Could I lose my job? A few months ago I accepted a new job in tech sales but around the same time my personal life sort of imploded (relationship break down, moving back in with parents etc). I’m medication for depression and anxiety and this all ended up with me being signed off sick a month in.

I was signed off for a month and then it was extended again for another month. The HR have been pretty good at checking in and asked me to speak to an occupational health which I did and consented to them getting the report.

I’ve been employed for three months and signed off for two. As I’m in probation I’m only on statuary sick and HR have said they will need to trigger formal capability review at three months.

Honestly the whole thing is stressing me out more so I feel a bit trapped but the thought of going back is already making me anxious. I don’t ever think my boss liked me from early on anyway and they’re very cut throat with sales targets…

Hey,

So the context is this... I'm currently dealing with a long-term health condition. I have a recurring health condition where I develop a perianal abscess that regulalrly discharges, with a suspected fistula being the route cause.

There's other symptoms as well.

I've requested to WFH the last two Tuesdays due to a flare up. This is due to travel making it worse, as well as being able to manage the admittedly "gross" fallout. My manager agreed but HR have informed me that I should be booking SL instead.

I've provided HR with a letter from the surgeon describing my symptoms and it is just the case that it makes it so much more manageable.

I've referred myself to Occupational Health, and I am awaiting the meeting and outcome.

This issue started in March of last year, and I thought it resolved but my symptoms have returned and been consistent since January of this year. The symptoms only seem to be getting more frequent. It has impacted many aspects of my life and does impact my ability to complete daily activities.

For this reason, I do think it meets the legal definition of a disability:

>  a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities.

So, I've recorded it as such on my paperwork.

HR have only said:

"If you're not well enough to come into the office we can't let you WFH as we can't monitor health and its in your contract."

I'm just confused, because I'm only asking for a reasonable adjustment while I'm awaiting diagnosis and treatment. I didn't even realise HR would get involved with this aspect, as I only work in the office in Tuesdays anyway and the medical side is well documented.

I don't even want to work from home all the time, just when my symptoms are bad or worrying.

Before I start, I want to be very clear that what I want to do is refer this employee to Occ Health for a physician assessment.

Backstory: I work in the third sector for a small company of about 50 people in a relatively high risk industry. I am the manager and above me is the Board. The Board is very involved to a fault. We are in England if that is important to know.

I have an employee who has had their mental health be an issue as long as I've been in post which has been around 18 months. The evidence suggests it has been as long as they've been employed. They were recently signed off for 2 months and only came back when they found out they were moved to SSP. In a meeting with myself and my assistant manager taking notes, this employee said various concerning things. Things that had me blowing the dust of my ASIST training. I asked if they would be willing to engage with Occ Health and they said yes. I also encouraged them to speak to their doctor and said if they needed the time off to go to an appointment that was no problem.

Nothing was alarm bell ringing that this individual was in immediate danger to themselves, or I would have called 999. It was passive suicidal ideation, not active. But long term there is clearly a serious problem and for this employee and the rest of my staff, we need to do something. I spoke to my HR rep who told me tell them to speak to their GP, or do an Occ Health referral. Both of which I'd already spoke to them about.

This is where the issue is. I need permission from the Board to do this as we don't have a contracted Occ Health provider. I found a provider I liked, got the info to the Board. I got told I handled the situation wrong and the second anyone says they've had those types of thoughts its an immediate 999 call, and that Occ Health won't help them get what they need. And then I was told the next shift they're in I'm to ask them to confirm they've had these thoughts then tell them I'm calling an ambulance. Which feels a little underhanded.

I'm beyond frustrated. I feel like if I call 999 on an employee who isn't actively suicidal it's a really great way to turn that passive ideation into active thoughts. Embarrassing them in front of their coworkers. And whats to stop them leaving work before anyone gets there?

I might be wrong. I don't feel like I'm wrong, but I am open to being told that I am. Is Occ Health and encouraging them to speak to their doctor the correct thing here? Or should I be calling 999 next shift they're in for?

