Menopause and sickness absence

[ThatVividPinkOtter]

Hi 👋 would love to hear off anyone who has had a warning whilst being off work with menopause related problems. Ive worked in a GP practice for many years and have suffered with anxiety and insomnia. More recently an increase in patches has caused migraines, vertigo and nausea. Ive been referred to the menopause clinic and waiting to be seen. Im on the verge of a warning should I join a union as I know they'll do everything they can not to be accommodating and only think of their business. Even though they sign off patients for months for menopause problems. Any advice please?

You might be a bit late to join a union if you already have absence issues, but it is worth joining just in case the warning doesn't come for a while and they do support you, or at least give you some advice.

My niece joined UNISON when she was already having problems with her workplace (she was in a union already but they were more than useless, said they were too busy to support her 🙈).

UNISON were actually very helpful, because she has a complex case with a large employer known to be unsupportive of disabilities, they used it for one of their trainees (under supervision) to get experience. It didn't affect the outcome, she was terminated, but they were helpful during the process and offered to help her through an unfair dismissal case, but she was very ill at the time and didn't have the headspace for the fight.