Sickness - asked to work

Royoftherovers2024

I'll try and make this brief and to point.

Currently off work after an operation, have a current fit note in place for 5 weeks in total.

Asked by my employer if I can work from home whilst on my fit note.

Job is office based job so it can be done remotely.


What is right? What is wrong? 


Thank you in advance for any replies.

gwynlas

What do you think? In small teams someone being off sick for a long period puts a lot of strain on others particularly as we approach summer holidays. To me it would depend on nature of operation and provision of sick pay. Technically the employer cannot override your  fit note but you could negociate for suitable recompense. 
If it is was a major operation with follow up just say no.

Hoenir

Royoftherovers2024 said:

What is right? What is wrong? 

Any response would be subjective and dependent on circumstances. 

Royoftherovers2024

gwynlas said:

What do you think? In small teams someone being off sick for a long period puts a lot of strain on others particularly as we approach summer holidays. To me it would depend on nature of operation and provision of sick pay. Technically the employer cannot override your  fit note but you could negociate for suitable recompense. 
If it is was a major operation with follow up just say no.

I think whilst someone is on a fit note, they should be left to recover and not be felt to be pressurised into returning to work in any capacity until either the GP feels they have recovered or the employee feels they have recovered.

It is not a employees role to think about the running of a business, recovery should be the only concern.

You have answered my question really, if a GP cannot be disregarded/override that is fine. Thank you for confirming what I already was thinking.

tizerbelle

Royoftherovers2024 said:
You have answered my question really, if a GP cannot be disregarded/override that is fine. Thank you for confirming what I already was thinking.

Its not technically true that the employer can't override a Fit Note.  In this circumstance the employer cannot insist that the employee returns to work early (or works from home) BUT the employee could choose to do so if they wished and with no need to get the GP to sign them back as ok to work - they stopped being a thing when Fit Notes replaced sick notes.

But if a Fit Note says that an employee may be fit for work with amended duties / reduced hours etc.  The employer can choose to disregard those suggestions completely. In which case the employee remains signed off sick until the expiry date of the fit note or the employee chooses to return to work, whichever comes first.

LinLui

Royoftherovers2024 said:

gwynlas said:

What do you think? In small teams someone being off sick for a long period puts a lot of strain on others particularly as we approach summer holidays. To me it would depend on nature of operation and provision of sick pay. Technically the employer cannot override your  fit note but you could negociate for suitable recompense. 
If it is was a major operation with follow up just say no.

I think whilst someone is on a fit note, they should be left to recover and not be felt to be pressurised into returning to work in any capacity until either the GP feels they have recovered or the employee feels they have recovered.

It is not a employees role to think about the running of a business, recovery should be the only concern.

You have answered my question really, if a GP cannot be disregarded/override that is fine. Thank you for confirming what I already was thinking.

The employer can't override a fit note, but fit notes are also clear that they are advisory, and that you can work / return to work when you wish. It is entirely up to you whether you feel able to work or want to work. I have done so - I worked from home part-time twice after surgery. But I was fit enough to do so, and was under no pressure to do so. That said, it definitely helped when it came to sickness absence processes because they discounted the entire period (one of them was 3 months and the other 9 weeks) because I had done so. There can be benefits to "scratching each others backs" - would it be of benefit to you in any way?

Royoftherovers2024

LinLui said:

Royoftherovers2024 said:

gwynlas said:

What do you think? In small teams someone being off sick for a long period puts a lot of strain on others particularly as we approach summer holidays. To me it would depend on nature of operation and provision of sick pay. Technically the employer cannot override your  fit note but you could negociate for suitable recompense. 
If it is was a major operation with follow up just say no.

I think whilst someone is on a fit note, they should be left to recover and not be felt to be pressurised into returning to work in any capacity until either the GP feels they have recovered or the employee feels they have recovered.

It is not a employees role to think about the running of a business, recovery should be the only concern.

You have answered my question really, if a GP cannot be disregarded/override that is fine. Thank you for confirming what I already was thinking.