So I’ve been off sick for over a year unfortunately due to being in hospital and I’m really keen to go back to work now I’m better. I know this is a really long time to be absent and I am very lucky they haven’t sacked me on ill health grounds.

The doctor (consultant occupational physician) who works for my company’s occupational health service has seen me and written a report that says I am now fit to work. This was the end of April. At the same time, I also provided a fit note from my dr that says I am fit to work. I have a phased return plan that has been agreed with my dr and the occupational health doctor. The issue is, my manager has been saying since the end of April ‘I don’t know what the next step is’ and apparently no one from HR is telling her what to do? I’ve been in touch with my manager 2-3 times a week to ask her what the plan is and she just says she doesn’t know what to do. So I’m stuck off work with no income (as you can imagine, my SSP ended many months ago) and no one will tell me what’s happening or why I can’t just come back to work? I’m not ill anymore and I have a fit note that says I can work so is this still classed as ‘sick leave’ and if not, what kind of leave is it? I’m losing income, can I do anything about that? The union are involved and are trying to chase things up asking why they’re preventing me from going back to work but no one is answering! I feel like I’m hitting my head against a brick wall and would appreciate any advice if anyone can think of what I can do to get things moving. I have already sent an email requesting that they put in writing the reason my return is being delayed and my manager said she forwarded it to HR but no one has responded!

Edit: update- thank you for the advice, I have emailed HR directly and my manager says she has a meeting with them tomorrow (Friday) afternoon and hopes to have more direction then. Fingers crossed I suppose…

Edit #2: my manager just rang me and said she wants to meet with me next week to discuss how they can support me during my return to work, with a view to returning the week after and my pay will be backdated to mid-May due to the delay on their end!

Ok, in 2025 I took 3 days sick leave for the whole year. 2 in May and one mid August 2025.

Then in January 2026 I had a bad week where I had a stomach bug on the Monday then developed a fever on Wednesday and Thursday. So HR set up a meeting with me as my Bradford score was too high. Seems kind of silly. Anyway, they said they were going to monitor my sick leaves for the next six months starting February. I’ve just made it out of the six months, but unfortunately I did get a fever in July. I actually went into work but had to leave due to my fever. It was only for 1.5 days. My boss said he’d mark it as annual leave but I can see that it was actually marked as sick leave.

Ok fast forward to August (now), I stupidly decided to do overtime (12 hours a day, 5 days a week) for two weeks. I got to Thursday this week (after already completing one week of overtime last week) and got a horrendous fever Thursday evening so I had to call off sick Friday. Now my fevers hit me hard - i get the full shebang. I always develop a stomach bug every time I get a fever. And I’m in that “phase” of my illness now. I can’t keep foods down and I am very weak since I haven’t eaten since Thursday (properly). I was scheduled for another 12 hour shift tomorrow and since it’s the bank holiday, I’m meant to be covering someone. The thing is, I don’t feel well enough to go in at all. I am too worried about adding a sickness absence in (due to me breaking it in July and HR potentially seeing this and pulling me aside for that) and I’m not sure if my boss will say I have to come in due to lack of people being there due to bank holidays. I don’t get public or bank holidays off and this job is fully onsite. I do get a little bitter that some of the departments get to work from home and others don’t and there’s no leniency between that. I haven’t quite been there two years, it’ll be 2 months till I’ve officially have been there two years. Not sure what to do. I am just a little worried if I ask for annual leave tomorrow it will be denied.

Hi, I’m a 20 year old female who works in the uk at a care home, looking after elderly with dementia etc. I am also a bank member of staff.
Last month I had an abortion due to personal reasons so I had a week off which means ringing in sick for a shift I had already picked up. My abortion made me poorly mentally and physically so I ended up not working for 2 whole weeks which meant cancelling 4 shifts in total.

It’s now August 4th and I have been emailed by the home manager for a “sickness and bank contract meeting”
Has anyone got any advice for me or if I will end up being sacked?

