Hoping someone who has experience of employment law can help me here. For the last few years I have been really struggling with my job. Lost all self confidence and started suffering with anxiety. My Doctor signed me off for 4 weeks and I am due to go back shortly. I am dreading going back as I just feel so disconnected from the industry I work in, and was wondering what would happen if I just send my pass back to my boss and tell him I won’t be coming back. For ages I have been hoping they were going to can me as part of the recent redundancies, but unfortunately my name was not on the list. I have made it clear that I would be happy to take redundancy, but I think they are on a mission to force me out on my own accord. Shame, as I have given 10 years at the firm and been well respected, but I can no longer face the job.

If I don’t go back will they pay me my 3 months notice or will it be gross misconduct and pay will cease from the day I said I was not going back.

Thanks

Rather than leave, could you negotiate a different role?

Would have thought you’d be on pretty dodgy ground.

Given a three month notice period, you’d normally be expected to work it, no?

If you don’t go back but are no longer signed off medically I’d expect that they may deem that you’ve resigned. If it’s as miserable as it sounds maybe you’d be better off resigning anyway, rather than trying to manoeuvre some kind of payment out of it? Have you exhausted any possibility of internal reassignment, counselling, retraining, that kind of thing?

If you’re not ready to go back, you could probably just keep getting your doctor to renew your medical certificate. Call in sick, book an appointment first thing Monday morning.

I was in a sort of similiar situation. I essentially spoke to the hr person, said “I’m not going back to that office, I’m fit for work but I’ll never be daft enough to work for that **** again, so what else needs doing?” Rather than have me on the sick for a year with all the assorted loss and hassle that comes with that they were very pleased to shoehorn me into another role- it was a win win.

What Cougar said, but if you really expect to never want to do the job any more it might be time to bite the bullet and get out.

Well, if you’ve no intention of continuing employment, then why not get signed off again?

If you don’t go back, you’re probably AWOL, and you’ll not be paid, however, of course you can just not go back, in the same way anyone can be fired at any time, it’s not illigal, there’s just a price to pay if the other party demands it. Notice periods are completely unenforcable, but again, you don’t work, you won’t get paid.
I know you’ve given 10 years, but the simple fact is that nobody owes you a job, you don’t do work, you’re a burden and the company will do whatever it can to minimise the cost.

You also need to get a reference off these people, and no matter how you feel about them they probably want to give you a good one but you have to leave them in a position where they feel that they can do that. It may be worth considering handing in your notice, it sounds like you are considering that anyway, and once you have done so you may well be surprised at how much your attitude towards going back has changed. You will feel empowered because you have taken a positive step towards making a better future for yourself, and you will know EXACTLY how much more of your time you have to give to this job, so you’ll know that the end is in sight and it will be much more manageable from that point on. Be strong, and start planning a future away from your current employer- you know that this is achievable.

I have been thinking about other roles in the company, but as I am an IT developer I just can’t face doing another IT dev role. I have just drifted along for too long in a role / industry I have no connection with and have become really cynical and have no motivation. Dealing with IT devs with big egos who hate never admit they got things wrong OR their way is the only way has become very tiring. Sitting in an office all day also makes me feel like a caged animal

Tough one, as I don’t have savings so am rather buggered. Was hoping for redundancy as it would have given me some breathing space to hopefully sort my head out

Time to leave and look for a new opportunity.

Ditto chipsandgravy if it’s making you ill then time to think of yourself, there is life after

I think it’s a 50/50 call on whether you are making yourself unemployed or as to whether they are leading to the same outcome. If they can’t, or you won’t, find another role internally, I think you have to resign, tough as that sounds.

FWIW, I was in similar IT role, just had had enough, job with all the to-ing and fro-ing was making me ill, was signed off sick, then had surgery for skin cancer, I nearly resigned anyway but luckily stuck it out and was made redundant in the end.

Sorry that option is not open to you.. 🙁

Has anyone spoken to you about your return to work?
If work was one of the issues behind you being off your doctor should be keen to hear what has changed.
You should also be offered a staged return, particularly if you are dreading it so much, you have told the doc this, haven’t you?
Work
They may not have offer you redundency as you were signed off. That can be a little tricky. Maybe going back and having a chat with hr might be worth a try.
I’d go back, starting with a few hours, see HR.
focus on good things ahead, take their money until you have a plan.
then bin it.

It is a horrid situation to find yourself in. Over the years I have had days where I did not want to be at work, but this latest bout has really taken it’s toll and is at another level. I do feel mentally drained from it all!

Being the only bread earner in the family does add extra responsibility too

Has anyone spoken to you about your return to work?
If work was one of the issues behind you being off your doctor should be keen to hear what has changed.
You should also be offered a staged return, particularly if you are dreading it so much, you have told the doc this, haven’t you?
Work
They may not have offer you redundency as you were signed off. That can be a little tricky. Maybe going back and having a chat with hr might be worth a try.
I’d go back, starting with a few hours, see HR.
focus on good things ahead, take their money until you have a plan.
then bin it.

HR! As far as I know, my boss has not even informed HR. When I spoke to him last about my issues and being signed off he started telling me how I should tackle project work in a different manner, and break the tasks down! To say they are a multi national corporation I am rather staggered by the whole way it is being dealt with.

I made my Doctor aware that my job is one of the reasons and that I am suffering with self confidence and anxiety in my ability to do the job.

I get the impression my boss does not know what to do and by ignoring the situation he hopes I will just resign.

I don’t think it would/ could have got this far without HR being aware. You need to speak with them to give them the full picture. The “boss” sounds useless.

If the workplace / role is making you unwell, leave and find something else to do. I walked out of a job I hated 6 years ago, it made me very ill with anxiety. In the end I decided it was me or the job and chose me and after a board meeting told the CEO I was leaving then and there and wouldn’t be back. Next day I ended up in A&E with a suspected heart attack. If I’d stayed much loner it wouldn’t have been suspected, the job would have killed me.

If you don’t return to work i.e. fulfil your part of the contract you signed, then they probably have every right to sack you. My employers would certainly show me (or anyone else) the door!

Interestingly, our colleague has recently started having fits (so he can no longer drive, and has very restricted time – at doctors advice – on using a computer). As he cannot fulfil his side of the contract (involves much CAD and site-visits, two things he can no longer do), and we’re a small company, the boss has paid him a visit to politely say “bye bye”.

In the NHS, they don’t sack you – they just stop paying you.

Someone I know very well has been signed off “sick” since Dec 2012, but due to their [NHS] total incompetence about managing their employees sickness (adhering to their own sickness policy), she’s still on full pay. She just received a letter saying she’ll be on half pay now until August, then zero pay.

I had been off around 14 weeks after I broke my ankle and my boss never informed HR I was on the sick, don’t take it as granted they know as if he/she has informed HR that means paperwork and we all know people hate more paperwork on their desk.
I had 8 months in a place years ago, hated every minute of it and they tried like hell to force me out as I didn’t fit in, left and went to agency work for 2 years.
Good luck, sounds like you need to get out.

I was in a similar situation regards the anxiety and just not wanting to work there any more so I left.

Best thing I ever did, financially things are tighter at home but the job/company was turning me into a wreck and not a nice person to be around, so for the sake on my own sanity and my family I walked away.

Its been around 3/4months but I’m in a much better place psychologically and work wise things are slowly starting to come together.

My only regret is not doing it sooner.