Long-Term Sickness Review Meeting

[justheretoread99]

Received a letter from my work to a attend a LTS review meeting via Teams in a couple of weeks.

Feeling quite anxious, as the meeting is with a member of staff I don’t feel comfortable talking to. They will be accompanied in the meeting by someone I don’t know and the letter states I can also be accompanied by a fellow worker, a trade union representative or an official employed by a trade union.

I don’t know wether to sit it alone or ask my line manger to accompany me.

The reasons for my LTS are very personal.
I have been suffering awfully with my mental health since having covid last year. I’ve had very dark thoughts and frequently self harm. My work are aware I am on medications for both anxiety and depression but don’t know about the self harm

I know I can’t be on LTS forever, I really want to return to work as soon as possible. I’m looking at therapy as anxiety controls my life, just reading the letter sent me into a full blown anxiety attack where my medication couldn’t even control my chest pains and palpitations
I know I need to be honest in this meeting as they can’t support me if they don’t know how I’m truly feeling or coping.

Im not sure what advice I even need from this. Probably some encouragement if anyone else has been in a similar situation and finds it difficult expressing themselves to colleagues.

 

[Firefliesaremagic]

Hello, first of all I’m so sorry to hear that you’re not well. I’m an employment lawyer by profession so I’m familiar with these meetings. First of all, your company will be following the process set out in their sickness absence policy. It seems daunting but it’s nothing to be afraid of. They just want to make sure they are doing everything they reasonably can to support you while you’re off and also help you come back to work when you’re ready. Make sure you are familiar with the sickness absence policy before the meeting. I would also definitely ask someone to accompany you, for support and to also take notes for you. Depending on the nature of your absence, and the length of time you’ve been off, they may want to send you to occupational health or a medical specialist to get a report about your condition and an opinion about whether and when you will be fit to return to work (with adjustments if necessary, e.g altered duties or a phased return, if they can accommodate those). If you have any questions, just ask x

 

[justheretoread99]

Hello, first of all I’m so sorry to hear that you’re not well. I’m an employment lawyer by profession so I’m familiar with these meetings. First of all, your company will be following the process set out in their sickness absence policy. It seems daunting but it’s nothing to be afraid of. They just want to make sure they are doing everything they reasonably can to support you while you’re off and also help you come back to work when you’re ready. Make sure you are familiar with the sickness absence policy before the meeting. I would also definitely ask someone to accompany you, for support and to also take notes for you. Depending on the nature of your absence, and the length of time you’ve been off, they may want to send you to occupational health or a medical specialist to get a report about your condition and an opinion about whether and when you will be fit to return to work (with adjustments if necessary, e.g altered duties or a phased return, if they can accommodate those). If you have any questions, just ask x

Thank you so much for taking the time to read and reply! This has made me feel more at ease

I will definitely read up on the policies and ask my line manager to accompany me. I know I need to be honest with them but speaking to a colleague who so don’t feel comfortable with and a complete stranger just terrifies me.

 

[Twistedpants]

I conduct these type of meetings in my workplace and, honestly, they are all about support. What can we do to help you to return to work and feel at your best.
Even if you can only manage to return 1 hour per week at the start then that is what we work with.
They are structured meetings but they are relaxed. No one gets anything from these type of meetings if we go in with the attitude of just sticking to the company lead questions we have on our pages. It's awful seeing a colleague going through such a terrible time that they feel they can't come to work. If you are not comfortable with the person taking it can you not request someone else? I know in my company we try to use the manager that has the closest relationship with the colleague to conduct the meeting and usually they want to do it anyway as they already have a background of the colleague. But I know that isn't always possible. If you need anything please don't hesitate to ask x

 

[Snowjoke]

I didn’t want to read and run… just wanted to say I’ve been in a similar place with work LTS recently. I had a meeting over teams with management/HR in dec and I was so scared and nervous for it. They were honestly so nice and supportive. I’m actually back to work now for a few months and they are still being so supportive. In a strange way it’s good to be back into a bit of routine and gives me something to get up for. I hope your meeting goes well and that you feel in a place to be able to go back to work soon

 

[Rainbow_rhythms]

I just wanted to echo what others have said - this should be a productive meeting and not a bad thing. Defo have someone in there with you to take notes for you at the very least because it's easy to forget what's been said. Hope you feel better soon x

 

[LennyBriscoe]

I’m glad the other posters were able to put your mind at rest.

Sounds like you’re comfortable with your Line Manager which will be huge when the time is right to go back. Do you have any Mental Health First Aiders at your work? We do but I work in the Civil Service so I’m not sure how common they are in the private sector.

As others have said, ultimately everyone’s goal is to welcome you back when you’re ready to be back and do what they can to make that as easy for you as possible.

Let us know how you get on

 

[Spicyburrata]

The meeting is definitely about supporting you as others have mentioned but I completely understand it is daunting for anyone to get a letter inviting them to a review meeting. I would recommend making some notes for the meeting over the next few weeks to refer back to as it can be easy to forget important points or experiences you want to discuss. It's also daunting opening up in situations like that and it might be good to have them just for pointers. I would definitely recommend inviting someone you trust/feel comfortable for support - while you are on the teams call it might help you to feel like you are talking directly to them.

I think communication in these situations is key too. Make sure you are contacting your line manager/HR when you should be and in line with the sickness absence policy.

Hope this helps

 

[1001 others]

@justheretoread99 I hope things go well for you. Just lay all the facts out and try to keep emotion out of it (easier said than done, I know).

 

[justheretoread99]

@Firefliesaremagic @Twistedpants @Snowjoke @Rainbow_rhythms @LennyBriscoe @Spicyburrata @1001 others

Just wanted to say Thankyou to all you lovely people for the kind words and advice. I have read and taken into account every message.

I had a 2 hour long phone call with my lovely line manager yesterday and spoke about how anxious I was for it and got a lot off my chest. So feeling a lot more positive.

Do you have any Mental Health First Aiders at your work?

Ironically I am a MHFA I’ve still got my manual for it and need to start putting it into practice on myself x

 

[LennyBriscoe]

@Firefliesaremagic @Twistedpants @Snowjoke @Rainbow_rhythms @LennyBriscoe @Spicyburrata @1001 others

Just wanted to say Thankyou to all you lovely people for the kind words and advice. I have read and taken into account every message.

I had a 2 hour long phone call with my lovely line manager yesterday and spoke about how anxious I was for it and got a lot off my chest. So feeling a lot more positive.




Ironically I am a MHFA I’ve still got my manual for it and need to start putting it into practice on myself x

I’m so pleased to hear you’re feeling more positive! Your LM sounds fab, which is half the battle.

You’ll be a brilliant MHFA. You’ll be able to honestly say to people that you understand their concerns and draw from your own experiences and I’m sure you’ll be a great help to many