Signed off sick, can I still work my event?

[StressedandSick]

I have stress which is caused purely and simply by my job and have just been signed of sick by my GP. I'm currently in the process of taking redundancy with them. However, I also have a small business which I manage where I provide a service to events. I have an event coming up imminently and it is too late for me to cancel them as they won't find anyone else at short notice, and I can't afford to return the deposit. My services are a pretty major part of the event.

My concern is can I still do my event? It is not unlikely that someone who works at my job will see me there and I don't want them to think I am taking the piss and risk having my redundancy withdrawn? But I also can't not do this event...

You sound like me when I was signed off with depression, only that I felt guilty sitting in a park with friends... as I got better, I realised that this sort of thing was EXACTLY what I needed to get even better.

It also sounds like not doing the event would be more stressful than doing it? In which case: go for it.

BTW: being signed off isn't a sick line any more, it's a fit line, where the doctor says what you can and can't do. So, the circumstances of your job might be too stressful, but the ones around your small business might be better.

I'm not an expert on redundancy pay, but isn't it more to do with years of service than other things? What does yout GP think about you doing this event?

I know that with the nhs if I was off sick I would not be allowed to work for my other employer. It may vary from place to place tho

Also with more recent crackdowns on sickness leave they are actively looking for people flouting the rules.

Contractually you could be on thin ice with this. Id take legal advice before the event, and weigh up whether it would be better to return the deposit or lose your redundancy pay, if you can't work both.

I know my sickness policy would prohibit working elsewhere while signed off sick. I believe you can challenge that type of clause, such as if your doctor thinks working the event would be good for you, but I wouldn't risk redundancy pay based on Internet forum advice.