Back to work interview- necessary?

[highby]

I took a day of off with a terrible migraine and returned the next day. I had to fill in a form detailing why I had been off and was asked what seemed irrelevant questions like is there anything my employer can do to help me return to work. I understand these questions might help in some cases.

My issue is with having to tell my employer the details of my illnesses when I am to ill to come in. A few months ago I had sickness & diarrhoea. I felt very uncomfortable discussing this with my boss! Do I legally have to fill in the form and attend an interview? Do I have to explain everything?

It's not a question of legality but more company procedure. If that's their procedure that's their procedure and you have to follow it.

You don't have to reveal your illness but it would be foolish not to (and I don't get what's embarrassing about d and v, we all get it). If at any point your sickness levels get concerning it would be difficult for your employer to take any extenuating circumstances into account if they have no record of what your reasons for absence was.

Re migraine: I used to get them nearly every month. I was prescribed Imigran. It might work for you. It was a miracle for me. One less thing to worry about.

Bubbles- over the past 10 years I've tried most things to prevent and treat migraines. Still nothing works. They tend to happen at weekends when I relax so they don't impact my work life that often, infact this was the first migraine day I've taken off in years, I'd rather keep it private. Most don't understand. I get words jumbled and my memory is terrible. The 'hangover' after the migraine can last days until the fog finally clears. I don't want to share these sort of private details with my manager etc.

Standard procedure in many companies surely?

Normal procedure and if they pay you sick pay then yes, you have to follow the procedure to get the sick pay.

I once had to take a week off after I had a coil fitted and reacted very badly to it. On my return to work form I just stated I was "unwell". The disappointment on my boss's face was hilarious - he was a nosy bugger! Didn't ask for any more details though.

^that's fine as long as you don't just do that every time.

Many years ago I had a week off as I had a pregnancy terminated. I asked the GP for a sick note, even though I didn't need one technically, but I thought it might be easier, and I asked her to write 'virus', which she did, which was kind of her. I had to make up a story about having been in hospital on a drip as I had a big bruise on the back of my hand from the anaesthetic cannula!

Std practice in my company too. Sickness rates halved when they brought it in so can see why companies like it.

If you have an underlying health condition or repeated absences for the same condition, it can work in your favour if your manager is aware, so they can support you.

Also, HR track patterns of reasons. If people in one building or department show an increased frequency of the same thing, whether that's colds, migraines, D&V or stress, they will investigate the underlying cause - as you'd expect.

In our place, if you can't face telling your line manager, you can tell HR instead. Though they will doubtless share with your line manager, but it spares your blushes.