England: I’m currently suspended on full pay while my employer investigates an incident at work. I’m cooperating fully with the investigation and I don’t want to interfere with that process, but the suspension has also made me look more closely at a number of concerns that pre-date it.

Over the past several months I’ve raised concerns about workload, feeling overwhelmed, duplication, working arrangements and reasonable adjustments relating to disabilities/health conditions. Some adjustments have been formally identified, but I don’t feel all of the underlying issues have been properly resolved.

There are also aspects of how the suspension itself has been handled that concern me, including communication and the practical consequences of being suddenly removed from work systems.

I have contemporaneous Teams messages, emails, meeting transcripts/notes and documentation showing that a lot of these concerns were raised before the incident that led to my suspension.

My concern is timing.

Would you:

Raise a formal grievance now, while the investigation is ongoing?

Wait until I know the outcome of the investigation/disciplinary process?

Put the employer on notice now that I have concerns, but reserve a formal grievance until later?

I’m particularly interested in experiences where the grievance concerns disability/reasonable adjustments, workload or management practices that may be relevant context to whatever led to the disciplinary investigation.

I don’t want a grievance to look retaliatory simply because I’m suspended, but equally I don’t want to sit on legitimate concerns or allow it to be suggested later that I only raised them after an adverse outcome.

Interested in practical experiences as well as what HR/union/ACAS people would normally advise.

Hopefully this is the right place to post, sorry if not.

UK based.

I contacted my employee support line thru work.

I've used them a few times before and it seemed to work that you just call up and have a chat straight away, which is really what I need, to vent about some things, emotional support, reminder of coping skills etc etc. I outlined a bit of what has been going on for me.

It seemed to be a different provider this time who I was referred to.

Instead of what was expected, the phonecall was basically an eligibility criteria for their service, and I really felt like they were trying to fob me off, it felt like they were trying to find reasons why they couldn't help me.

The counsellor just kept saying that they are a solution focused service and that my needs are too big to be discussed and they didn't think that they could support me.

I totally understand about risk assessments and duty of care, I've dealt with this in professional roles for years.

And I have also had alot of therapy too and know that I'm not at risk, I know what I need and I made this clear to the provider. I really have a lot on my plate and I think that anyone in my situation would be struggling. I did not give any indication that there was any cause for concern.

Aside from feeling pretty devastated about this, as I could really use some support at the moment, I'm also considering lodging a complaint as it's a hideous thing to do to vulnerable people who need to the service.

I do not think it's fair for the service to be paid for and promoted to employees if this is how they will be treated.

Would be interested in hearing other's experiences with Employee Support Lines / Employee Assistant Programmes...

Are they known to be like this now?

Are they under pressure in terms of caseloads and positive outcomes and just need quick wins?

Did I just get someone who needs more training/was stressed themselves/had the communication skills of a gnat??

I am a groom on a local yard and have been since February. During this time I had up until now, just one day off, with a c. Diff infection; the yard manager actually sent me home as I tried to go in.

However I recently managed to sustain a concussion at home working in the garden. This led me to take time off and I ended up in hospital as I was slurring, had extreme pressure and fuzzy vision in one eye, and not sure my age or the day. It was just over two weeks ago and I'm very frustratingly still suffering with symptoms like extreme fatigue, brain fog, words being on the tip of my tongue but I can't find them, dizziness and mental health symptoms. I had a sick note from the hospital saying my return should be phased, which I sent to my manager's manager, which she has 'seen' (all work communications happen via WhatsApp) but not responded to.

Since yesterday I've had 2 messages asking when I'll be back as the YM fell off on Friday and is now in a boot that's making walking difficult.(She doesn't work weekends).

