This is a refrain we hear from new and prospective clients all too frequently. Sometimes it’s “just” a feeling, a sense of being persona non grata either from colleagues or management or both. From colleagues this may be related to them having to pick up the slack when covering your absence and you might think it understandable to an extent if you’ve been out for a while and no one has been hired in to cover your role.
When it’s more than “just” a feeling you might think about taking legal advice from an employment lawyer specialising in disability discrimination and workplace health issues: didlaw. We have been doing this work for nearly two decades and are recognised market leaders and experts. More than this, we do this work because we know how stressful and distressing it can be to be recovering from ill health to then find that things are not going to planned at work. This causes worry about money and in severe cases it can cause common mental health issues like depression or anxiety.
If your workplace issues are keeping you up at night then you should contact your GP in order to avoid things getting worse. But what should you do about the work issue is the million dollar question? Take early advice. Good lawyers who practice ethically and for the right reasons will give you a free initial consultation on what the possible options are. You won’t get legal advice in the strict sense – lawyers are not permitted by their insurance rules to give advice until you become a client – but getting a steer on how things might pan out and what you could do can often be very helpful and can help you manage some of the fear and concern.
What we see quite often is that people who have been well-regarded before getting seriously unwell return to work and experience poor treatment. This might be instant pressure to deliver results without any time to get back up to speed. It might be the expectation that you cannot take any time out for treatment and if you do this is met with a bad attitude. It might just be that you feel that no one cares that you are even back at work. It might be being put on a performance review very quickly after your return. You know. You know when the temperature has changed. Don’t sit on it. Take advice. You may well have additional protections in your employment if your illness meets the Equality Act 2010 definition of disability and getting legal advice might either protect your position or offer up solutions. Anything is better than ignoring it and hoping it will get better. It won’t.
