Disciplinary and mental health.

[Babyroobs]

I'm worried for a colleague of mine who is facing a disciplinary in a couple or weeks. He is devastated and has been off sick with depression for a number of months. I'm really worried this could tip him over the edge and he has hinted that this is the case.
Are employers really allowed to call someone in for a disciplinary under these circumstances or could it be held without them or can it be postponed until the employee is in a better state mentally ? Can occupational Health overrule it ?
Any advice appreciated.

What is the disciplinary for? It really does depend on the circumstances and OH can advise on this to both parties.

Just to give you an extreme example, if an employee was accused to be stealing from their employer (say there was clear CCTV and witnesses) and the employee was suspended but then gave in a medical certificate to state they were ill due to mental health etc, at some point the disciplinary would need to go ahead. The employer couldn't have it on hold indefinitely.

Employers tend to take the Fitness Note on face value, by not forcing the matter, however Occ Health will be encouraging the employee to think about their ability to attend the Disciplinary meeting at some stage in the near future.

At some point the employee will have to 'face the music', the sooner the better, to sort the matter out.