Unpaid Leave From Work For A Few Weeks

patel007

Hi

I'm raising a question for a half cousin of mine.

She works in the se of England/Kent and has been a permanent employee for local government/housing department and has worked there for almost 2 years

Cut long story short:, she has been away from work three weeks on sick leave and due to return to work next week Tuesday. She is worried as the gp is hesistant giving her more sick leave and she has had a couple of calls from her departments manager pretending to ask "how are you and when do you think you will come back."

What she wants to know and be armed with information is, where does she stand if she took a few weeks leave without pay as she does not feel ready to come back and feels a bit more rest should be able to put her on the right footing for a successful return to work.

She also worries that many see her condition as a "bit of a leg puller."

She does not want a gradual return to work at the moment.

Many thanks

Alter_ego

Leave without pay has to be approved in the same way as any other leave.

leslieknope

also work for local government. managers can grant a certain amount of unpaid leave so it's best to discuss it with her manager.

why is the gp hesitant to give her more sick leave if she genuinely does not feel able to return to work? maybe something to talk about with the gp and whether it's work that's causing her to feel that way?

understand that the manager will care about her well-being but there is also a department that needs running so of course they'll want to know when they're returning. it's best to have the discussion with her manager as soon as possible if she wants to take unpaid leave so they can plan accordingly.

Savvy_Sue

she could ask her manager if a referral to Occupational Health would be possible to support her request for unpaid leave.

sangie595

The manager isn't pretending to ask how she is and when she will come back. They are asking that, that is a very reasonable thing to do. It's something they should be doing.

To be honest, there's a lot of good advice here already, but I am slightly uncomfortable giving any advice without understanding why she thinks she isn't ready to return to work when the GP obviously believes that she is. There are many options in local government, and many types of support - but to tailor the advice best, it's really necessary to know what is going on. You can perhaps appreciate that the advice would be very different if she hates her manager, or if she had nerves driving because she was in a crash. And she could have been off for any of a million reasons.

patel007

Hi

Many thanks to all four respondents.

I too feel there is more too it but she feels she is not ready and I will support her and ask her to contact Acas for advice as well

Thanks again.

sangie595

I think you need to be aware that (a) ACAS advice is often not good, and (b) what they say is irrelevant anyway - local authorities have complex policies and systems in place that go well beyond what is required by law. ACAS cannot advise on those because they have no idea what they are! Legally the situation is very simple - she can ask for unpaid leave, and the employer can refuse or not - it is the employers decision.