What to do?

rachyrach2k

Hi all,

I have been off for 6 and a half week following an operation. Please note that during this time I have not received a phonecall from occupational health or received any visits.

I returned to work today to find that my manager just plonked me back at my desk without any concern and then promptly proceeded to go to a meeting that lasted all morning. I got a bit upset at having been left the way that I had and a couple of my colleagues sat with me for a bit. I then saw one of my colleagues take my manager to the side and she had obviously explained to her how I felt because my manager then came over to me and asked for a chat.

We had a return to work chat and I had to practically beg to come back in on reduced hours for a couple of weeks as I am not fully recovered.

Basically I just feel that my situation has not been reviewed properly and my return to work was handled in an insentitive manner especially as I did not know what I was coming back to.

Should I take this further by putting in a grievance or what?

LittleVoice

What is the substance to your grievance?

Did you want OH to contact you while you were away? Some people hate that when they have sick notes.

What sort of work do you do: is it something which would require a long back-to-work session with your manager or could they have arranged for another member of staff to bring you up-to-speed?

Did you have any note from your GP to suggest that you needed a phased return to work?

Liz_the_Whizz

Hi rachyrach2k,

Most people feel a bit weird going back to work after a week off with a cold. You have been through a lot more than this with your operation, so you are bound to feel strange being back at work.

But a grievance is not the way ahead. What you need is for your manager to hook you into Occupational Health so that you can explain the problems you have with an immediate return to full-time work. It sounds as if somehow things have somehow slipped through the net, and you may even need to go back to your GP who must have signed you fit to return to work without taking account of your own sense of wellbeing.

Don't bear a grudge about this - while your manager could have done more to welcome you back, (s)he is not a doctor and should not be placed in the awkward position of having someone who is not ready for return to work. These things happen, try and work with your employer to get back to normal - it's a lot easier than starting afresh somewhere else given your sickness record.

Here's to a healthy 2009!

pinkshoes

Has something changed a lot in 6 weeks that your other colleagues couldn't fill you in on?

Often, work goes on, so your manager probably had stuff to do, and would have eventually got round to welcoming you back and checking you were ok.

I would have thought that it was up to you to approach your boss and discuss your return with him/her, particularly if you didn't want to do full time hours for the first couple of weeks.

I don't really see why this is a grievance.

Conor_3

Can't see where the problem is. They've not hassled you when you've been off and left you to get back on with it when you came back.

Did you want some kind of hugs and kisses and "aww poor diddums, are you feeling better now" session when you came back to work?

I'm finding it hard to understand why it's an issue. You were ill, you got better, you came back to work. You're doing the same job in the same place for the same money. Can't understand what all this "not sure what I was coming back to" is all about.

Put in a grievance? Where there's blame there's a claim?