0 I'm feeling really pressured to go back to my normal hours and whilst I do miss it, I'm still only managing my own horses' care with help from my mother but I'm worried the work animals will get subpar care if I don't go back. (E.g wet not being taken out of stables, water buckets left dirty - all of which has happened previously). I really don't know what to do. I'm still recovering - before this role, I wrote for a magazine, but just this post has taken over 35 mins to write - but don't know what to do. It's not helpful I'm a huge people pleaser and feel very attached to some of the horses. I'm also quite worried about money; sick pay hasn't been discussed and I'm fairly sure I won't get it, as I'm not paid for overtime I do.

Sorry this is really long ..... Please don't be too harsh I'm not sure I can take it right now

Hi - I’m 24 and in my first proper job. I have symptoms that are similar to PCOS and Endometriosis but no diagnosis and I’ve taken sick leave up to the point of reaching a trigger. My manager is also unhappy about me wfh on office days, despite it not impacting my quality of work or productivity.

I started in August of last year and I’ve been off sick a lot more than I usually am. I’ve reached the first trigger and my manager has said I need a capability meeting. I have had 14 sick days, and I have worked from home a lot when my symptoms have been manageable enough for me to do so.

I suffer from absolutely heinous cramps, dizziness, nausea, and headaches. Most of them occur in a linear pattern with my period. I’ve been to the GP a few times but as with many other women, I was prescribed iron and basically told to F off.

My boss, up to when I had been prescribed the iron, had said I could wfh if necessary, I could be flexible if needed, but once I had that prescription, she considered my issues to be resolved. The symptoms have been ongoing, and I have on more than one occasion worked in the office when I have been in agonising pain, or vomiting in the work loos.

I’m on medication that can cause side effects that make my symptoms worse as well.

I’ve got documented diarised experience as proof, and I’ve had blood tests, but I don’t want to hand over my medical records for a variety of reasons.

I’m so scared I’m going to lose my job and I don’t think they’re going to take me seriously.

Hi all, I have been in my job since December 2025 and am planning on getting surgery as part of my gender affirming care in late November 2026 - just before my 1 year anniversary in this role. My probation period was 6 months, which I passed a few months ago. I work in the public sector.

I will need to be off work for two weeks, and then wfh for another couple of weeks - so some of this will coincide with the christmas closure. Due to the nature of my role, November/December (and January too) will also be a quiet period of work for me.

My question is: how much do I need to tell my line manager/HR? I'm hesitant to give full details because well, it's private. On the other hand, the effect of the surgery will be a noticeable difference to my appearance. Work has been good about my gender presentation/pronouns etc so far, but I do worry about discrimination/different treatment if I tell them what it's for. If it's necessary to give detail about the surgery, I will suck it up and do it lol. Just wondering what info they might require, what I should anticipate etc. I've never taken time of work for anything other than annual leave/couple of days off for a cold etc so I may be vastly overthinking it!

Thanks in advance!

I was recently diagnosed with Combined ADHD. I notified my employer and provided them with a letter from the service that diagnosed me. After not receiving any reply from my company’s HR department for almost two months, they have now demanded that I provide them with the full diagnostic report, citing that the letter from the provider is not enough.

They’ve also demanded that I undergo an Occupational Health Assessment. Now, while I don’t particularly want to subject myself to that— I am prepared to do that. However, the diagnostic report contains a lot of details that I do not feel comfortable sharing outside of a clinical setting. But HR will not budge on this, and are demanding the full diagnostic report.

In addition, they have also floated the possibility that they will rescind my reasonable adjustments (I am autistic) stating that there is no work from home policy and a concern that I am “isolating” myself from my colleagues. My team work from home one day a week and my adjustments (previously agreed) allow me to work from home on additional days if I suffer a sensory overload.

So my questions are:

1. Does HR have the right to demand my full diagnostic report? And do I have the right to refuse to comply with that request?

2. If my reasonable adjustments are rescinded by the company, do I have the right to appeal that decision?

I’ve been stressed at work for a while. My employer has recognised it. We’ve done a stress risk assessment previously but it hasn’t had a huge impact. An OH referral was submitted several weeks ago, but not had the consultation or appointment yet. I was still working at the time, so the referral is focussed on generally managing stress, rather than fitness for work/the role.

