Would you quit work due to ill health?

[Palmiers]

I suffer with chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia and have been off work now for 6 months. I still don't feel well enough to return and have been thinking of just handing in my notice as I'm worried I won't be of much use. I'm also worried about finding another job in near future with such high sick days on my record. DP thinks I should extend my sick leave as I've always pushed myself and had very little time off in the 20 years I've worked for this organisation. GP is happy to extend my sick note but I feel really guilty about being absent. Our sick pay policy is generous - 6 month full pay then 6 months half. What would you do? Would you go back to work if you still felt poorly?

Agree with pp, as a public sector employee, who also has fibro, I'd look at your sickness absence policy and the terms of your pension scheme before resigning.

Extend your sick leave. I have ME and when I first got ill I was off foe nearly 6 months then slowly phased back starting at 2 days a week but it was months before I was back full time and probably a good year before I could work and manage to do anything else with my life. I'm really glad I stuck with it tho. I still have bad fatigue but am managing to work full time (mostly from home). Take the full year if you need to, in hindsight I should have taken longer at the beginning

You sound like you’re struggling OP you’ll be narrowing your options by resigning, speak with occy health, the union and your boss and find out what options are available.

The people that colleagues have an issue with are the ones who make a miraculous recovery after six months and return just before they drop to half pay whilst keeping their social media updated with days out despite being too ill for work.

Don't resign. It will be difficult to get back into work. Stay off sick and focus on getting a bit better.. Get referred back into the CFS service to help manage your condition.

When you feel ready get your GP to write a Fit Note saying you need to go part time on shorter days. Ask for reasonable adjustments. Go through Occupational Health and get them to support this. Working no more than 4 or 5 hours a day will help you manage your fatigue better.

As PP said it's all about pacing yourself within what is manageable and not pushing on through.

You don't have to go back to the same job either. You might be able to find something much less stressful that you can mostly do from home.

I had this recently. I quit due to ill health and went back to work too soon after 3 months off ( to a new job)

I only managed in my new job for a short time before failing and getting even more unwell.

I have chronic hemiplegia migraines and rheumatoid arthritis.

I've just started running short distances again and I feel like quitting work has helped me physically. However it has also affected my mental health massively.

I'm hoping to find the right balance between health and work somehow. Even if it means working less than 24 hours a week (which I couldn't manage in my last job!)

Finding a role that is such few hours is verrry difficult and I live in the SW where job vacancies aren't exactly in abundance

feel like I'm letting old Rishi and Hunt down by being unemployed

So finding the gap on my CV is making my job search even more difficult.

I'm 35 and really really struggling with the job hunt (marketing and IT stuff) but it's also regional as SW is a bit hit and miss.

Work From Home opportunities on LinkedIn have hundreds of applications so it isn't as easy as "just find a WFH job"

Hope it works out for you OP :)

Extend the sick pay. Take the time to look for a different role elsewhere

Consider phased return

Address your health seriously.

Work at getting well- diet, mindfulness, tai chi, relaxation etc.

Take appropriate medication

I've managed all the pain away, following the above steps. I'm not getting anywhere with the CFS yet, though.

Extend the sick pay. Ask for a referral to occupational health who will suggest reasonable adjustments to get you nack to work or take you down medical retirement.

If you’re a social worker are you in the LGPS? Please say yes and that you haven’t opted out

A lot depends on your financial situation. I am ill with recurrent cancer but I am apparently not entitled to any benefits at all, so I have to struggle on. I’m in and out of hospital frequently. I work full time from home and it’s a real struggle, but there’s no alternative.

I'd look at ESA. When you feel ill just knowing there is pressure to return to work may make you feel worse. Put your own health first. If you don't feel well enough to work then don't go back yet.

Definitely don't resign, use up your sick pay entitlement and then let them be the ones to take any action. Don't enter into discussions about medical retirement if it's not what you want.

If your current manager won't accommodate part time (which sounds ridiculous to me) if/when you feel ready to go back to work ask for a reasonable adjustment of moving you to a team/department that can/will accommodate part time hours .

