Can I be fired for being off work with depression/stress?

pineapple

The bullying could be a matter of perception due to your mind set.
That said I have seen it happen - in an NHS mental health establishment too! It was a vicious cycle as the other staff picked up on any weaknesses and engaged in subtle bullying - so the individual became more nervous, more depressed, less able to face work, more reliant on drugs, more bullied... I had left the unit but eventually went to this persons funeral. No one knew whether it was accidental or deliberate. But the management had known was happening. I have had one of them say to me it was shameful the way she was treated by certain staff. This from the management!!
Sorry if this has been said but you need to keep a diary. Also as pointed out, demonstrate that you are co-operating with bosses.
Re bullying there is often a central ringleader and that person needs to be identified and 'sat on'. In the case above, the ringleader was a very strong character and very mouthy. I'll swear management were afraid of her too. You either became part of her 'gang' or you stood up to her. Sometimes it is all very subtle and one's working life can be made difficult just by a look, a tone, sniggers... Is it possible to get a transfer to another post?

Bangton

When you say work are complaining...genuinely, have they made remarks or are you reading into it based on them asking you to come in for another meeting?

I was signed off for 8 weeks following my dad's death 4 years ago, it was and still is the only period of absence I had taken but I still had to have home visits both by my boss and subsequently by an occupational health team employed by the business I work for. It actually felt very intrusive and I remember feeling annoyed at the time over the silly questions they asked. I now work in a higher position and see that companies actually have to be seen to be supporting their staff and thus cannot keep receiving sicknotes without doing something for the employee in question. I found that talking to them helped and i was able to go back at the end of week 8 as they agreed to me working less hours for a month, they also made provisions for me to be able to fit travel around less stressful periods etc. It truly did help (although I didnt have any issues with bullying). I think you need to be honest with your employers and attend meetings where asked. Believe me, I know how irratating it is...I have OCD and whilst I can live with my compulsions relatively easily they were excerbated by my dad's death and I became a slave to them. Admitting this to a stranger in my home was incredibly embarrassing and I appreciate you may feel this way about your negative feelings right now. Good luck....

Professional

I'm sorry to hear about your situation. Depression/Anxiety is a serious issue and often can be work-related as it appears in your case.

To answer your question, yes your employer can dismiss you, however if they do then you may be entitled to make a claim for unfair dismissal. Bullying is definately grounds for unfair dismissal. I would suggest you get proper legal advice if this is where this situation is going. As I understand it you could even resign and make a claim that you left because you couldn't work there due to the bullying.

However I think other people have made a valid point in saying that you have to try and communicate with your employers and make them aware of the situation. Do they know you are being bullied? Do they know who the perpetrator is? Have you explained the circumstances to them and how you feel about it? Burying your head in the sand won't make it go away. You really don't want this to go to court and your employers to turn around and say its your fault because you didn't tell them about it. The first step is to make an official complaint to your work place about the bullying - have it in writing.

If they think you should come back to work and you can't handle it then you need to tell them that and tell them why. Maybe they can help work out another plan of action allowing you more time to deal with your health issues. If you can't face telling them face to face then email them or hand them a letter. As mentioned previously you should keep a diary of all episodes of bullying but also meetings with your work place around the issue.

At some point you've got to decide - are you going to go back to work or are you not able to? In the end the employer can't continously pay you for not doing any work with no end in sight. The key for you is to help yourself and your employer see a future together, if they present you a future i.e. come back to work in 2 weeks, reduced hours and away from the bully with counselling and you continuosly refuse to work then they will be within their rights to get rid of you and you wouldn't have much of a claim. If you really can't face going back to work you may be better off resigning and looking into getting incapacity benefit.

Hope that helps - best of luck.

SarEl

Professional wrote: »

Bullying is definately grounds for unfair dismissal.

No - actually it isn't. People often mistakenly think that bullying is against the law. It isn't. Specific types of bullying (like discrimination) are against the law; and certain aspects of bullying may be unlawful (such as victimisation for making a claim, or harassment in civil law). There may also be grounds for personal injury claims although such are very difficult to prove. But bullying is not per se grounds for unfair dismissal.

If the OP is unable or unwilling to go back to work, then provided the employer follows a proper capability process then at best the OP may be able to claim unfair dismissal if they can show that the employer knew about the bullying and did nothing to try to stop it (vicarious liability), but such cases are few and far between. Resigning and claiming constructive unfair dismissal is never an option - the burden of proof would be on the OP troughout, such cases seldom win, and the combination of attempting a near impossible claim, with a very difficult argument (vicarious liabaility) would be ill advised.

Professional

^ lol quite obviously saying bullying is grounds for unfair dismissal doesn't mean all bullying cases are grounds for unfair dismissal. It goes without saying that it depends on the facts of each individual case. Your quite right that any claim would have to be made under discrimination or perhaps even harassment.

There's no point discussing the legal in's and out's of it here. Proper legal advice should be sought. You can get some basics here:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/ResolvingWorkplaceDisputes/DiscriminationAtWork/DG_10026670