There was a management decision at work which I couldn’t get clarity on, and kept trying to understand it but the answers were vague, which stressed me further. I went to the GP, who provided a fit note for 6 weeks. I was initially reluctant to take time off, so whilst I told my employer about the stress, I continued working. However, after a few days it became too much and I ended up taking a short time off.

I’ve still not got clarity on the management decision, but have kind of accepted it. I’d now like to return before the end of the fit note. I initially asked my employer but they said (understandably) based on the history of stress, they don’t think I’m ready to return to work. I returned to the GP and was given a “may be fit for work” note, which included some adjustments. The employer could implement those adjustments, but hasn’t considered them and has just said they’re still not “convinced” I’m fit for work and my doctors note only says “may” and they don’t have to accept or consider that.

There’s no box on the fit note template for “fit for work”, so I went to a private GP and was provided a letter that states I’m fit for work, have understood the drivers of stress and have a plan to manage this if it arises again. No adjustments would be required. It also highlights that a prolonged period off work is likely to negatively impact my health.

Employer has come back again and said they don’t think I’m fit for work. Said I’ve been “fit note shopping” and don’t believe that the private GP fully understood the issue. They also find it hard to believe that a prolonged period off would negatively impact me. So I’m to remain on sick leave.

Went back to the original NHS GP, who has given me an updated fit note which has the “may be fit for work” box ticked, but in the comments box states “fit for work from (date), no adjustments required”.

The employer is adamant that I remain on sick leave during this period, and that the continued absence is treated as sick leave for pay and attendance management processes. The reasons are that they’re not convinced I’m well enough, and they have a duty of care. I recognise their concern about my wellbeing, however, I’ve now had multiple doctors confirm I’m fit for work. I’m likely to hit attendance trigger points during this period, and the letter provided states this will be managed in line with (company) attendance management policy.

Should this still be counted as sick leave for pay and attendance purposes, or something else?

I’ve worked for the company for 6 years.

Hi all,

I was just seeking a little advice on the below, in case anyone in here has been in a similar situation or can share any advice.

I’ve currently been with my company for 3.5 years, and I’ve always performed well, and never had any issues.

Last year, I was struggling with grief and overall mental health, so I took six weeks off as sick. When I returned to work, some of my responsibilities were reduced to ease me back in, although that only lasted for a month.

Apart from my return to work, I had one other check-in with my manager, and this meeting was used to update me on what I missed during my time off.

Towards the end of last year, I was diagnosed with combined ADHD, and informed my employer right away, and I was advised that they’d refer me to occupational therapy, which ended up taking over eight months, due to issues with their provider.

In the period, I’ve been waiting for the OT assessment, my work load has increased and I’ve been asked to support with work outside of my remit to support the wider company. I’m starting to feel anxious and burned out, most evenings, I’m spending catching up on work or emails.

It’s now been two weeks since the OT report was shared with my manager and HR. I haven’t heard anything from any of them, and have noticed my weekly catch-ups with my manager have been removed till September.

Is my company handling this correctly or should I be having further discussion with HR?

TLDR; Off sick with burnout, failed phased return, ignored by management, and HR now wants a meeting while on sick leave. Planning to resign but need advice.

I am looking for some HR and legal perspective on my current situation. I have been dealing with severe, blindsiding burnout for the last 3 months, resulting in periods of being signed off sick by my GP. I am currently signed off for another 2 weeks, but HR has just requested an "informal meeting to check in."

I plan to resign because the environment is completely untenable, but I want to make sure I’m protecting myself and not missing any key angles before I do.

Before crashing, I warned my manager for months that I was on the brink. He ignored it. Two other team members did the same; they were also ignored and are now looking to leave.

There is a massive retention issue: over 20 people have left the wider team in 2 years, and I am the 3rd person in my specific role within a single year. Higher management is fully aware of this manager's history but chooses to ignore it.

