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 had kids and had to juggle all their needs, childcare, school run etc whilst working part time. Still managed to get to grips with my paid employment. He sounds useless but OP should be glad just to get rid instead of sweating the small stuff.

What a post to read on World Mental Health Day.

If he was only with you 6 months he presumably doesn’t have any rights? Check the contract as he may not be entitled to sick leave.

If his contract doesn’t provide for full sick pay, then he can claim SSP.
You’ll need to check the contract to be clear what you have to pay. For example, when does his leave entitlement accrue?Your staff policies should make this clear.

so small town folks are not allowed to have mental health difficulties now unless it's known to every bloody Dick and Tracy in the bloody place?

You are totally wrong to assume he does not have a mental health problem. And your attitude is exactly why I moved away from the village I was born and brought up in. Lots of nosy people who assume, often wrongly, that they know everything about you.

Yeah apparently anyone can tell if someone has a mental health problem simply b y being an acquaintance. I have no idea why we bother paying CPNs and psychiatrists to diagnose people.

For whatever reason, he does not want to come back to the workplace. I'd just accept it and try to work through the no handover stuff, there's little point in trying to force him to come in, he wouldn't anyway I suspect.

I'm so sorry for your loss

I’ve never had a review when being signed off sick. This is the NHS after all.

There’s nothing you can do. How can you prove that the employee isn’t currently struggling from mental health issues when they’ve been signed off by a registered GP? It is what it is

in future, you can implement a probation period of six months whereby notice is a week and it’s SSP only during probation and notice period. A previous employer had this set up. Just be aware of legal changes in the next few years in case this is no longer allowed.

In my experience, a sick/fit note won’t explain treatment. Nor will it disclose a definite diagnosis for mental health issues. Depression can result in poor cognition and not caring about work. Working in a job that’s a poor fit can be terrible for your mental health too. Men tend to hide it better, but many women do too.

It is annoying though! I work for a huge company and it's what some people do, hand their notice in and go off sick, or get put on an improvement plan as they aren't performing and then raise a grievance to frustrate the process and then get a sick note so the grievance can't be heard and they are still getting paid and the can is kicked down the road. So I don't blame the op for being irritated if this is the case. What is probably odd as a business owner/manager, is thinking you can do anything about it - it's actually a good outcome, he wasn't right and has handed his notice in, win, win - it's not like you are losing someone fabulous.

20 years advising on HR tells you workplaces are full of piss takers like this guy. They actually do a disservice to people with genuine mental health problems by trivialising such a serious issue.

I’ve been signed off sick for two weeks before for mental health reasons. The “suggested treatment” was just resting. There wasn’t any kind of review afterwards. There were personal factors that triggered it but they weren’t any of the employer’s business. Started a new job and have never been signed off again (this was seven years ago).

I have a friend who was given a 2 week sick note for mental health reasons. She was to only return for a review if she felt like she needed it.

As her closest friend, I know what she is going through, others do not and honestly I think they would be quite shocked as she masks it with them.

To say a doctor has given a sick note for mental health reasons that have never existed before is pretty poor management. How do you know for certain they haven't? How do you know for certain his mental health hasn't just serviced and why shouldn't he get a sick note if it is first time having mental health concerns?

Also curious as to why you would be concerned about a handover when you say he struggles with the job anyway.

OP has gone quiet…didn’t like the responses…. with their attitude they really should not be an employer.
An abysmal way to treat anyone it borders on harassment. On top of that we only have one side of the story …bet he will be fine once he’s out of that toxic environment….questioning doctors/getting gossip from around the town dear me …

He has never been off before and has no history with mental health issues, or any health issues

Maybe, just maybe, working for you for 6 months has made his MH dip. Instead of assuming he is "faking it" (as you post implies), perhaps ask yourself what is it about the work environment that has made him feel like this.

Honestly op . You see it here in Mumsnet all the time. People not wanting to work their notice for what ever reason and asking 'should I go off sick' ? . It seems very acceptable these days and very easy to get away with .
Not sure there is much you can do. Is he entitled to full pay based on your illness policy?

He might find it too stressful to work there after handing in his notice.

I've never heard of a doctor's review. Any kind of review I've ever come across has been business led by OH and not after only a fortnight.

As for treatment, if your employee has MH issues sometimes time off is all that's prescribed.

So as someone who was recently diagnosed with mental health issues I think you're being really unfair. I was initially signed off for 2 weeks and had to only contact my gp again for a review if I still wasn't doing great.

You have no idea what someone is going through or how they are feeling. I know with me I masked a lot in public and only those closest to me knew exactly what was going on. I didn't even tell my employers until I was mentally strong enough to explain everything.

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

If it's a first presentation the GP might well give a two week fit note without treatment to see if reducing stressors helps, I expect there was a discussion about medication but I think GPs are trying to avoid medication as an immediate go to in the first instance. Your employee may also have arranged private therapy which he's under no obligation to disclose. If work is the cause of the illness, not being there will help reduce symptoms too - at least it's a two week fit note rather than a three week one where you'd be paying him for sick leave and still need to pay him holiday pay.

Because you know his family you assume he cant have mental health issues ?

Doctors dont sign off for no reason you are not qualified to judge the situation. Onviously he doesmt want to work for you . Perhaps you/work are the stress?

You cant do anything. Other than pay correctly

Treatment for mental health issues after only two weeks!! Ha ha ha. You have zero idea what the mental health system is like. Even if he was suicidal he may have been given zero treatment except medication. And why would you know about that?
You sound very nosy.