i have worked for a company for 11 years now,i recently had 4 weeks off sick with bad stress and anxiety?

Question

I returned to work for 2 weeks thinking i was ok but am now totally stressed out again about work and non work related issues,i think my doc is going to sign me off again! Can the company sack me for this as i am not a lazy person and wouldnt take time off if i really didnt need to?

Thanks so far people i am doing nothing but worry about losing my job which not helping me relax

Answer 1

Sack you after 11 years? I doubt it... but they can forget you in terms of compensations and better roles in the company.

Answer 2

It's highly unlikely that they would sack you after this amount of time as you have a long service record and presumably have not had long term issues before.

There is no hard fast rule about someone being allowed off work for six months before companies can touch you however.

The most important thing is that you relax and try to get better. I am an HR Manager and I find it most assuring when employees keep in touch and let us know all the updates in the situation.

We have had people that are off with stress in the past and we have offered counselling and phased returns to work where the employee comes back part time and builds up to full time work.

I have never had to terminate someone's employment yet for being off on long term sick leave as I believe it is not something that should be taken lightly and everything in our power should be done first to help the employee return to work before this route is considered.

With regards to others comments on companies not caring any more - This is untrue. I work for a company that is very committed to its employees but does of course in return expect its employees to be comitted to it.

Answer 3

you are covered under the disability discrimination Act. You may also have a claim for work related injury so it's not in your employer's interest to sack you.

Any good HR department would look at your general record - if you were always going off sick then that would be a problem.

I would say "don't worry" but I know that is pointless. Are you in a union? if not it may be a good time to join, they can give you advviice and they may also send you for a break in a union convalescent home - not they are not grim victorian buildings they are a place you can have a break.

Remember yu health is more important than your job.

Answer 4

Your doctor can sign you off for up to 6 months before your company can do anything about it. As long as you have a certificate there is nothing they can do.
Mind you, you will get what they call home visits once they know you are off, for any period of time. But be sure, once you go back you will be given all the crap jobs no one else wants. Company's do not value there employees any more. They just push for as much work out of you as they can get. Most company's now give pay rises on the basis of performance, and you are given a target to achieve and if its not met, no pay rise. That way they get you to brake you neck trying to reach your target and in doing so a lot of employees are going down with stress. Do not expect any sympathy, and if you get any it will be force. As that T.V. programme use to say "you are not a person, you are a number," Sheila.

Answer 5

No they cannot sack you if you have a doctors note.
Depending on company procedures, after a certain time they may request you see a company doctor to determine whether you will be returning to work (usually about six months).

Try not to worry as this will make you worse, they can definately not sack you for being signed off sick.

Good luck in recovering.

Answer 6

I am a psychiatric nurse in a crisis team and we often support people in this situation. You are well within your rights to take time off. Your employer is not allowed to sack you for this and if they did you would be able to persue a unfair dismissal case against them. Ask your company whether there is any support available through there human resources. Many of our clients are offered counselling services that are either provided in house by their employers or it the fund external counsellors. It would be important to stay open and truthful to your employers, tell whoever you are liaising with at your work about your anxieties and i am sure that they will be able to reassure you that they would not terminate your employment.

Answer 7

It depends on company policy. If your company allows employees to take a medical leave of absence, you shouldn't have a problem, particularly as a long term employee. You should also talk to your boss or a higher-up you can trust about your issues, they may be able to help.

Answer 8

Been there, done that, got the t-shirt.
First find out, or get some else to do it for you, what your company's policy is on sick leave (do you belong to to a union?)
Then do as your doctor suggests and take sick leave. You will never get better of you don't,
All the very best, nothing lasts forever.

Answer 9

Are you in the US? If your company is a larger-sized company, then you likely qualify for FMLA. And if your job is what's causing your stress, then you may qualify for workers' comp benefits. Call your HR department to find out for sure.

Answer 10

Good Question - a common misconception that you can be sacked...not at this point anyway.


FYI -

There are three main types of duties employees may use as a basis for a stress claim:

Negligence
Employers must take such steps as are reasonably necessary to take care of the safety of their employees. If they breach that duty they may be sued for a claim in negligence for damages. The duty extends to both physical and mental health.


Contract
There are also implied terms in a contract of employment that would be relevant to stress claims for example:

The implied duty regarding health and safety. In all contracts of employment there is an implied term that the employer will provide the employee with a safe system of work. A failure to take reasonable steps to protect the employee from stress may result in the employee claiming breach of that term.

The implied duty of mutual trust and confidence. This implied duty means that the employment relationship is based on trust and confidence, and an employer will not, without reasonable and proper cause, behave in a manner that is calculated or is likely to destroy or seriously damage that trust and confidence.


Statute
Under statute further duties arise, for example:

Under section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, employers have an obligation to provide and maintain systems of work and a working environment which are, as far as is reasonably practicable, safe and without risk to health. The duty extends to providing maintenance of safe plant and systems of work, information, training, supervision and adequate support. The general duty to provide a safe and healthy working environment, including risk assessment, will apply to the prevention of stress-related ill health.

In addition since 27 October 2003 an employee can obtain damages for stress related claims under the breach of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (SI 1999/3242).

Other legislation which falls under the umbrella of health and safety legislation may also have an impact, such as the Working Time Regulations 1998.

In Hone v Six Continents Retail Ltd [2006] the employer was guilty of a serious breach of the Working Time Regulations restrictions on weekly working time. The employee who was a licensed house manager kept records that indicated that he was working approximately 90 hours a week. He asked for an assistant manager which the employer ignored. The employee refused to opt in or out of the Working Time Regulations because of a lack of management support. Eventually he went to his doctor suffering from headaches and insomnia and was referred to a consultant neurologist. He collapsed at work and did not return to the employer. The Court of Appeal held that the injury suffered was reasonably forseeable and that he should recover damages for psychiatric injury caused by stress at work. In particular, the Working Time Regulations are significant and are a material factor to be taken into account in deciding whether psychiatric injury was reasonably foreseeable for the purposes of a stress claim. An employer may be exposed where they require the employee to work more than 48 hours a week. The obvious purpose of the Working Time Regulations is to protect the welfare and health of employees.


Your employer will probably have to right to your GP to ask for a list of duties which your GP feels you are fit to do...i.e. reduced hours, different work etc. Your employer has to take these reasonable steps by law.

Good luck.