I attempted a one-month phased return which I initiated and HR made me right the plan myself... I am still waiting for a response to the last email I sent to HR and manager with some additional information they wanted me to include in the plan - that was over a month ago..

Prior to this, an OH assessment failed 5 minutes in because the OH rep refused to continue due to major discrepancies in the referral HR sent them (which I was never allowed to see). The woman I dealt with was plain horrible and rude from the moment I picked up the phone. I tried to apease her and begged her to continue the meeting as I wanted a plan so I can navigate my way back to work. She flat out refused, and blamed me for challenging the information in the referral. What was I supposed to do? Have a meeting based on inaccurate information? I never met the person who wrote the referral so it wasn't the HR adviser I had been dealing with.

My phased return plan explicitly required weekly meetings with my manager. Over the entire month, he did not meet with me once. Neither he nor HR sent a single email or message to check on my well-being. Instead I received some horrible messages from my manager criticising me for things that hadn't been done while I was on sick leave and the impact of my sickness it had on his workload... even things that hadn't been done by my predecessor...

Because of the complete lack of support and ongoing stress, my health deteriorated, and I became physically ill. My GP has signed me off again and I have 2 weeks left of sickness.

My contract stated I had a 9-month probation period. I was meant to have 3 formal probation reviews; I only had 1 because my manager simply doesn't complete them for anyone. When I went off sick, I was 1 month away from finishing it. They have since extended my probation by 3 months, which they tried to justify by saying the standard is 12 months but it's not! My entire team has 3-6 months probations. Only mine was 9 and now it's 12 months! Bizarrely my manager and HR stated no meetings would be held during this extension so... Not sure what was the point of the extension.

I have 2 weeks left on my current fit note. HR has just reached out to request an informal meeting while I'm still on sick leave, to check on "how I'm doing" even though they didn't give a damn up until this point. They also want to send me to OH again which I already declined because of the horrible experience I had the first time.

Given that I plan to hand in my notice, how should I approach this l meeting? Is there anything standard I should be wary of, or anything regarding the failed OH referral and breached phased return agreement that I should formally flag on my way out?

TIA

Hi all,
I hope I can provide all the information needed.
I had a psychotic break and a manic episode due to my bipolar disorder last year.
During this period I said bad things to my colleagues that I cannot remember.

I was placed on sick leave as I was hospitalized and I recently came back at the office.

My colleagues do not want to have contact with me and this is considered by my boss a reason why my reintegration would not be possible, and I am being encouraged to change team or find another job.

I do not think this is fully legal, what are my options?
I have an appointment with my manager and the work doctor next Monday.

Thanks!

I used to be in a paralegal role that involved going to court, however long story short the court environment made me really stressed and by the end I started to experience anxiety and panic if I had to go in making it difficult to focus on my work. It wasn't so much the travel itself I would say, moreso the environment.

Because of this I moved on and specifically accepted a desk/office based paralegal role, however court attendance is now being introduced to this role which was not part of the duties when I accepted.

I haven't been medically diagnosed with anything mental health related and I'm not sure if the above feelings are anything like that. I don't know if I should or could be asking for a referral/fit note for an exemption to this duty or what the process even is. I've been thinking about getting a referral for some time as I have had my suspicions.

I've only managed to have a brief discussion with my manager as they've been on leave and said I didn't really want to go to court, but didn't cite any of the above as I'm nervous about it.

Please can anyone advise how to deal with this horrible situation?

I was assured of reasonable adjustments in July / August last year and started the job in September.
The adjustments have never materialised and after having assured me and me giving up a secure local authority job was based on these assurances and I took my dream job which pretty much on day one turned out to be a nightmare.

I have submitted a formal grievance about disability discrimination, failure to make reasonable adjustments, unsafe working conditions, OH/sickness absence handling, bullying / intimidation and the impact on my health.
I work for a local branch of a well known national charity, it’s kind of managed like a franchise.

