Excuse needed for long sickness..

[Miolo]

Please don't judge, I already feel bad enough 😔. I need to be off from early June to early September.
Plausible reason suggestions needed please.
I feel guilty but it's circumstances out of my control that mean I need the time off. Don't want to reveal as might be outing.
Big public sector worker.. Months of being overworked and stressed. Curre doing the work of 3 people, not sustainable long term. I'm burning out.
Stress a plausible reason for 3 months off? Any other ideas? I do have a chronic physical health condition, would it be best to use that?

There is also the small issue that your employer will want to engage with you about your absence, to resolve causes and to support your return, you can't just be AWOL with no contact. Whilst you might be able to persuade a GP to sign you off for a month, signing you off longer they will also be minded to take more of an interest in what is going on. Faking isn't easy!

Does your company have a sabbatical policy or an extended holiday/unpaid leave/parental leave policy - maybe that route is worth considering instead.

Personally, I worry if I cry wolf I won't get their support when I really need it.

You’ll need a GP to sign you off, will need to be available for discussions about your sickness and recovery and to attend occ health.

(if it were easy to do this, lots of people would.)

When I went off with work related stress in 2023 the gp asked me what I wanted on my sick note.

As someone who was signed off work for my bipolar disorder, this is absolutely taking the bloody piss!

Are you saying you want the public purse to pay for you to take 3 months of work when you aren't actually sick?

If so that's a disgrace

Why will you need to be off then? Prison sentence, cosmetic surgery, school holidays?

If you go on long term sick, then you will have to attend regular sickness reviews with your manager and meeting with occupational health. It's not that easy if you are going to claim to be unwell when you are actually fit for work, and need a sabbatical.

If it is for something like my child/other person I care for is having an operation and needs me to be off to care for them, I would actually talk to my employer about any adjustments that might work, eg wfh. Obs depends on your job, but if you just need to be available to help, while they mainly rest, this could be possible. I would definitely not lie. If it's that you are genuinely already stressed, and there's going to be an event in summer that is going to make that worse, I would now speak to your boss about trying to sort things out, and discussing any options for special leave.

Be honest as taking what's essentially the whole summer is likely to raise more than one eyebrow.

There are occasions where you have to be open with your employer.

Getting yourself dismissed for gross misconduct and prosecuted for fraud probably won't help your stress levels.

Unfortunately, OP, you will be judged. You're planning well in advance to take extended sick leave during the summer months and asking people what they consider will be a plausible excuse.

On the face of it that's some nerve you have there, especially as you work in the public sector and are effectively asking taxpayers to fund your break. You'll need to provide more information if you need more constructive and sympathetic answers.

As someone has already suggested, your best option would be to request a sabbatical.

OP- if you can't even share the details of the real reason for planning your leave on an anonymous site, then I suspect you plan to take the piss. Sounds like you are trying to get paid when you aren't sick. Its called FRAUD!

If you are going to take time "off sick" then be descreet. Dont be foolish enough to post on social media showing yourself to be having a jolly good time! Of course people off sick (with stress) still have to do the shopping and go out sometimes. But one doesn't expect do see them in a club boozing, or having a ball in Ibitha.

If your employer does it properly, and you are considering taking 17-18 weeks of SSP (topped up by your employer?), they will have the right to check in with you and engage on how you are improving your wellbeing during that time. I would in fact expect that they will.

You may well get signed off (legitimately?) by your GP - it would usually be on a 2 weekly basis so you would need to be repeatedly asking the GP to get sick notes/fit notes. Work related stress is a valid reason to be signed off work - but you need to consider the longer term impacts of that too.

(I'm not an HR professional so please look into this properly and don't take my advice verbatim!)

