 15 years at which point he retired. He then took his employer to a tribunal because he had not had an increase in pay during those 15 years. www.thelondoneconomic.com/business-economics/man-whos-been-on-sick-leave-for-15-years-sued-ibm-for-not-giving-him-a-pay-rise-361503/

2.5 years seems small in comparison.

I work for a local council and the sick pay policy is six months full pay, then six months half pay, then statutory. I imagine there may be discretion for potentially long term physical illnesses.

That is dreadful. Utterly disgusting that this man did this!

This is rare. Ime:

• where someone is off sick due to chronic conditions etc (often mental health) they tend to hit criteria for capability assessment well before 2 years and are dismissed on those grounds.
• where someone gets (for example) cancer, they tend to come and go before it gets bad. The people ive known with major stuff like this have tended to choose to resign after a while

The exception is very very long standing employees. When Barbara in accounts has been there 25 years she does not get dismissed when she gets breast cancer. Ever. No arsehole will dismiss that person.