What are my rights?

Undervalued

Marcon said:

joeypesci said:

I'm going to refuse and also now looking to sign off sick. What are my actual rights and how does one sign off sick with stress?

Your 'actual rights' don't including planning to claim that you are under so much stress you need to sign off sick. You actually need to be too unwell to work.

Instead of fabricating excuses (and from the way you've phrased your post, that's the only conclusion those of us reading it can draw), time to talk to your employer and agree some limits, a pay increase or whatever - or look for another job, but don't damage your own employment record needlessly.

Indeed.

If you really are too unwell the remain at work due to stress then your family and friends are likely to realise this before you do. Trust me, I have real experience of this so I am not in any way minimising how serious it can be.

GP's have significant training in mental health issues, it is a very significant part of their work, see your doctor and listen to their advice. Sometimes being off sick for a (usually) extended period of time can be the only thing to do. However few such situations resolve happily back at work with the same employer. Think carefully before you make a bad situation ten times worse.

marcia_

Marcon said:

joeypesci said:

I'm going to refuse and also now looking to sign off sick. What are my actual rights and how does one sign off sick with stress?

Your 'actual rights' don't including planning to claim that you are under so much stress you need to sign off sick. You actually need to be too unwell to work.

Instead of fabricating excuses (and from the way you've phrased your post, that's the only conclusion those of us reading it can draw), time to talk to your employer and agree some limits, a pay increase or whatever - or look for another job, but don't damage your own employment record needlessly.

 Where does the OP say they plan on fabricating illness? 

 This sounds like very stressful situation doing the jobs of several people. They could genuinely be ill with it. 

thara1996

Heya. 

This is my advice to you. OP this is not acceptable either way. It is time in order to look hard and close at all your alternative options and get the ball rolling. Many companies advertise their current vacancies on and offline. One classic method in which to find work is to use print advertisements to find something that is appealing. Consider your own skills, personality, qualifications and level of overall industry experience. Brush up your resume and work hard in the meantime on your interview technique too. Practice with a friend in advance. Good luck. 

Work need not be dull. Far from it seriously in fact. Half the battle lies in finding information about career options here. Make some brief summary notes on careers as well. Never lie on your resume however. You also certainly can find so many free career books at your local library located down town for starters. Borrow a couple at once. Use recommended career networking websites like LinkedIn and Glass door in addition to help you to find your dream career pronto before things are out of control. Make friends. Cast your net wide. Take a good careful look at handy websites online. 

Speak with a trusted career advisor. They may be able to offer helpful advice and lead you to other resources that can help you. Research companies in question online to get a idea of what to expect. If you can manage to do so, find out a bit more about offered industry accreditation qualifications and the like. More than that, know that skill development schemes vary from industry to industry but are equally recommended and often times as good as formal training. 

Read the entire description and advert carefully. Note down key points relating to your existing skills and so on. Be smart. It helps to devise a good eye catching impressive cover letter. Write three or four paragraphs about your skills mainly. That is what they want to find out more about really. Stick to the facts as much as possible. Know all about the company. Prepare yourself. At the actual hiring interview smile from time to time. 

elsien

“In the time available, I can do A or I can do B. Which would you like me to prioritise?”

pinkshoes

joeypesci said:

Work in a small org. A small org that say on their form when joining they don't recognise any union. I'm know they can't reject any so looking to join one.

Without giving too much away everyone in our department apart from me quit over pay issues. I've been, for over 10 months, doing more than my fair share to keep the department going with no compensation. The only compensation was "work overtime and we'll pay it".

In this role (I have to be vague) I started to do a job for a guy who asked me to help with something another department is supposed to do. I said I only have very basic knowledge, I can do the tiny things but nothing else. This was fine because the other department had also quit so no longer existed until a replacement was in.

Now this guy has left and I've been asked to do more for this other little job but have said "Its outside of my JD, I was doing it as a favour and not an expert". Just been told "Its a small org, we sometimes need to do stuff outside of our JD, action it now".

I'm going to refuse and also now looking to sign off sick. What are my actual rights and how does one sign off sick with stress?

In which case you reply (in writing) with "ok, that's fine, but as I am not qualified/able to do this at the moment, I'm going to need some training first. Would you like me to look into relevant training and associated costs?".

I don't get the whole going off sick with stress thing. You just need to be assertive. Just make it clear that as it's not what you were employed to do, therefore your knowledge of this thing is very limited, and although you're happy to do it, you'll need training and/or support.