The employer can't override a fit note, but fit notes are also clear that they are advisory, and that you can work / return to work when you wish. It is entirely up to you whether you feel able to work or want to work. I have done so - I worked from home part-time twice after surgery. But I was fit enough to do so, and was under no pressure to do so. That said, it definitely helped when it came to sickness absence processes because they discounted the entire period (one of them was 3 months and the other 9 weeks) because I had done so. There can be benefits to "scratching each others backs" - would it be of benefit to you in any way?

Thanks for that, it would not be of any benefit for me no but understand your situation and why it was for you. My fit note states "You are not fit for work".

Royoftherovers2024

tizerbelle said:

Royoftherovers2024 said:
You have answered my question really, if a GP cannot be disregarded/override that is fine. Thank you for confirming what I already was thinking.

Its not technically true that the employer can't override a Fit Note.  In this circumstance the employer cannot insist that the employee returns to work early (or works from home) BUT the employee could choose to do so if they wished and with no need to get the GP to sign them back as ok to work - they stopped being a thing when Fit Notes replaced sick notes.

But if a Fit Note says that an employee may be fit for work with amended duties / reduced hours etc.  The employer can choose to disregard those suggestions completely. In which case the employee remains signed off sick until the expiry date of the fit note or the employee chooses to return to work, whichever comes first.

Thanks, my fit note says "you are not fit for work". I probably should have stated that in my original post.

tizerbelle

Royoftherovers2024 said:

Thanks, my fit note says "you are not fit for work". I probably should have stated that in my original post.

And in that case then you are well within your rights to stay off work / not work from home until you feel you are ready or the fit note expires, whichever comes first.   

For many, it would come down to whether you get full pay while sick or just statutory sick pay - £116.75 per week currently is not a lot and some people may appreciate the option to work from home if they don't get full pay / have savings to cover the loss of pay.

However it pans out, hope your road to recovery goes well

Brie

You might feel well enough for a phased return to work and so log on at home and do an hour each day catching up on emails.   Then in week 2 be able to do 2 hours, week 3, 3 hours etc.  But only if this works for you.

If you are flat on your back and told not to move then you shouldn't be sitting at a computer typing.  If you are able to sit and use a computer without any issues you might consider it.  I did when off because while I couldn't walk or drive and so couldn't get to the office I could sit in one spot and do some things in a leisurely fashion.  6 weeks of sitting and watching a box set of Glee or BBT was just too boring for me.  

LinLui

Royoftherovers2024 said:

LinLui said:

Royoftherovers2024 said:

gwynlas said:

What do you think? In small teams someone being off sick for a long period puts a lot of strain on others particularly as we approach summer holidays. To me it would depend on nature of operation and provision of sick pay. Technically the employer cannot override your  fit note but you could negociate for suitable recompense. 
If it is was a major operation with follow up just say no.

I think whilst someone is on a fit note, they should be left to recover and not be felt to be pressurised into returning to work in any capacity until either the GP feels they have recovered or the employee feels they have recovered.

It is not a employees role to think about the running of a business, recovery should be the only concern.

You have answered my question really, if a GP cannot be disregarded/override that is fine. Thank you for confirming what I already was thinking.

The employer can't override a fit note, but fit notes are also clear that they are advisory, and that you can work / return to work when you wish. It is entirely up to you whether you feel able to work or want to work. I have done so - I worked from home part-time twice after surgery. But I was fit enough to do so, and was under no pressure to do so. That said, it definitely helped when it came to sickness absence processes because they discounted the entire period (one of them was 3 months and the other 9 weeks) because I had done so. There can be benefits to "scratching each others backs" - would it be of benefit to you in any way?

Thanks for that, it would not be of any benefit for me no but understand your situation and why it was for you. My fit note states "You are not fit for work".

They all say that! That is kind of the point. They then say something along the lines of "you may be fit for work if..." (I can't quite recall the exact wording) and I have yet to meet the doctor who fills that bit in unless you actually ask them to. 

I have / had full pay but like Brie, I would probably have gone insane anyway if I hadn't done something - there's only so long you can read or watch TV before you crawl up the walls. 

Does your employer not have any sickness monitoring process - that's very unusual these days. Not being in it can be handy if they do - one never knows what the future can bring.