• I believe SSP is limited to 28 weeks. If your employer pays you more than this, this is just a top up on SSP. So should you develop a "real" illness later in the assessment cycle you may be limited on what time you are paid for.
• If you apply for another job/move jobs you may well have your sickness reported in references
• You may not appear eligible to return to your previous role on return if your employer has significant concerns based on your reasons for sickness that the work you have been doing is good for you/your wellbeing. You could be encouraged to consider an alterative/less-stressful role or demoted if you are claiming to be unable to perform your current job functions.
• You need to check your employers policies. We for example hold a 3-year cycle for paid leave. So if you worked for us, we'd pay up to 12 weeks sickness now at full pay, but once you've used it, you lose the right to that for the next 3 years until the cycle resets.
• Are you prepared to present yourself on social media/anyone who bumps into your on the street as being unwell to work?
• i.e. if you're planning on moving to Dubai for June to September, and faking sickness to do this - you probably will find that very hard to get away with!

I'm not so naive to think that this type of thing doesn't happen. But my experience is that your colleagues work it out eventually. Ethically you'd be much better taking a proper sabbatical/parental leave/agreed unpaid leave/flexible working request etc...

If you're unwell then take sick leave. If you're not unwell you're a fraud and a cheat. Or ask for unpaid leave of absence.

Why do you need to plan 3months off, 5 months in advance?

Why do you have to lie? Why cant you ask for a 3month unpaid break?

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2803787/amp/Junior-doctor-struck-taking-sick-leave-work-jumping-TV-coverage-Urologist-caught-colleague-recognised-voice-commentary.html

I was most amused by reading about this muppet! Did he really think no one would notice
A whole 3 months period of lying is going to be hard to sustain and I bet you get found out OP

This has got to be to cover school holidays.

You need to address the work issues now with management, if they dont sort it out go to your trade union.

How do you know you will be ill from June to September? Or is it that you are not going to be ill and something else is happening that would not warrant you being off sick for that period and you don’t have the leave or not want to take it unpaid so are prepared to lie.

youll need a sympathetic gp and acting skills I assume at the appropriate point.

Why do you have to lie? Unless you want to be paid for time off you shouldn't have

It's longer than UK school holidays though, unless it's a private school.

No-one should be planning to use 3 month's sick leave to cover school holidays, that would be outrageous.

You will only be able to self certify for the first week then will need a fit note. It’s not as easy as it seems to be signed off sick, if your intention is to sign off under stress and mental health you will need the support of your GP. You can ask for fit notes to be extended up to 3 months , then you may have to attend meeting with occupational health.

My first thought was that it was for childcare. But if your children are in private education ( the dates you give are more in line with private than state) surely you have the resources for holiday clubs and alternative childcare.

So it’s more likely you are planning a long holiday. Or you are booked in for cosmetic surgery either home or abroad and recovery will need three months off work. Sick pay isn’t available for elective cosmetic surgery in a lot of sick leave policies.

Either you apply for unpaid leave, which may or may not be granted or you take a risk with the stress angle and hope that no one finds out.

Claiming sick pay when you are not sick is fraud. But if you are recovering from surgery and are unfit for work then sick pay should be paid. For cosmetic surgery you would have to take annual leave for the actual surgery and you can self certify for the first 7 days. After that as long as you can get a fit note from your surgical team or GP you probably would get sick pay. However it becomes difficult if you are travelling abroad for surgery. You would need to see your GP and check that they are ok to supply a fit notes.

Employers are able to monitor your social media and you can seriously mess up if you post anything that suggests you are working during sick leave. Obviously if you go down the mental health route then it’s ok to go on holiday during sick leave and basically carry on normal daily activities. But if you are planning a holiday of a lifetime spending the whole 3 months back packing through South East Asia and Australasian then it will look suspicious.

Take unpaid leave

If it's genuine, then fine. Can ask GP to sign you off but have to keep going back afaik. Partners work colleague was off 4 months with stress. Be warned though, it doesn't go down well with the bosses and he only just hung onto his job at the end. His colleagues still treat him differently because they are all under a great deal of stress and he actually made it much worse for them.

But I am suss with the dates you already need off! And think you may be taking the pee somewhat? Be careful what you wish for too.

But you don't need to lie, OP. It sounds like you're genuinely ill with stress. Go to the GP and get signed off.