On Long-Term Sick and looks like contract will be terminated.

borders_dude

Ive seen this before in my workplace.

Think of it from the employers view, they need to have someone in post, someone who has a good attendance rates etc.

If you are not capable of doing the job and it sounds like you arnt then it is pretty standard for them to take action against you. I wouldnt resign though to stop having to go through the motions as this might have an effect on your benefit entitlement if you give up employment.

borders_dude

PS, if you are in a union, perhaps you could make contact with them for advice.

dmg24

borders_dude wrote: »

I wouldnt resign though to stop having to go through the motions as this might have an effect on your benefit entitlement if you give up employment.

As stated earlier, as saintscouple is claiming an incapacity related benefit, there will be no effect on his entitlement.

Ewarwoowar2

If you are disabled for the purposes of the disability discrimination act then your employer is under a legal obligation to make reasonable adjustments for your illness. That could be amending the long term sickness procedure to give you more time to get better before they start the disciplinary hearing. It could also mean that they have to offer you alternative employment within the company or amend your job to allow you to return to work. It could mean allowing you to return on a phased or part-time basis.

Have a look here for more details:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/DisabledPeople/RightsAndObligations/DisabilityRights/DG_4001068

and here:

http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1859

for more information.

jim_walton

think you need to decide if you want to return to work or not.
There are options for career breaks which may help you overcome your difficulties.Its certainly a question I would be asking my employer.
If you start on the slippery slope of long term sick then its hard to get off.
A friend of mine recently decided he had had enough of things and simply ignored his employers correspondence and they kept paying him for a year and then still offered him his job back.Eventually after eighteen months they terminated his contract. It's difficult to sack someone if you just ignore them. Possibly none of this is relevant or helpful to you. It seems from your OP that you are quite in control of the yourself and that this bother with your employer is just a minor irritation to you..
What is certainly important is that you are honest with your self and I am sure this would be the advice you would give to others..
Eventually we all find contentment, so try and look forward to the future...............

saintscouple

There is nothing more i would like then returning to my job.
I was very good at it, receiving praise and rewards each month for my performance and I climbed the performance pay scale quicker than anyone had done before.
I also had the benefit of my work being only 5 mins away with no rush-hour traffic to contend with and flexible working hours.
More importantly my job was interesting and enjoyable for me, no day was like the one before and always finished the day with a sense of achievement.
I think that this has been the problem for me or i would have simply resigned months ago, but the reality is i cannot see as to when i would be able to return to work, and i know that when i am better to start work i won't be able to find a job as good as the one i have now.
Yet now i think back and since I've been off sick no-one from work has contacted me, asking how i am, or sending a get well soon card through the door, it's as if i don't exist.....though I'm imagining that mental illnesses are still not perceived as a medical condition that can be life changing.
Most times i find it impossible to just go outside to put the bin out, let alone leaving the house all together. Yet there are other days when i can go out with my wife for an hour with no problems.
I hate the way i am and the fact i feel a complete failure all the time, and this just seems to me that it's another tick on my failure list.
I apologise for the rambling, but the more i analyse things, the more confusing it gets, and the more down i get.

Ewarwoowar2

saintscouple wrote: »

Yet now i think back and since I've been off sick no-one from work has contacted me, asking how i am, or sending a get well soon card through the door, it's as if i don't exist.....though I'm imagining that mental illnesses are still not perceived as a medical condition that can be life changing.
.

In relation to this bit, it's a very common situation and one I see pleaded in many employment tribunal claims.

It's a tough situation. Your employer may be concern that if they contact you it will add to your stress, as it will be perceived as putting pressure on you to get back to work. Particularly with mental stress, people are concerned that contact could add to your woes. Similar situation for your line manager and colleagues.

If you want regular contact from your employer, why not tell them. You could ask for a confidential contact, perhaps someone in HR, who you could discuss your situation with in the knowledge that it would not be relayed to management.

You said that you were not even well enough to attend a update meeting to discuss your situation, Can you blame your manager/colleagues for not contacting you?

bettybelle

Hi. I am sorry to hear of your troubles at work. I suffer from a similar condition and have been off since October. Like you, my employer never bothers to get in touch. I contacted them about a possibility of an alternative role (it is a massive organisation with plenty of roles - high turnover) but so far they seem more content to let me sit at home and pay me.

I am desperate to go back but I can't go back to my original role. I am writing to them again with some help from my doctor to see if they'll reconsider.

If I haven't found suitable employment by the time they start disciplinary procedures I will resign. It's been enough stress without being dragged through all that.

Take care

teabelly

To the OP. Can you work from home for your employer in any capacity? You can see how rewarding you used to find work so doing a little bit of something for them could help. Not sure how that works with ESA or whatever it is but I am sure you could find out.

Depression is hard to get over but sometimes doing a little inspite of not feeling like it can actually help.

saintscouple

Thanks again for all your replies,
I have a session with my psychologist today and will discuss with her my feelings about all this.
Unfortunately, due to the nature of the business of my employer working from home is not an option due to confidentiality and the dpa.
Since starting this thread my 'old habits' have started kicking in of burying my thoughts under the carpet and hoping it will all just go away.
I've been unable to sleep at night, and spending most of the day sleeping. I've once again got very little energy to do anything and have hardly slept at all.
To be honest the only reason I've revisited this thread is the fact I've just received yet another email from my boss attaching the same letter she sent me by post....and now I'm crying uncontrollably.
I seem to be doing alot of that recently...god i even cried yesterday when a girl stole on golden balls......how mad am i.
Things have to change, I was improving so much until this letter arrived and now i feel like I'm heading straight back where i started, and don't want to be admitted in to hospital again.
Thanks again for all your thoughts and advice.