Sick leave coming to an end - how to move on?

[rockstuckhardplace]

Since 2021, I've had three periods of sick leave, each lasting a few months, for the same condition. During my second period of sick leave, my employer advertised my role externally and did not inform me of this. The closing date was during my sick leave but at a time when they knew I was returning shortly. On my return, they claimed that the advertised role was not the same as the role I was performing (despite identical job title and role description). They then advised me of some additional responsibilities covered by the advertised role that were not in the job advert, which made it a more senior position, but these were responsibilities that I already held. I raised a grievance, which was not upheld. I appealed, providing evidence to substantiate my case in the form of emails, extracts from my performance reviews and extracts from my scorecards. The appeal was rejected. This process (from my return to work to the rejection of the appeal) took about three months. During this time, nothing happened with the advertised role (that I was aware of).

A couple of months later, I unfortunately fell ill again, starting my third period of sick leave, which is ongoing. During this time, the externally advertised role was filled.

I was substantially recovered by Christmas, but I don't really have a job to return to and need to find new employment elsewhere. My GP also feels that it could be detrimental to my health to return to work for this employer and has therefore continued to sign me off for a little longer to give me some breathing space to sort this all out. I should add that my illness is not work-related and I don't need any adjustments in future to enable me to do my job, but I've been through a lot in the past few years, and the stress of the grievance process and effectively losing my job by stealth has been an additional burden I could have done without. I therefore don't want the stress of trying to return to this job. I also have decided that it's not worth bringing a case for constructive dismissal. I just want a clean break and to be able to start afresh and keep my career going.

So I've started job hunting, and I have a couple of interviews secured. I don't want to get too ahead of myself, but do feel that I need to plan for the eventuality of being offered a new role. Conversely I also need to know what I'm going to do if I don't get either of these positions. Ideally I want to move from one role to the other without creating a break in my employment history which I'd then have to explain.

I also have had a standard request to undergo an Occupational Health Assessment. I haven't actioned this yet.

I'd really appreciate any constructive advice on how to handle the situation to get the best possible outcome for me. As mentioned above, I just want a clean break, and I don't want to share my medical history any more as I've felt forced into oversharing with my current employer. I don't know what my employer's reference policy is, so I want them to agree to let me leave with just a basic reference (if that isn't their usual policy anyway) ie one that doesn't reference my periods of absence.

Also, if I don't secure a new role before my sick leave ends, should I resign or wait for them to take action (ie force them to take steps to dismiss me or come to some arrangement?)

Thanks for reading.

That may be the case, but there is no evidence of it either. Some years back I had two+ months followed six months later by three+ months off sick. They couldn't have been happier to have me back in work. I don't think we can be sure either way. Everything we know is understandably overlaid by the OP's feelings, but there is little evidence to support the assumptions the OP has made, so it would be dangerous to assume things based on that alone.

That depends on what was the illness.

if it is physical people are much more sympathetic, than if it is mental ie anxiety or stress etc.

as the op uses the term condition, talks of falling ill, talks about her prognosis, then I assume it’s physical illness. So the company are now looking to understand if she’s going to be capable of doing the role permanently or if her condition makes that sadly not feasible.

I doubt her colleagues would resent her.

OP perhaps you might have misinterpreted what your employer said about 2 out of 3 jobs. Given your absences is it not more likely that they were trying to explain that the recruitment was ensure that they would have a minimum of 2 out of 3 people available in the office to handle the workload? If you're stressed and anxious talking to your employers (and feeling that your job is at risk) it would be understandable that a verbal conversation could be misconstrued.

You still have a job and support from OH to return and it would be unwise to ditch that until your health has improved. Had you not been in a niche role they may have been far less sympathetic especially with your unfounded grievance claim.

Put yourself in your employers shoes? You have had 3 extended terms of absence. If your job is of value, how do you expect the business to run under these circumstances? If it causes no issue in the business for you to keep disappearing on the sick - it doesn’t say much about your actual role does it?

You stated yourself, your sickness absence has not been caused by your work. However you feel ganged up on by HR, to the point you don’t want to return. This translates to, you don’t like the policies which have been followed to mitigate your absence. What would you have them do? Keep your job open while you flit back and forth on sickness? expecting your colleagues to carry your work load on top of theirs?

I think the reason you feel people are being harsh, is because you are only seeing the situation from your perspective. As much as whatever you’re going through is clearly hard, it’s your hard, not theirs. Your hard should not be the responsibility of your colleagues, HR or the over all business. It certainly shouldn’t be the hard of your new employer, who you plan not to be honest with.

On that point, many companies only send a flat reference, eg. xx worked for our company in the role of xx between the dates of xx and xx, because to send anything other (negative) can have implications. For that reason, many prospective employers send specific questions around a persons attendance, criminal issues and reasons they may not safely fill the prospective role. Those questions a previous employer can answer accurately without fear.

Honestly though, some of the worst employees come with great references - because the previous employer doesn’t want to delay the move. In that instance, rightly or wrongly I would always give the flat reference mentioned above. If asked any specific questions, I’d state it our policy to give the flat reference.

Your current employer has not filled your role, they have employed someone because there was a job to be done while you were away. Go back to work, let HR do their job and ease you back into your role. Try not to see them as the enemy, and instead look at what their job role is. Keep your head down for a year with a view to repairing your career. Remember you’re not entitled to a career - you’ve no doubt worked hard to get to your position. Now you’ll have to work hard to get back to where you were. Accept that as part of your career path, and part of whatever grief/situation you are dealing with.

I wish you every success and happiness moving forward. New chapters often show up new opportunities - I hope this is the case for you.

