Employee's mess of sick/holiday/leaving

[amiscrewedover]

One of my employees handed in his notice, which is fine - he wasn't really picking up the job after being with us six months.

However now he's been signed off work by a doctor on the basis of mental health reasons, so effectively he doesn't have to come in for his notice period, which now looks as follows:

1 week in work (completed)
2 weeks mental health sick note
1 week holiday.

So no more time in work, no handover etc.

He has never been off before and has no history with mental health issues, or any health issues, nor anything going on personally. We know his family and friends very well, it's a small town, and no problems have happened at work or with any colleagues - he's basically just decided he doesn't want to work his notice period and from what we've been told on the grapevine is planning to use the two weeks to apply for jobs and attend interviews.

Is there anything we can do here or are we just stuck paying full salary for the month? We're a small business so it's a lot of money to us, especially for nothing.

(I'm a bit annoyed a doctor would write a note for mental health issues that have never existed before, can apparently be cured in two weeks but are also serious enough to be off work, and happen to be just before a holiday and end of notice period. There is no follow up appointment scheduled with the doctor with more actions/to see how he's getting on etc. so obviously nothing serious and no treatment given, planned or suggested. But trying to be professional about it and do the right thing).

Thanks.

I doubt if you can do anything about it tbh.

you’re pleased he’s leaving as he wasn’t up to the job
was he given training or performance reviews to help him or was he allowed to drift along
anything written down as to how to tackle his performance?

Nothing you can do. He may have real mental health issues that aren't visible to the community and he is allowed the time.

I’d chalk it up to experience TBH

do you pay company sick pay or just SSP?

going forward I suggest you amend your policy to say any sickness in notice period is SSP only.

I have been off work with mental health issues.

They signed me off for two weeks and then wanted a review.

I didn't need the review as I'd quit and renegotiated my notice period in that time.

I had a severe, real, diagnosed by a psychiatrist mental health issue.

First time sick note they don't like issuing a long period of time.

Could.be stress related to Job,money related stress,stress at home
I don't think you'll.be able to do anything if a GP signed him off

Nothing you can really do in all honesty. Thinking someone is fine is one thing, proving it is quite another. Your employee has no obligation to tell you about follow up appointments etc.

You sound like a bit of a nightmare to work for.

Mental health issues can happen, you don't need a build up. Or a history.

Sounds like a good outcome for both of you.

I don't think you can do anything. And even as a small business its a bit horrible to just decide someone is lying about their mental health, you have no idea what goes on for other people. Engaging in gossip doesn't mean you can be certain you are right. Also he's quitting his job with nothing to go to, and lives in a small town where everyone thinks they know everything, he could well be stressed and unhappy.

You don’t actually know he isn’t suffering with his mental health.

I last saw my brother at a family wedding. He was the life and soul of the party as per usual and there was no indication there was anything wrong.

He killed himself 2 days later.

Training was completed with him 4 times:

Verbally, with him taking notes
Written, with us providing training guides and written documentation
Visually, with us providing diagrams explaining the process
As part of a one-to-one meeting when the previous hadn't worked.

There were also corrections with him at the time in appropriate ways when mistakes were made to explain where he'd gone wrong and how to avoid it in future.

Listened and asked how we could better support and help and what he preferred in terms of teaching/learning methods.

There were no performance reviews as it didn't get to that stage from our side, we didn't pull him or criticise him in any way, nor did we indicate we were unhappy he wasn't picking things up as it hadn't reached that kind of relationship breakdown, he just didn't care enough about the job to learn/follow procedure. Just wasn't for him I guess.

He's quit his job without another lined up. That's not an indication of mental wellbeing.

He has never been off before and has no history with mental health issues, or any health issues, nor anything going on personally.

LOL

Also maybe he struggle to pick it up due to his poor mental health meaning he struggle to retain the information and stay motivated when he knew he wasn't doing well.

Also one month reviews are standard in many places, it could help in future to consider this.

Nothing you can do.

Also you need to remember that you are not a healthcare professional and it is not up to you to decide whether someone has mental health issues or not. I have a long term history of depression and and anxiety and that is not something I broadcast across town so even people who know me are not aware of that fact, as my condition fluctuates and I am often able to 'mask' my issues.

I imagine the fact that he couldn’t do the job, and he knows it, is probably the root of the mental illness.
Going to review, possibly fired is all extremely stressful.

You would expect someone to have a doctor's review after the sick period, and some kind of suggested treatment in the interim though.

His partner has a full time job, it's a part time few hours he does around the school run as he does all the children-related tasks in the household.

Just be glad he's gone, rather than staying, causing issues, potentially costing you money, then an HR process to get rid of him.

How on earth do you know this level of detail about his ongoing medical care?

He provided it as part of his sick note.

Erm I'm not sure if you are aware but NHS waiting lists are massively long.

I had a two week sick note for mental health issues. My doctor told me I could self refer to the counselling service, which I did. Four months later I was told after an assessment that my mental health issues were too serious for them and the the treatment that was recommended the nhs currently did not fund.

There is absolutely no chance that someone with mh issues would be seen within two weeks.

You must be living under a rock not to be aware of that!

’You would expect’. You don’t know.

Most places only pay SSP after the first five days of sickness. So it looks more like first week nothing, two weeks at just over £100 quid a week. Then fourth week holiday you owe him anyway. Surely if he’s pretty poor at his job someone else will have most of the info as they will have been checking it?