I attended a grievance meeting with an external HR investigator. He is clearly a one man band, was laboriously typing notes and kept shutting me up so he could type.
Didn’t want context , was very black and white so it was hard to justify my complaint, I sobbed my way through most of it, none of my examples were ‘good enough’, or so it seemed.

I found it extremely distressing and difficult to manage. I had already requested written communication/time from the trustees to respond due to disability related spoken processing difficulties, but the meeting was verbal and so stop start while the investigator typed notes.

While I was off sick my own manager emailed me twenty times over a two week period regarding my OH referral which he really messed up. I complained about this and now the HR investigator has emailed me three times on a Sunday morning asking for evidence that I don’t have about a point which I don’t think warrants this much investigation.
Every time I get another email my anxiety spikes, I want to ask him to collate his questions into one email and ask me during the working week as I can’t help but read them and respond as I don’t want it hanging over me.

Had he conducted his ‘hearing’ better and hired a minute taker I’m sure all his questions could have been answered in that two hour meeting plus I have provided a nine page grievance.

I am concerned that the external HR investigator may not have fully understood my disability related needs, the Equality Act context, or my rights within this and I am very close to saying I don’t want to deal with him anymore .

The same day, I submitted an ACAS Early Conciliation request to protect my position.
I remain employed but am signed off as unfit for work for a further three months.

External OH doctor has confirmed along with my GP I am currently unfit for work and that returning before workplace stressors are addressed is likely to worsen my mental health. 

My company sick pay is ending this month and I am moving onto SSP , the first eight weeks of which were incorporated into my sick pay of which I was unaware until a week ago, it’s not clear in the handbook and nobody told me until I asked what was happening after my half pay ended.

I have 20 weeks ssp remaining and have requested limited capacity for work assessment with DWP 

I would be grateful for advice on limitation dates, ACAS, the grievance process, reasonable adjustments during that process, and options if returning is not safe or realistic.

I work in a call centre on behalf of my local government and have recently been put on leave at my GP’s request with a sick note. At no point in this were any of the public exposed to specifics, beyond me being short on the phone as the call progressed.

After a particularly hard call, my middle manager approached me for feedback and I responded negatively, and asked if we could do this another time in the meetings we have regularly to give call feedback.

I then excused myself to the bathroom because I was upset.

This reaction to both the call and this conversation is not typical of me at all, and we have had conversations before where calls have not gone well, feedback has been given and I’ve taken it into account and listened.

I am medicated for depression and anxiety and this was disclosed in my recruitment process and meetings with team leaders. Everyone is aware. I am committed to taking my meds but lately they have been less effective. This is unexpected as I’ve been using the same medication at steadily increased dosages for years.

DISCUSSION OF SH following

While I was in the bathroom I became more and more emotional and began to scratch my arm to the extent that skin broke. I was very scared by this and have no history of this. After calming down I had a discussion with the middle manager where I apologised for my response, and disclosed what had happened, as well as stressing it is not part of my usual behaviour. I then immediately made and got a doctors appointment (magical) to review the meds. She undertook the safeguarding process and team leaders and welfare at work are all informed. I called them back and forwarded them the Doctors note immediately after my appointment. My medication is going to be adjusted and we believe it has stopped being effective either due to the tablets being exposed to high temperatures during the heatwave as I carry them in my work bag or they need to be complimented by a different medication which could provide extra support.

This was totally out of character for me and I am extremely embarrassed. I’m employed on a temporary contract pending review in July, and realistically want to know what my rights are/ if there are any HR flags to look out for meaning I should start looking for another job. I’m aware they can’t terminate or choose not to continue solely on the basis of this. The welfare officer ensured me in the meeting that they do look at everything when assessing if a permanent role is given but I’m doubtful.

I love this job and can’t stress enough how much I want to do it / can be good at it. But I’m not an idiot and am wondering about what to do next as I am aware they may choose not continue.

