Occ Health referral but for non work-related stress

[clarelouise30]

Hi

I Have currently been off work for 8 weeks. The first 6 weeks were for a medical condition which can be caused by stress and this was relating to both work and home stress. I have now been off for a further 2 weeks with stress and anxiety relating to personal/home life stress and my GP last week signed me off until just before Xmas as I am waiting on counselling which I can’t start until Early/mid December (this is private and with a counsellor I have previously seen and so someone knows me and my situation).

Last week I was advised work would like to refer me to occupational health. I think this is more to do with the fact that I have hit a trigger point of being off long term for longer than 6 weeks. I have spoken to colleagues who have been referred in the past and they have said it’s been an OK experience.

I am just panicking as this current bout of stress is non work related and is due to issues with with a very strained relationship with my ex husband who is manipulating, controlling and very coercive and my children not being with me for Xmas and also going 50/50 in January and me worrying about my children’s mental health and emotional wellbeing and also losing my CMA and making sure I can survive financially (I am already receiving UC and CB). My GP last week thought it was best to sign me off until I’ve had some therapy sessions and also to allow Xmas to be over with and to then start 50/50.

My aim is to go back full time in January as I want to be back to work and I need my job. I am just worried that the occ health report might say that as it is personal/home stress and not work related that I should go back to work sooner than January (I work in a school and so I’ve been signed off until the end of term in December). I’m not sure what adjustments can be made at work to get me back to work sooner and the GP saw my emotional state last week and was like ‘you need to be not thinking about work at the moment, I want you to concentrate on yourself’.

I guess I just want some reassurance that occ health won’t just dismiss what the GP has advised and also that they won’t insist I go back to work despite not having my therapy yet and also that because it is not work related stress that the school can insist I go back to work.

Occupational health don't care whether it's home, work or both. They only care about whether you are fit to work, and what, if any, help you need. They aren't on anyone's "side". Just tell them what you've said here, and they'll work with you. They can't override what the GP has said, and they won't want to.

In my experience, OH were far more hands off when it came to non-work related stress and felt like anything personal was a bit beyond their remit so were happy to defer to other medical professions.

It's very standard for work to refer you to occupational health if you've been off for a while and especially as you've been signed off for longer, to be honest I'm surprised they've waited this long.

It's fine though, look at it as another source of help. Realistically your employer will want to come back to work asap, but not against your GP's advice.

We take a work focussed approach ie what can we do to support you to get you back to work. If the answer is "nothing at the moment" then thats how it is really. Your employer will have asked OH a set of questions (you should be able to see these beforehand, it should be a transparent process) and OH will answer those and look at any adjustments they could recommend to your employer.

Emphasise the point that you are having treatment and therefore you expect things to improve as you will have that support in place. You might want to ask OH about a phased return as you will have been off for quite a while even if you go back to work at the end of your current fit note.

I'm off at the moment, for similar reasons. I've agreed to go back at the end of my current note although my GP would extend it further if I asked. Nhs role. I had the occ health review 3 months ago. They just asked how I was, what was happening with me. They gave me contacts for counselling and said to look after myself and that they'd work out a plan for structured return for when I was ready. They were really nice.