Retirement on medical grounds

elsien

Given that references often ask for reasons for leaving, there's a fair chance it'll come out if he doesn't disclose it. However questions about health shouldn't be asked until after a job offer has been made.
And he may be able to spin it anyway - if he's left a job that needs a certain level of physical activity, but has no problems with a sedentary role (for example) then it shouldn't matter if he's applying for office type jobs. It depends what impact his health condition has, and how it might affect future roles.

If he can't do his current job and there's no other suitable ones they can offer him, it seems to me his options are resign, take the offered retirement or wait to be dismissed on incapacity grounds.

sangie595

elsien wrote: »

If he can't do his current job and there's no other suitable ones they can offer him, it seems to me his options are resign, take the offered retirement or wait to be dismissed on incapacity grounds.

To be honest there isn't going to be that choice - which is actually better for him anyway. He won't be dismissed on incapacity grounds, but he could (assuming he qualifies for medical retirement) be forced to retire. Only if he didn't qualify for medical retirement would dismissal become a distinct likelihood. The employer is required to look at all other options before dismissal - medical retirement being one of them. If this applies then it is the employer / insurer who activate it, and the only way he could avoid taking it would be to simply refuse to comply with anything in the process. At which point they would almost certainly dismiss on other grounds than incapacity. It would be foolish in the extreme to push it to such a stage since he clearly agrees that he can't do his job.

At this point in time I think that you / he are addressing the issue in the wrong way, as others have suggested. Employment is only part of life, and one that you are lucky if you enjoy or get value out of. Giving up paid employment does not mean that you become less valuable, and if that is how he is feeling, then he needs to address that, not try to find ways to stay in a job that he cannot do. It will do even less for his self-esteem if he gets to a stage where his value in the job is nil because he can't do it, and he's really lucky to have an option - most people would be looking forward to benefits, which is not an easy option.

If his psychological state is getting out of his control, then this is something to discuss with the GP - he isn't the first and won't be the last person to feel this way, and there will be a range of options he could consider. However, if it is not that bad, then maybe he needs to shake himself up.

Start making to-do lists for each day, and make sure you get the things on it done. It's easy to let time get away from you because you don't feel any imperative to get things done now, and later will always do. If he wants to keep the structure of a "working week", then plan the weekdays and then have weekends as you would have in work. Stop thinking about filling time and start making a difference with the time he has. Volunteering is great, but there are many types of volunteering. Don't just use it to fill up empty time. For example, think about something like becoming and Independent Visitor for looked after children - every council has a scheme. These people spend a few hours with a local young person every month, going out somewhere - from having a coffee to going to the cinema or a football match. They are often the only person in this young adults life who is not paid to look after them, and the value they have to that young person can make a huge difference to their life outcomes. There is always a shortage of male volunteers. Or would his professional skills lend themselves towards being useful - providing a service for charities or community groups; or perhaps in something like Business in the Community schemes - many have learning mentors who work with schools to support young people moving into career options. A friend of mine mentors people setting up their own businesses. So there's thousands of options.

He could take up a new hobby; study something that he's just always wanted to do, but for whatever reason, never did.

What he needs is goals - that is what distinguishes the working day from not working for many people, and it sounds like he is one of them. They actually don't have to be complex goals - if his condition means he is limited some days, then just getting a few household tasks off the list may be the end of what he can do that day. But the list gives him a record of having achieved something, no matter how small, on that day.

Being medically retired isn't the end of his life. It is just a next stage. He could see this as a real challenge to himself - if he had worked all the way to his normal retirement age, he would have felt the same way, but may have been too old/ill to be ready to face a new challenge. Medical researchers have long said that one of the reasons contributing to much higher mortality rates in men after they retire is that they adapt to retirement badly - they find it hard to deal with a life that doesn't revolve around working, even if the job wasn't all that great. Women, on the other hand, have generally led lives where there is never "nothing to do", and therefore retirement from employment doesn't mean their life's work is over - there's always still the ironing to do!

This is an opportunity for him, and if he is such a focussed professional, he should be able to rise to it. And as his friend you are really best placed to tell him to stop feeling sorry for himself and get off his !!!! and do something with his life, which isn't over. You obviously care a lot for your friend, and this is a message that only a friend can really get away with telling!

VfM4meplse

^^ Excellent post, thanks sangie!