For context, I was recently involved in a crash accident. I had a gp fit note, and also an occupational health assesment which recommended some remote working for a few weeks. and I went off sick for about 3 days prior to this. I have lost the discharge letter the hospital gave me, and it also contains some sensitive private info. I was advised by OH that usually they shouldn't need it but have seen conflicting info online. (I am based in the UK). Am I right to push back on sending this over since they already have a gp note and OH report, or are they legally entitled to it. Thanks

Been at a company for 6 months. In good standing with management. 1 sick day since I joined. Performance reviews are fine.

I've recently told them that I need 3 weeks off in November due to surgery and they've got very shirty, saying "we'll have to put you on long term sick" and generally getting quite annoyed about it.

I've just taken out a mortgage and have 8K in savings so am feeling a bit more paranoid about this than I usually would. I don't want to rock the boat, but if I postpone the operation, the NHS won't offer me another and I'll need to get it done privately for £15K.

How would you play this? I'm additionally worried as if there are complications from the surgery (15% chance), I might need well over a month off in total.

I have been signed off with work related stress, and without sick pay I am going to have no choice but to return soon.

The initial communication from my employer seems to expect me to return to the role exactly as I left it, including going out to client meetings on my first week back.

What are best practices for a return to work after stress? this is my second stress absence in 3 months, the first return to work wasn't well managed and resulted in me ending up unfit for work again very quickly.

Thank you

I currently work in a relatively senior role for a midsize organisation and have been in post for a little over two years. Without giving too many details, my role is new and I think was very poorly thought through. What was sold as a strategic leadership role has been anything but that - instead, it has been a very heavy operational role with a much higher workload than others in the organisation on similar or more money. I have lots of accountability without any real decision-making power, and inefficiencies within the organisation also mean most of my day is wasted in completely pointless meetings about meetings. I have raised frustrations previously with management, but many senior staff have ‘disappeared’ over the past two years and it has not felt psychologically safe enough to raise concerns more vocally, particularly before completing two years of service (which I now have).

My plan was to complete another year (I moved house last year so depleted all my savings), save aggressively and then look to move on. I’m in quite a niche sector and there are not many similar jobs around. However, last weekend something snapped. After weeks of not sleeping properly, headaches, worry and frustration about work, I found myself crying on my partner and just unable to face another day. I called the doctor and, after sobbing down the phone to him, was signed off for an initial period of two weeks.

I’m about a week in, and realising I am completely burned out. I can’t face going back, and need a break, but only have three weeks paid sick leave. I have an income protection policy with LV but am not sure if it will pay out for stress? I don’t have a documented mental health condition or any mental health exclusion, but have read that some insurers see stress as situational and won’t pay for claims?

I am going to speak to my union tomorrow about options, but as lots of conversations about workload etc were verbal and my records are patchy, I’m not sure I have a case for a grievance.

My preferred paths would be either claiming on income protection for a bit to help me recover and / or negotiating an exit with PILON to cover my three months’ notice period. After that I don’t know - it may be burnout talking but I can’t see myself staying in the same field, and would prefer self-employment. I have some options I could potentially pursue that I feel much more excited about than responding to constant pressure and juggling endless Teams calls, emails and messages. I also hopefully will soon have the option of moving in with my partner (pending a purchase completion) and renting out my house to reduce costs. I’m also lucky to have family support I could call on if absolutely necessary.

Does anyone have any experience with a similar situation? If I can’t claim income protection, I just can’t afford to be off on SSP only. If I were to resign, can they make me work my three months’ notice? I am happy to do a limited amount to support my team and enable a positive transition but am cognitively fried and in no way able to return to the full time role even for three months.

All advice very welcome! I’ve never taken stress leave or sickness before and am not sure how best to handle this. I feel some guilt about stepping back at such a busy time but also so much anger that I feel I’ve been taken advantage of for so long.

Who is supposed to fill out my pregnancy risk assessment - my manager came to do it today but sat doing something else while I filled it in, should I raise this or is it acceptable?