Holidays/festivals whilst on the sick

[Twinklingterapin]

A few colleagues of mine (I work in a school) have been long term sick with mental health, however they have regularly been posting their lives on social media. Ranging from mental health walks, allotment days, coffee dates with friends and even holidays abroad, all whilst off sick. Dont get me wrong i wouldnt expect people to stay inside all day or become a recluse, however I do think there should be a line. The latest has really boiled my blood, seeing posts of a colleague at Download, posing with his friends, and saying how good it is for his mental health.

Surely I cant be the only one to think this is too far? You shouldn't be able to be off on the sick from work but still go festival.

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.

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.

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.

That’s ridiculous!

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.