Off work sick, asked to go in to see company nurse

Unreal1ty

Hi all,
I have been off work for a few weeks with a bad knee,
Sprain ligaments.
Now I believe my employer does not believe me. They have asked me to go in to see the company nurse tomorrow.
Do I have to attend ? I believe their plan is to put me under pressure to go back even tho I have give her a sick note from my doctor

Kim_kim

Unreal1ty wrote: »

Hi all,
I have been off work for a few weeks with a bad knee,
Sprain ligaments.
Now I believe my employer does not believe me. They have asked me to go in to see the company nurse tomorrow.
Do I have to attend ? I believe their plan is to put me under pressure to go back even tho I have give her a sick note from my doctor

We have an occupational health company we use. We use them when people are off with sick notes and if people identify something in work.
They might want to see what adjustments they can make to support you upon your return ~ we would use them for this.

TELLIT01

If you have been off for 'a few weeks' it's perfectly normal for the employer to want an Occupational Health assessment. If they only told you today that they want you to attend tomorrow that seems unreasonable as you may need to arrange transport to get in. Other than that aspect, there is nothing wrong with what they are asking.
It's possible they will be able to make adjustments at work to enable you to return, even if not in your normal role.

Nothanks

This always baffles me. Why would you not cooperate?

Marcon

If I want an appointment with my GP it's a 3 week wait. An offer of an immediate appointment with a company-provided nurse would be marvellous!

scd3scd4

We have one part time. I assume you have seen a Dr. If not why. Get him to put it in writing and give to nurse/company.


This should trump anything she has to say.

TELLIT01

scd3scd4 wrote: »

We have one part time. I assume you have seen a Dr. If not why. Get him to put it in writing and give to nurse/company.


This should trump anything she has to say.

The OH nurse isn't just looking at whether the illness / injury reported by the staff member is genuine. They are looking at how it affects the ability to work and may suggest workplace adjustments which will enable the employee to return. It's obviously not in the company's interest to be paying somebody if they aren't working. The employee's views on getting back to work earlier than expected may be different, particularly if they are on full pay when sick.

scd3scd4

TELLIT01 wrote: »

The OH nurse isn't just looking at whether the illness / injury reported by the staff member is genuine. They are looking at how it affects the ability to work and may suggest workplace adjustments which will enable the employee to return. It's obviously not in the company's interest to be paying somebody if they aren't working. The employee's views on getting back to work earlier than expected may be different, particularly if they are on full pay when sick.

That's fine but if I had the condition the OP has then I could not do my job and that's that. I would have no problem coming into work giving her the notes from the Dr and going back home.


This make adjustments is something mostly people who work in an office say.


I had three months off after an eye op, full pay and no drama, other than asking for Dr notes...........there are still decent modern companies are there without the drama. It most defo is in their interest for me to not be working so as to heal completely.

TELLIT01

scd3scd4 wrote: »

That's fine but if I had the condition the OP has then I could not do my job and that's that. I would have no problem coming into work giving her the notes from the Dr and going back home.


This make adjustments is something mostly people who work in an office say.

Not true. As an example, the OP may normally be on their feet all day, and obviously couldn't do that with their current medical condition. If the employer was able to modify the way the job was done so the OP could be seated it would be a reasonable adjustment.

It's possible that there is no practical 'reasonable adjustment'. For example, I had surgery which required my leg to be in a full length brace for 6 weeks and there was no flex at the knee. That meant that it was impossible for me to sit at a desk and use a computer because I would have to sit at 90 degrees to the desk. Additionally, I had to sit on the floor 3 times a day to do physio exercises, again something which couldn't be facilitated at work. There was nothing which could practically be done to get me back to work before the brace came off.

TBagpuss

scd3scd4 wrote: »

That's fine but if I had the condition the OP has then I could not do my job and that's that. I would have no problem coming into work giving her the notes from the Dr and going back home.


This make adjustments is something mostly people who work in an office say.


I had three months off after an eye op, full pay and no drama, other than asking for Dr notes...........there are still decent modern companies are there without the drama. It most defo is in their interest for me to not be working so as to heal completely.

I don't think it's something 'people who work in an office' say, or that a company which looks at whether someone can return to work with support is somehow *not* 'decent.

Perhaps in your job and with your specific injury, there were no reasonable adjustments which could have been made. But for many people, in many jobs, including many who don't work in offices, that isn't the case, and there are adjustment which can be made.

scd3scd4

TELLIT01 wrote: »

Not true. As an example, the OP may normally be on their feet all day, and obviously couldn't do that with their current medical condition. If the employer was able to modify the way the job was done so the OP could be seated it would be a reasonable adjustment.

It's possible that there is no practical 'reasonable adjustment'. For example, I had surgery which required my leg to be in a full length brace for 6 weeks and there was no flex at the knee. That meant that it was impossible for me to sit at a desk and use a computer because I would have to sit at 90 degrees to the desk. Additionally, I had to sit on the floor 3 times a day to do physio exercises, again something which couldn't be facilitated at work. There was nothing which could practically be done to get me back to work before the brace came off.

You say not true and I beg to differ. I never said it is not or can not be done, just its not as easy as saying we can find alternative work. In 20 years in the oil industry for a large American company I don't know more than a few who have ever been found alternative work on site outside the office.


There is no way I would have returned to work based on the advise of my both my surgeon and Dr. Regardless of what any work-place nurse said or thought. I would still have to come in for a meeting of course but like I said they don't deal in all the drama.