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Illness from work caused by work related pressure

NAS62204

I am wondering if anyone can give me advice please?

I work two jobs in the same school, part teaching, part another non teaching role. I have a High Functioning Autism diagnosis

The non teaching role is by far the most demanding of my time during the working day. The teaching role is paid roughly £20 more than the other role.

In October, I experienced a massive meltdown which landed me in hospital for most of the night with suicidal tendencies and complete food and drink strike, over being unexpectantly being told to teach dueing my technician hours (not the first time, but certainly the most damaging to myself).

I came in and was suitably noted as being in a very poor frame of mind to fulfill my job and had to go home. My back to work interview had to go down as 'anxiety' as it seems HR have no checkbox for autism related issues.

My doctor wrote a letter to my work saying I should be put on limited duties for a number of weeks. Work rejected it as 'not possible'. My doctor then wrote a second letter saying I should be allowed breaks to calm down if necessary, and some flexibility on the illness policy regarding when meltdowns occur, and both options were shot down as (in their words) 'you aren't off enough times to trigger any occupational health anyway'.

A few weeks later, I was once again asked to teach above my hours (in my other jobs time), when I asked if I'll get the time back, I was told no, and its 'swings and roundabouts'. This once again set me off on a smaller episode of which I managed to just about battle through during the day.

A week after I was again asked to teach above my hours (in my other jobs time), I once again asked will I get the hours back, and was shouted at not to bother doing it then, and that I was being very selfish. This itself set me off on a smaller episode that I managed to conceal. I am lucky that my office space is a small cupbaord under the stairs where I am away from the hustle and bustle of the main office.

To get the the present situation, I have once again been told I am teaching in my other jobs time, yet no one has bothered to even inform me (I am just having things sent to me randomly!) I have already taken medication to try and control my reactions, but the bottom line is I am already so coiled up I am almost certain I will react badly when I go in in the morning. I feel I cannot raise the question of getting the hours back again after the last two attempts (one failed and the other incited a backlash), and so I feel the only way out of affecting my wellbeing is to see how I wake up (if I manage to sleep) and see if I need to call in sick.

Then I have to face another back to work interview... What do I say in that??

Thank you for any advice you can give me....

Yours sincerely, 'just about holding it together' half medicated semi meltdown phase me.

Parents

  • Hey!

    I’m a teacher in a secondary school and I had a meltdown back in November. 

    Have the school completed a risk assessment with you? They should have done if you have been off for a prolonged period of time. There should be strategies in your risk assessment to help you manage any triggers.

    Also, have you been in contact with your union? Do you have a union rep at school? 

    :)

Reply

  • Hey!

    I’m a teacher in a secondary school and I had a meltdown back in November. 

    Have the school completed a risk assessment with you? They should have done if you have been off for a prolonged period of time. There should be strategies in your risk assessment to help you manage any triggers.

    Also, have you been in contact with your union? Do you have a union rep at school? 

    :)

Children
  • in reply to Arlia

    I have rarely been off in the five years I've been there. The head is lovely but also good at putting you in your place. She said she won't put any special measures in place for me as I'm not off enough to require special measures. I think its tricky really, because the situations I end up in may be more so in one year compared to the next. They are also fully aware of the medicine I take if I need to, no risk assessment done on that as far as I know. I tell them I've taken it, and I carry on working in a semi functional state. 

    I'm rarely triggered while teaching, in fact never. My other job entails certain people to speak to me in a way teachers would never be spoken to. My strategies are to go to a quiet place and shut the door, or have a good old rant to a trusted colleague. Some of my closer working colleagues can tell when I've been triggered which is good as they can intervene.

    My biggest trigger is having lessons thrust upon me with little notice, in a time when I am paid to do a completely different job. Union and rep are aware of it, but right now we are simply monitoring the situation.

    Luckily our children are generally nice, and I teach an exciting subject so behaviour management isn't a big issue, but I do ask for someone to be in with me if I have had to take medication.

    My diagnosis and the GP letter is in my file, so I guess if anything were to happen they can't say they haven't been warned.

    Not that anyone told me, but apparently someone else is not going to do what I was not told I was doing, so crisis averted 'this time'. But I imagine if I hadn't been told, I would have been so off kilter by the morning I would have been triggered and therefore off work.