Off work with depression

SueC_2

Vader123 wrote: »

They can't say "The OP was signed off due to depression".

I disagree.

If they are in possession of a sick note from the doctor it will clearly state the reason for absence. They are fully able to quote this in any reference they give should they so choose. It is fact, not something that is subjective, their opinion alone, or open to dispute in any way. It is no different to stating that there was a lengthy absence due to a broken arm, chest infection, or any other illness.

sammyjo1979

I have to agree with Harrup and part of Bendix..... depression is used to freely now. Being down in the dumps and fed up is very very different from depression and I speak from experience. I get offended by people saying that are depressed after seeing how bad my OH was and dreading going home incase cos of what I might find!

But saying that the OP could genuinely be depressed so please don't take this as a dig at you.

onehitwonder

I agree that some people are 'signed off with depression' just because they are unhappy with their current job and it is too easy a solution.
I know people who have miraculously recovered the day their pay was being cut after being ill for so long. I would have thought that prospect would have made them more depressed and so more unable to work. But hey, "my pay will be cut in half, I feel better already, better get back to work."

As with life the problem is many people will abuse the situation meaning genuine cases are often labeled with the same brush.

Who knows the OP may have only just been signed off, AFTER, going for the interviews - benefit of the doubt.

bendix

onehitwonder wrote: »

I know people who have miraculously recovered the day their pay was being cut after being ill for so long. I would have thought that prospect would have made them more depressed and so more unable to work. But hey, "my pay will be cut in half, I feel better already, better get back to work."

.

This forum itself is full of stories of miraculous recovery. Indeed, some of the recoveries have been almost biblical in their intensity.

People have been so depressed, or stressed or sick that they have been signed off 'on the sick' and then, praise God and allelulah, as their full salary rights are replaced by SSP, they seem to make some kind of stunning recovery and come here to work out best how to get back to work (by which time, of course, their employer wants to get rid of them, for good reason).

If the NHS were somehow able to package this miraculous 'SSP cure', it would wipe out sickness in this country in an instant.

Curious - isn't it?

SueC_2

We're going well off topic now, but there are, unfortunately, far too many employees who view sick pay as an entitlement not a benefit. "I'm entitled to x amount sick pay, so good golly I'm going to take x amount sick pay".

Unfortunately, again, for those genuinely suffering from depression, it is one of the easiest long-term illnesses to suffer from less genuinely - diagnosis is purely on the basis of what the 'sufferer' says, there are no blood tests, x-rays, or scans etc that can verify or otherwise the diagnosis - the doctor purely takes the patient's words for it.

As someone else has said, it is very sad that those genuinely suffering from depression get tarred with the same brush as those who aren't.

Uncertain

SueC wrote: »

We're going well off topic now, but there are, unfortunately, far too many employees who view sick pay as an entitlement not a benefit. "I'm entitled to x amount sick pay, so good golly I'm going to take x amount sick pay".

This can be true but also goes both ways.

There are many employers who include "generous" sick pay provisions in the employment package then go to great lengths to intimidate sick staff from using it. To me this is like an insurance company disputing a valid claim.

At the end of the day it is for a doctor and not a HR clerk to decide if somebody is ill. It is perfectly reasonable, if the illness is longer term, to seek a second opinion. Equally, once the contractual sick pay has run out, it is reasonable to assess whether the employment should continue. What is not reasonable though is to add additional stress to the genuinely ill who are within their contractual entitlement.

SueC_2

Uncertain wrote: »

At the end of the day it is for a doctor and not a HR clerk to decide if somebody is ill.

Not for much longer. See paragraph 5:

http://www.shponline.co.uk/article.asp?article_id=9742&viewcomment=1

"The ‘may be fit for some work’ option has been amended to include ‘taking account of the following advice’. This acknowledges that it is not the doctor, but the employer, in consultation with their employee, who is best-placed to make the decision as to whether they can accommodate any changes to facilitate a return to work".

Could turn out quite interesting!

emmell

What happened to the term 'dibility', that used to appear on a lot of sick notes, has this been overtaken by 'depression'.
I suffer with 'depression, anxiety and panic attacks', call it what you will. But I can honestly say I wouldn't dream of applying for a job or doing voluntary work (which I would love to do) because I can't guarantee if I would turn up and I would hate to let anybody down. My illness had nothing to do with a job(I don't work and I am not on any benefits whatsoever).
I think a lot of people mistake stress for depression, but these are only my thoughts as I have no clinical training.
ML.

bendix

If you're not stressed, you're not doing your job properly.

Whatever happened to people's basic coping skills? Why have we turned into a nation of whiners?

piggeh

We do not know the reasons behind why the OP is depressed, stop using such generalisations without knowing any of the context behind the OP's situation. Maybe we could even get it back on topic as to whether the OP should disclose the details or not, rather than all shouting our opinions about the state of the British workforce. I'm sure if the OP wished to know peoples' views on the British workforce's level of absenteeism they can start a new topic on it.