Off sick and employer home visit?

sarah1975uk

Have been off work sick for 4 months. Employer wants to meet me for home visit. Cant face it at the moment can i refuse? And have the meeting when im ready to return to work? They know why im off and provide sick notes regularly.

Any help appreciated.

glossgal

Hi, is there anything in your contract about official sickness procedures at all or do you know if home visits have been carried out for other staff members in the past?

TBH home visits are generally only implemented in cases of long term sick leave eg 9-12 months, I think after 4 months is a bit heavy handed (unless you've only worked there 5 months ). I would offer a compromise and agree to a telephone 'discussion'-that way you can make notes and refer to these and won't feel pressured to agree to returning if you're not able to. However, if you are not well enough to do this then you should say so. I wouldn't want my employer visiting me when I was well let alone ill!

ceridwen

...and if it comes to a telephone discussion with employer...could you have a friend listening on another phone in your house?

Good idea to have a friend with you anyway for moral support.

sarah1975uk

Apparently standard proceedure for long term sick. But feel that the fact i still have a month or so to go on current sick note. That in MHO they should not be contacting me whilst im off work, they are putting additional pressure on me that i really dont need at the moment. I feel it far more appropriate to wait until i contact them when i am ready to return to work and then conduct a back to work meeting. TBH the way things are at the moment im not in a positon to give them answers on return to work or anything positive. So feel that the meeting at this stage is a waste of time. I am happy to corrospond on email but dont want to be pressured into anything atm in a face to face meeting which i feel would be indimidating.. and trust me my bosses can be intimidating at the best of times. The whole thought of it fills me with dread.

glossgal

Well if they consider 4 months as long term sick then they obviously aren't the most accomodating of employers to begin with so I would keep them at arms length. You are doing exactly the right thing by sending sick notes so shouldn't feel pressured to commit to anything else at this point. Is it possible for you to e-mail or write to them stating that you will keep them updated as your situation changes but don't feel a visit is productive for either party? If you can make it sound like they will have nothing to gain from it they may back off anyway. I think the ball is in their court on this one.

The most time off I ever had was just over two months with stress/bereavement. I lost count of how many 'hope you're ok' phone calls I got from my supervisor :rolleyes: so you have my sympathy! In hindsight I wish I'd have been more firm and told them to leave me alone so I'd advise making your case early on.

NAF_3

I believe that you can refuse but it will be taken into account that you have not submitted to the home visit and that usually goes against you.

As for them not having the right to visist you after four months - sorry - that is totally appropriate for them to do. They are your employer and you have a responsability to them as much as they do to you.

ohreally

Advise them that your treatment regime, implemented by your GP, could be adversely affected by a home visit. If they persist with their request, agree to a compromise meeting at a neutral venue at a mutually agreeable time.Confirm who will be in attendance and what their role will be and get an assurance the meeting will comply with the relevant company policy. Establish what they believe a home visit will achieve, apart from making you anxious and fearfull, or is this their agenda?
They have no right to insist on the home visit especially if it results in a medical detriment. I would also contact your GP to keep them informed and bring your case notes up to date to reflect this intrusion and the anxiety it's causing.

DaisyFlower

I would class 4 months as long term sick so if company policy requires a home visit, pick the best time of day for yourself and let them visit. Have a friend or relative with you if it helps.

They may want to refer you to their doctor or occupational health. They have a duty towards their employees like another poster has said.

I presume they are paying you sick pay which is why they might be trying to gauge your return etc, they may also be incurring costs if they have had to draft agency in etc and might be trying to see if its worth them advertising for cover (agency workers can cost firms a lot).

snarffie

My partner got a home visit from her employer after about two months of being off sick. They came to gauge how long she would be off for and to agree how they would proceed with company sick pay, and future statutory sick pay. Unfortunately, their policy only allowed for a pathetic ONE month contractual sick pay.

It turned out to be a reasonable discussion as they got to see how ill she was, and we were able to come to a face to face agreement of how to proceed, extending full pay to four months. It was probably better than a cold letter from her employer, dictating terms.

I would say that your feelings on this are perfectly reasonable, and I would start by emailing them to explain the futility of a face to face meeting at this stage and that you feel a little intimidated in your current state of mind. Even better (and this is what I did early on during my partner's sickness) would be to ask a friend/relative to write to them on your behalf, with your permission as you are too upset to do so yourself.

Please don't be too upset if they still push for a meeting. The point is that you are sick, and covered by a GP note, so you can't be pressured to go back to work. Remember, they'll only be at your house for half an hour (especially if you don't make them a cuppa!), and they may feel even more intimidated than you

All the best.

aah

They have a duty of care to you - and by doing this they probably think they are exercising it. It may genuinely be a meeting about your welfare, and how work could be adapted to meet your future needs.

It is not good, mentally, for people to be off work for ages and if the employer does not stay in touch it is much harder for someone to go back to work, thereby endangering their mental health.

However you are obviously distressed at the prospect of this meeting. Do ask them what their purpose is of this meeting and do try to arrange it on neutral ground, and do not go alone, especially if there is going to be more than one of them.

If you still cannot face it then get your GP to tell them so.

Becles

sarah1975uk wrote: »

That in MHO they should not be contacting me whilst im off work, they are putting additional pressure on me that i really dont need at the moment. I feel it far more appropriate to wait until i contact them when i am ready to return to work and then conduct a back to work meeting.

I respect that is how you feel at this moment in time.

Just think of it another way. You've been off work for 4 months already. What happens if they left you alone, but you were sitting at home thinking nobody at work cared about you. That would put barriers on returning, as you wouldn't want to go back if you thought they didn't give a stuff about you.

It's hard for employers as they need to keep in touch enough to show they are concerned and want to make it easy for you to return, but at the same time, they don't want to intrude and get your back up.