I second what the others say about ESA. You'd probably get cont based due to your employment (if you have been employed few years there) this not means tested. If you got in the support group this lasts more I think.

You can also use the ESA letter as evidence for PIP. PIP is easier to claim I found if you have a diagnosis / see a specialist. Best of luck.

By the way, I know you are tired. You think resigning will remove one of your stresses and worries.

But you deserve the time to recover and learn about your diagnosis and how to live with it.
You deserve the in service benefits you have worked for.

And most of all, the trauma and stress you deal with at work has contributed to your illness. Your work benefits can contribute to your recovery.

Thank you all for your wise advice. I can honestly say I feel a million times better having taken everyone's advice / experiences into consideration. I definitely don't want to be bullied into early retirement but also realise I have to consider the limitation of my health conditions and the need to prioritise my overall health and sanity. I must also stop caring about my colleagues' ignorant perceptions about invisible disabilities such as mine.

Now I just need to pluck the courage to tell my manager I don't feel well enough to return at the end of this month and contact my doctor for a further fit note.

@Palmiers it may help if you phrase it as 'still haven't got my condition under control/learning how to manage my condition'. It emphasises that this isn't a choice to skive off, but an inability to manage, YET.

Have you asked for an Occupational Health referral?

If your GP says you are fit to return on reduced hours/days then it is up to Occ Health to endorse that not your line manager.

I returned to work a few months into Long Covid primarily out of embarrassment and the sense that I "ought" to, and it made me significantly worse. I wish to heck I'd just stayed off until I knew I was actually well enough to return. I'm still unable to work 2.5 years later; I suspect I would have recovered more quickly if I'd just respected my own recovery process and put aside any other worries about how it all appeared to anyone else.

The sickness policy is there for a reason, so use it. You do not owe the company your health. Stay off the full 12 months then think about a phased return if you then feel able to.

It will also be easier to access benefits if you need to if your employment is terminated because of ill health, rather than because you handed your notice in.

Put yourself before your employer. Please. Those of us who are overly concerned about others' judgements are prone to developing these illnesses; only we can course correct.

Hi OP if you are claiming PIP or ESA there are some good resources online. CAB do a guide and some conditions have their own guides as well.

ESA seems to be easier than PIP, I have heard, with both don't give up and appeal if you need to (most appeals for both are successful) Then, once you have an award, you are in a better place for future assessments because the onus is on them to show a 'change in circumstances'.

You can even appeal online now. Hope this helps a little. It can be daunting but don't let them put you off. Any sort of specialist / diagnosis etc can be helpful and also there are a couple of good websites: benefitsandwork and pipinfo

@Orangesandlemons77 your information is inaccurate, ESA is different to PIP not easier. The onus is not always on the DWP to show change of circumstances and all it takes is a new DWP medical report to say there has been a change.

But I do agree with your advice to never give up and fight it.

@Palmiers depending on your LA they may have welfare rights advisers to help you, some areas have really good provision. What is occ health doing in this process, do not let your manager bully you.

Unfortunately request for PT or reduced hours has been refused.

this sounds very unlike public sector, they're normally extremely flexible especially when someone has been on LT sick leave.

I’m a nurse and have been off with long covid. I’m now attempting a phased return; I didn’t have little choice in the end about going back despite ongoing symptoms as the Trust’s management of sickness policy escalates quite quickly to capabilities dismissal which I really didn’t want. If the phased return isn’t successful HR will go to final meeting and I will be dismissed, however I’d rather leave of my own accord than have a dismissal on my CV.

OK sorry, I am just going by my own experience and that of others who I have seen mention this on here.

The thing which made ESA easier for me was that they sent this form to the GP to fill in, I understand it is called an ESA113?

Whereas with PIP they didn't do this. So, it was helpful.

Also, I have been assessed and appealed PIP several times and would agree that yes, DWP can take it away with a new medical BUT at appeal they need to show a change in circs.

They soon backed down when there was not one with me and re-instated my award. Just my experience.

Anyway best of luck OP.