Leaving my job

Thanks, this is sound advice. Sorry to hear your company only pays for ten days, I hope the three months are enough time for you to work through the stress and feel better. 

I suggest that rather than just quitting you stay on sick leave and raise a grievance about their failure to put in reasonable adjustments. Also raise a case with ACAS for early conciliation and see if your employer will pay you a settlement to leave. They may pay you a settlement to avoid a tribunal for disability discrimination.

If you're planning to leave anyway you may as well stay sick and continue to be paid enhanced sick pay or SSP by your company while you look for a new job . You can get SSP for up to 28 weeks.

There is a company called Valla which can give you advice for £150 about how strong your case is (or you could book an appointment with an employment lawyer). Also there is a book called 'The Resignation Resolution' which advises about this. 

In teh same situation as you! Can I ask where you found the specialist coach?

I recommend using your company's generous sick leave policy. I'm signed off sick for 3 months with work-related stress but my company only pays for 10 days so I'm on statutory sick pay for the rest of it which is drastically hitting my finances.

You don't need to take the full 5 months - maybe ask your GP to sign you off for a month and then see how you feel after that period? You could have a phased return (which means you only work part-time at first).

Hello, wondering what you ended up doing? 

I'm currently in a similar situation, I"m scared because I have no means of financial support from family or anyone else but my job has enhanced sick pay so I could actually be off for like 5 months. Which seems mental but that's what they have in the contract. I really am in a bad way, I have so much tension in me it's scary, but still I feel a bit ashamed at the thought of taking all that time and money. I'm too burnt out to look for jobs just now, plus there are literally no jobs, and I worry I won't find anything and then have to go back to work after all that time off and be super depressed. My role and the organisation I work for makes me ill and I'll be gutted if I have to go back. 

Anyway, how did you get on? I hope things are good for you now

Hello

I’m having a similar experience at the moment. Repeated burnouts were what led me to diagnosis though not a lot has changed since I received this a year ago. I’m concerned that I’ll move into yet another role and repeat a similar pattern. I’ve had a number of jobs in the past tens years or so and leave when things get unbearable. 

I’m currently off sick due to burnout and trying things differently. I’m starting coaching next week with a twice exceptional specialist. I also had the opportunity to speak to a career consultant who’s offered me some 1:1 sessions to figure out what I actually want to do and what’s important to me with all my new insights. I’m hoping things improve and keep forgetting to remind myself to manage myself like I would a colleague. (Easier said than done!!)

Good luck with your next chapter. It’s a shame when I read this thread how common this is in the workplace but life is far too short to be persistently unhappy and unsupported.

yes, I left my job about 10 years ago, i was under appreciated and disrespected role after role, people all looked on in the other direction. I now am self employed. Income is sporadic and entirely self motivated. This is how I like it, everything is on my own terms and I am able to pursue my interests. I’d say my annual income is modest but I have a supportive family. I have days when I feel demoralised and low but compared to an autocratic workplace I feel infinitely more alive. Leaving my role was before my diagnosis but was aware of the deliberate obstacles people were creating for me. Pursuing/rediscovering your passion is what you must do and remain as focused as you can.

My lawyer advised me to stay working whilst I have an employment tribunal in process. Constructive dismissal is very hard to prove at a tribunal unless it is very obvious.

It seems that the law (equality act) is not as strong as I believed from my own research with so many ways employers can try to wriggle out of the most egregious actions. The words 'objectively justified' are causing me so much grief and stress. Also the unknown factor with the lack of any certainty causes a lot of stress.

I hope things work out for you what ever you decide to do.

I walked away about 3 months ago, I was so done and filled with built up anxiety that I left that day in fact and didn’t return. I cushioned myself mentally by not acknowledging the huge change it was about to bring although my routine went out the window and I am still searching for that ideal job it was a good decision to make. Mental health and wellbeing can be too badly damaged by a role to return from and unfortunately in this NT world there’s too few people who truly understand the war wounds we can walk around with, Now I am in a position to choose a job more wisely however there are very very few I am comfortable or confident in. 

Definity leave if you can. It will be better for you in the long run. I stuck at a job where I considered I was being bullied for far to long before leaving. I've been diagnosed since and my struggles make so much more sense now. I did raise mental health issues with my employer without really knowing what was underlying that (autism and not recognising maniplation and bullying because of that) but nothing was done. 

It's not an easy thing to do from a stress point of view but if you can gather evidence of your requests for reasonable adjustments and their dismissal it might be worth contacting an employment lawyer before returning to work or giving notice. If you have grounds for unfair dismissal its best to resign without notice, never go back and then start the employment tribunal process

Hello illustrated.lady 

I’m so sorry to hear about your situation at the moment and I’m so sorry your requests got rejected, I can imagine that would not have helped in anyway. I think you are doing the right thing in leaving the job though as you need to look after yourself but please don’t feel bad for quitting, it’s better than staying in a job and suffer. If you want maybe you could just have a little break from jobs or maybe just look for a part time or contract job maybe. If you are happy to find a full time job then by all means go for it but just look after yourself and don’t do anything you feel pressured to do. Your partner sounds very nice and caring and I hope they can support you and your decisions no matter what.

I had to quit my job due to sexual harassment which is still haunting me to this day. I’ve actually been advised by the job centre to not work as even they have recognised that I am in an even worse state than when I first applied for UC back in 2019. I suppose I’m lucky that I have enough to pay my bills and save a little each month but bear in mind I don’t drive so I haven’t got any car taxes or fuel bills etc. but I can only just save a little each month. 

I wish you the best, take care

I had a difficult situation with a job. I had worked there for a long time. I was diagnosed during my time there and I disclosed this when I started really struggling. Whilst some people were supportive, my main boss was not and dismissed my needs "because I'd always coped before". 

It took me a long time to make the decision but I did decide to change jobs. I wasn't in a position to just quit so I had to get the other job first. But this job is better at reasonable adjustments. Definitely not perfect, but more understanding.

If you're in a position where you're able to just resign then I would do it. It is not worth affecting your well being for. You can then give yourself some time to find what suits you best without pressure. Good luck.