I’ve not had the chance to read through all the post but the ones I’ve read do seem very anti employee here. I would say the total opposite, & I like you would feel wronged by them. Can you have a chat with an employment lawyer? Most will have a free 20 min chat with you and this will give you a better insight. I think you possibly need to go the legal route to secure your reference tbh

Put yourself first by focusing on your health while taking your salary from your current employer. It seems like you’ve mentally checked out of this job anyway. So there’s no reason to go above and beyond, especially if someone else has taken the managerial role.

Just show up every day, fulfil your duties and take your salary. In the meantime focus on improving your health and then find another job. As long as you meet the minimum job requirements and show up it will be very difficult for them to fire you and there’s absolutely no benefit in resigning. Enjoy the opportunity to focus on your health while having a steady income with less stress.

The problem is even with a basic reference there is often a question asking how much sickness absence you have taken in the past 2 years or sometimes last 12 months. Also on application forms they often ask if you have any known medical issues requiring you to take time off from work. You'd have to be truthful and answer yes if it's the same medical issue that has caused you absence on each occasion.

It's a standard question on most job application forms.

Hi OP,

I work in HR and I can advise you that you do NOT have to disclose Amy confidential medial information to a new employer under data protection rules.

And yes I totally understand your concerns on how you have been treated during sick leave.

1. You should of had the opportunity to apply for a role if it was as they say more senior than yours.
2. Do not resign from your role, the company must hold your role for you while you are on certified sick leave.

Please fell free to reach out to me should you have any queries.
At the very least if your role has been filled by another party you would be entitled to redundancy and the company would have to provide a Rationale for making your role redundant.

References now cannot ask for confidential medical information so this is not the correct advice.

What I find strange about this is the lack of communication with your employer, and clarity on your part. Employers can't just sack you without telling you about it if you've been there for longer than 2 years and they're not a teeny tiny company (think it's 5 or less staff), and you'd either need to be in breach of your contract and committed gross misconduct, or have been through the disciplinary system. Does your company not have any policies or procedures in place for managing sick leave and poor performance? At the end of the day, unless they tell you that you've lost your job then you're still employed - I assume you're still getting statutory sick pay paid through your employer? Why have you not had a conversation with them about your return to work, and how your role fits in with the new structure/recruits?! To be honest, I'm not surprised you're getting a bit of a hard time on here, you're really not doing yourself any favours. I totally get your concern about your employment prospects when you've had so much sick leave, but I'd advise against hiding it from prospective employers. Better to be honest upfront, especially if you feel that you're pretty much recovered now.

2. Do not resign from your role, the company must hold your role for you while you are on certified sick leave.

This is completely untrue. Companies can dismiss you, never mind hold your role for you.

No one is saying they can. They just ask how many days sick.

I can’t offer too much advice here as it’s out of my remit but I wonder if an independent Human Resources person would be able to add value to this thread. I hope there’s someone here who can help.

Sounds like you’ve had a terrible time and wanting a clean slate will keep the triggers at bay.
It might help for your gp to recommend a therapist/coach. You’ll only need a couple of sessions probably. EFT is very good, aka tapping or Emotional Freedom Technique. I use it regularly and it works wonders

Do not worry about references. Any company you have worked for will only give your start date and termination date - whether you resign or they fire you. Even if you were an awful employee and they hate you. Nor can any company give out your personal medical history. This is because you could sue them - both for anything that could be considered libellous or (with medical history disclosure) for GDPR (data protection) reasons. No company wants the hassle of that. However, any company that hires you, now almost always asks for your medical history information - NOT dates of illnesses, but any conditions you might suffer from. Your choice is to lie or be honest. But you'd be unable to take legal action against a company that hired you on the basis of false information you provided. Any medical information you do disclose - you're likely to be questioned further about by the new company under the guise of "how can we adapt your new working environment to make it more suitable" and dates you were off sick. (Yeah right! You might find yourself terminated in your probabtion period - without any recourse, because they don't have to give a reason, if they think that means you'll be unreliable). Possibly, your best course of action is to find a job where your medical condition is not an issue, and build a clean 3 year employment record. And then change employer. You've then built a tangible buffer between this employment and all future employment. If your medical condition is likely to be an ongoing issue, you possibly should re-think your career choices or disability status.

If your condition causes disability, and cancer for example means that you come under that heading then your company must make all efforts to accommodate your needs. This, can be very difficult though for a small company.
Can there be more working from home?

Do not worry about references. Any company you have worked for will only give your start date and termination date - whether you resign or they fire you. Even if you were an awful employee and they hate you.

That is not true. Companies can write what they want in a reference, as long as it is true.

This is not correct as a HR Manager, a company cannot terminate the OP because she was ill. She followed the absence procedure and her sick leave was certified. Please do not try and advise if you do not have experience as an Employment Lawyer.

OP, please reach out to me and I can provide you with support. You do not have to resign from your role and if the company did try to backfill your role as advertised you are entitled to take an unfair dismissal case. Please do not take any notice of people posting re your medical history you CANNOT be treated less favourably due to illness.
It's not the 1900s!

No they cannot, 99% of companies will confirm employment dates and role only. Please stop posting false information during a atessful time fir the original OP.

@Croyden121 You are speaking a lot of nonsense.

Can you provide a link to back that up?

A company CANNOT start proceedings due to sick leave, the OP has followed the absence management procedures and was certified I'll. Please please don't write information which is categorically incorrect.

As a HR professional with 25 years experience you seem to be advising based on laws in the 1900s.

Let's compare HR masters diplomas and then talk to me WashItTomorrow.

It’s actually you who is writing the incorrect info, capability termination is a thing and I’m absolutely sure you’re 99 percent stat is made up unless you evidence it now.

WashItTomorrow must have last worked in the early 1900s 😀:)