How much sick leave will an employer tolerate?

[Sunshine543]

I know every workplace and job will be different but I'm getting myself very worried and would like some advice if anyone knows?
My husband had a breakdown last year and had 6 months off work. He has been on a phased return for another 6 months doing reduced workload and 100% working from home . So currently not been able to work properly for a year.
He is in senior management and has a team of 5 people who report to him.

At this moment in time he is worse then he was originally due to a number of reasons and he feels he needs more time off. He has been trying to work as best has he can , currently doing about 10% of what his original high paying job was. But its causing him huge stress and he isn't functioning well and needs a break.
He's mentioned the time of 6 weeks to me but that's how it started before and ended up just extending it and extending it for 6 months.
Firstly will he even get paid this time? Secondly how much are they going to tolerate of this when he can't give them any guarantees that he will ever get better ?
They are paying him a high wage for doing nothing , and no-one else is doing his job whilst he's off. His team and everyone else have just managed without him and I am sure they are just used to him not being there

OP I think you need to count your lucky stars that he will be getting 50%. If they didn’t have the insurance they could dismiss and then he would have nothing which is what happens to most people. This is a very good outcome in the circumstances.

Insurance payments are tax free, so that 55% is very close to the 58% take-home pay off a 40% taxpayer (40% tax + 2% NI).

You previously stated that your husband only received statutory sick pay during his previous illness, can you put in a retrospective claim for those six months? You might be able to receive a lump sum.

Where I worked, it was 6 months full pay, 6 months half pay. Then no pay.
I was the same as your husband. I returned after 6 months because I needed the money but had to go on phased return on reduced duties. I never made it back onto full duties. So they let me go. I couldn't expect them to do any different because it wasn't fair on everyone else.
And when they actually told me, I was shocked, scared, but very quickly so happy that someone had made that decision for me. I really could never have stayed there. They did actually pay me for quite a while afterwards to help give me time to get back on my feet and look for something else. But that was their policy rather than anything they had to do.

So sorry. I didn't see your latest post. I'm pleased for him that he'll be getting something.

Just because his behaviour is couch bound now, don't think it will always stay like that. Its stress and fear that are keeping him immobile. Once his future is clearer and less bleak, he'll be able start to make small steps to recovery. (He might never fully recover in that he might always be liable to relapse. But he can still live a good and full life.)

He is very lucky to be able to access the 50% pay. Yes he won’t have a job to go back to but they wouldn’t have been able to keep him in that situation anyway. Have a look into if you would be entitled to any name fits, apply for PIP if eligible. Also apply for jobs for yourself.

Good news OP about the protection insurance - I hope that alleviates some of the stress of this difficult situation.

I think your husband needs to reassess his career/work choice. It's an incredibly hard place to be and will take him time to come to terms with - but he's proven he can't do that particular job hasn't he, but there is bound to be a job he will be able to do really, really well.

My workplace would be very accommodating in these circumstances but realistically we'd be looking at other roles (much preferred) or dismissal on capability grounds. But he needs to work with them on that if they are open to it. We can't afford from a running the business perspective to have one of our senior managers out indefinitely. One hour a day is not productive for anyone and a six month phased return is unreasonable.

In a similar situation recently we worked with someone to find them a role at a lower grade, which they are thriving in and wasn't too much of a pay cut in the end.

I'm curious about the medication change because you said it was all going well and it's the change of meds that prompted the relapse, but changes of meds surely comes from things having got worse?

Someone I knew had a stroke in their 40s. After a protracted period of sick leave, and attempts at phased returns, they were offered early retirement on medical grounds. Might this be an option for your DH? He could still explore other jobs in the future.

He needs to check the company sickness and absence/attendance policies. For example one of my employers moved to termination of employment after 6 months absence. Most employers will have a limit on company sick pay.

Feeling alot better about everything today and my husband is noticeably happier, he says he feels like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders.
We have just been going through our finances and coming up with different options
I am so very grateful to his workplace, I cannot explain how amazing they have been and how they have gone above and beyond to help and still are doing now.
Medication change was due to the previous one causing some dangerous health issues so he had to come off them, even though they had worked so brilliantly on the mental health

Good luck OP