Please help - signed off work, worried and sick :(

Gem_84

Ok, bear with me as this is a long, complicated story.

I work as a lab tech. I was originally employed to work in the office as a 20 hour a week part time admin assistant. Because I only had 20 hours a week I had to either ask for a full time contract or leave because I couldn't afford to live.

So, I was told to work afternoons in the lab and make up the full time with overtime (for which I have to fill in an overtime sheet every month). This also means if I am off sick, or on holiday I still only get paid for half day. I started this in April last year.

I then got moved into the lab fulltime, but I'm still only on a 20 hour a week contract and getting paid office wages.

I have always suffered with depression, and lately there have been a couple of things upsetting me, and so it came back with force. After visiting the doctor I've since been signed off for 2 weeks. Having been off for most of this week that means there's going to be 3 weeks of me on half pay. Although it wont cause a massive problem I fear money is going to be even tighter than it already is.

Any advice would be very welcome.
Thanks, Gemma

Hollyberry

Hi Gemma

I didn't want to read and run, so firstly I'm sorry to hear that you are off with depression. Winston Churchill referred to it as his "black dog" and it can be a mean beast.

If money is tight, there are loads of really helpful suggestions on here for things to do to increase your income, depending on how well you feel, and what is feasible for you. The Up Your Income board has some great examples, ranging from online surveys, to doing free scratchcards on bingo sites, to selling any unwanted items on eBay, Amazon or the like. Would any of these be possible for you in the short term? It may not be big amounts of money, but any extra helps.

As far as your working situation is concerned, it might be worth discussing your contract with the CAB or a Law Centre. If you feel up to doing this, you'll find contact details, plus some information on employment here:

http://www.communitylegaladvice.org.uk/en/search/index.jsp?search=Employment&topicid=5473

Hope things improve for you soon.

GeorgeUK

If you are no longer doing the job you were contracted to do, you should notify the HR department or your supervisor that you would like your job description and contract to be updated.