Occupational health/manager zoom call

s4uch1e

I'm currently not at my work, I have been off for 3month with depression and severe anxiety
my work have been in touch regarding a zoom call involving occupational health nurse and my department manager,  
I have had previous telephone calls with OHN and I've also been into work for face to face meeting with my boss .
I have no problem with speaking to OHN or my manager but both together on a videocall is making me very uncomfortable and can't stop worrying about it.
I'm just wondering if I have the right to request separate calls ?

desole

I am sorry to hear of you suffering from depression and severe anxiety, sadly the two go hand in hand.

First start by asking what is the objective of the call and what outcomes will come from it.

Simply respond saying that you do not feel that it is appropriate to discuss detailed matters of your private health with a manager present/

I would also object to the use of the platform, which may be recorded, expain that you do not have working video anyway.  If you have a laptop I would disable the camera at Admin level and put a tape over the camera anyway.

Remember to use certain phrases when you feel uncomfortable with questions

"I would rather not say"
"I don't feel comfortable being pressured to divulge personal information to that level"
"I don't think it is appropriate to ask such a question"

Remember that if the occupational health nurse works for them then S/He is their person and you should be entitled to your own representation as you are mentally ill and this event may make increase your anxiety and make your condition worse.

The reality is that employment law works mostly for the Employer, no rights unless you have been working for two years and all the employer has to do is tick a few "procedure" boxes to get rid of you. 

Chances are they want to establish if there is any chance of you coming back anytime soon, they may want to consider you for a redundancy programme that they are offering many staff or they may just be looking to dismiss you.

I would speak to ACAS to find out more and/or if you feel unfairly dismissed, also make sure you join a union, visit the site below (put in the dots between) to find out which is best for you.

tuc org uk

There is a good employment barrister on LBC on Saturday nights who does a legal hour, give him a call, he shoots straight but is very good.

Good Luck with your condition, try to get a decent referral and for CBT which can be life changing as part of the prescribed therapy from your clinician.

oh_really

I would contend it's not at all appropriate for the line manager to be in on the call.

Since you've been here previously did you request the information OH intend to dubmit before they do so?

MattMattMattUK

s4uch1e said:

I'm currently not at my work, I have been off for 3month with depression and severe anxiety

Are you making any progress and accessing therapy or treatment to manage these or on a waiting list? If you are on a waiting list it may be worth asking the OHN if your work has a policy on paying for private treatment for employees, some companies do. If you are stuck on a waiting list and your work does not have a scheme then if you can afford it I would say it is worth going private, waiting in limbo rarely helps.

s4uch1e said:

my work have been in touch regarding a zoom call involving occupational health nurse and my department manager,  
I have had previous telephone calls with OHN and I've also been into work for face to face meeting with my boss .
I have no problem with speaking to OHN or my manager but both together on a videocall is making me very uncomfortable and can't stop worrying about it.
I'm just wondering if I have the right to request separate calls ?

It depends on the nature of the call. The OHN will be working with your manager to work out what, if anything, they could do to accommodate your needs, the OHN, or your manager can not do that in isolation, they need to work together, with you, to do that.

desole said:

I would also object to the use of the platform, which may be recorded, expain that you do not have working video anyway.  If you have a laptop I would disable the camera at Admin level and put a tape over the camera anyway.

That seems rather extreme for two reasons, one the OHN and the manager both have a duty of confidentiality, however it may be policy to record all these interactions, just as many official meetings in offices are recorded. Two Zoom calls tell you when they are being recorded, so you could not be recorded unaware, or at least not without using additional software, which could also be done for any phone call or in person meeting.

You do need to work with your employer on this, employment is always a two way street. Most employers are more than willing to help, provided the employee is also willing to cooperate. 

s4uch1e

I have been with the company for 6years now,
I was getting twice weekly appointments with mental health nurse and a behavioural therapist pre lockdown,  once they were open again I couldn't bring myself to attending again as I struggle to leave my house so am now on a waiting list.
I unfortunately don't have a laptop so will need to do this on my mobile phone if possible.  
I fully understand the company are wanting me back to work ASAP I want to get back as soon as I can as I actually miss my work.
My biggest worry is what OHN will discuss in front of my manager as on previous phone calls with OHN it's been highly personal. 
I've hardly sleep last 2days thinking it over and  over and just want it done with

TELLIT01

Tell your manager that you do not think it appropriate for them to be directly involved in a call where wider health matters may be discussed, and you wish to have the conversation with OH privately. 

s4uch1e

If OH does start asking personal questions that I may ask manager to leave conversation. 
Do I need to install anything on my mobile phone for this zoom call to work???
They asked for my number and email address which I gave them 

Jillanddy

I think I would advise caution about not co-operating - that is not in your best interests. It is very reasonable though to ask why they wish to meet with you together. It is entirely possible, for example, that the OH employee is there as support to your manager whilst they have a conversation with you, to ensure that conversation causes as little stress as possible to you. Where I work this might be an option we would use right now where we need to have a "difficult conversation" and the manager is troubled about potential impacts. Unfortunately continued reliance on working from home and so on does take some of the personal interactions out of being very personal, and this can be hard for both managers and employees - zoom or teams does not replace a real face to face interaction where people can better assess impacts, especially non-verbal signs.

It's perfectly fair to say that you don't feel comfortable talking about certain issues in this context (if that is what they wish to discuss - nobody knows what they want to discuss), but I cannot agree that refusing to co-operate is helpful to your position. It might be worthwhile simply saying that your are getting anxious about it, and could they outline what the conversation is about? You at least then have a context to ask us about - right now none of us know what they want to discuss. There is an assumption being made here that it is about personal health issues, but that is quite probably not the case because I cannot see OH agreeing to the manager being present. I would assume that this is about something the manager wishes to discuss, and wants advice from OH on during their meeting. But equally, I may be wrong because I am also guessing.

elsien

You can install the zoom app if it makes life easier for you, but you don’t have to. 

They will send you a link and a meeting code which you can access via a browser on your phone. I don’t think you need an account (free) to do that if you’re joining someone else’s meeting but aren’t completely sure. 

If you are unclear on what to do, ask them to send you instructions.