Can you resign whilst on sick notice...if you get a new job?

Hezzawithkids

Jarndyce wrote: »

Er, yes it is and yes it can.

I have dealt with many workers who are ill with stress or depression because they have been bullied, over-worked, mistreated or discriminated against by a particular employer. Remove the employer that treats them in that way and they can begin the recovery process.

Trouble is, by definition people in that position are among those least likely to be able to find alternative work. People not recognising their condition as an illness is not going to help either.

A doctor can only sign someone off with "stress" or "depression" if they are a qualified clinical psychologist - or so I'm told. If not the employer has every right to ask for a second opinion.

Jarndyce

Hezzawithkids wrote: »

A doctor can only sign someone off with "stress" or "depression" if they are a qualified clinical psychologist - or so I'm told. If not the employer has every right to ask for a second opinion.

Eh?

I was answering the ridiculous notion that stress and depression are not really illnesses.

Whether or not a GP can diagnose them is another question altogether - although as I understood it they have fairly simple Q & A tests for assessing both.

Uncertain

Hezzawithkids wrote: »

A doctor can only sign someone off with "stress" or "depression" if they are a qualified clinical psychologist - or so I'm told. If not the employer has every right to ask for a second opinion.

Absolute rubbish! Where do some of these myths come from?

A clinical psychologist is not actually a medical doctor at all. That is not to say they are without value or to suggest that they generally are anything other than highly qualified professionals. However, as far as I'm aware, they are not entitled to sign a fit (i.e. sick) note at all!

Uncertain

Jarndyce wrote: »

Eh?

I was answering the ridiculous notion that stress and depression are not really illnesses.

Whether or not a GP can diagnose them is another question altogether - although as I understood it they have fairly simple Q & A tests for assessing both.

An experienced GP will have had some significant training in mental illness as it forms a very considerable part of their workload.

People tend to forget that, by the time somebody becomes a fully qualified GP and is seeing patients unsupervised, they will have had at least ten years of medical training and experience. They earn approximately the same as a NHS hospital consultant and they quite rightly take a dim view of being regarded as some kind of "junior". They have simply chosen to specialise in general practice and will be a qualified member of the relevant Royal College.

Uncertain

Hezzawithkids wrote: »

I am an employer and one of my employees did this to me. They were off sick due to whiplash after an RTA (nothing to do with me). They didn't keep in contact with me except for posting their sick notes every couple of weeks. I was just about to start disciplinary action when I got their resignation ... via text.

A week later I was asked to provide a reference for their new employer. "Peeved" hardly begins to describe how I felt...:cool:

Whilst I agree a bit more communication would have been polite it is often not actually terribly useful.

"Dear employer, I'm sorry but I've been signed off sick by my doctor for the next two weeks when he has asked to see me again to review the situation" doesn't actually tell you anything more than the sick note.

In a way you would have been better informed had the first sick note been for two months but doubtless you would then have questioned how the doctor could possibly know that so he can't win!

Googlewhacker

Hezzawithkids wrote: »

I am an employer and one of my employees did this to me. They were off sick due to whiplash after an RTA (nothing to do with me). They didn't keep in contact with me except for posting their sick notes every couple of weeks. I was just about to start disciplinary action when I got their resignation ... via text.

A week later I was asked to provide a reference for their new employer. "Peeved" hardly begins to describe how I felt...:cool:

Did you give one? If it was me I would have refused to give one

LittleVoice

Hezzawithkids wrote: »

I am an employer and one of my employees did this to me. They were off sick due to whiplash after an RTA (nothing to do with me). They didn't keep in contact with me except for posting their sick notes every couple of weeks. I was just about to start disciplinary action when I got their resignation ... via text.

A week later I was asked to provide a reference for their new employer. "Peeved" hardly begins to describe how I felt...:cool:

So they were looking for work whilst off sick. People look for work when they are turning up for work too.

Attending an interview for an hour is not the same as having to work for 7.5 hours a day.

Many employers will apply for references before offering the job so a week after the resignation doesn't mean the job was in the bag before they resigned. (Though they might have felt confident of having a new job.)

It would also be a stupid employee to resign when they didn't have an unconditional offer (ie the new employer already had received satisfactory references).

Hezzawithkids

Uncertain wrote: »

Absolute rubbish! Where do some of these myths come from?

From my legal advisor who is a specialist in employment law...

Hezzawithkids

Googlewhacker wrote: »

Did you give one? If it was me I would have refused to give one

All I did was confirm the dates they were employed from/to, their leaving salary and their job title. I refused to fill in the part where they asked for a view of their performance on the grounds that, as they worked for 3 weeks then were off on sick leave for 10 weeks I hadn't seen enough of their performance to comment.

elsien

I was in the position a while back of being the new employer requesting the reference. Turnd out the employee had lied on his health assessment form and not mentioned that he was currently off on long term sick leave. So I rescinded my job offer and he was left to explain to his current employer why he was well enough to work for me but not for them......