hi everyone, does anyone know if its possible to go back onto a phased return? i started mine in june then went full time at begginning of sept but im exhausted. i am spending the evenings and weekends trying to conserve energy for work which is then stressing me out as i dont have any time for hubby, kids and house etc. i ws thinking if this is possible then i might do 3 dys per week for a few weeks and if im managing with that then perhaps negotiate lesser hours
sue
Hi Sue,
I don’t know if it all depends on who your employer is. I am a teacher and returned to work last April after finishing chemo and rads and then having 3 months signed off. I hoped to settle back into my own job and rebuild my confidence. I was feeling quite positive but had been away from school for the best part of a year and many changes had taken place. No plans were in place for my return and my head went off sick at lunchtime on my first day back leaving me to manage the school. I fell apart, was too weak, too tired, too emotional. The setback to my recovery was devastating. I realised the full effect of the illness and the treatment.
After 3 weeks of telling the Chair of Governors, and anyone who would listen, that I was not fit to be acting head, I went to see the Occupational Health doctor who was absolutely fantastic. He was shocked that I had been put in such a position, and shocked at the complete lack of understanding and compassion for my situation. A very professional letter outling the effects of my illness and treatment and a mention of the DDA and an industrial tribunal brought an acting head from another school to the rescue. I then went on half days till the end of the summer term.
Really, it was too little too late for me, as I am still coming to terms with the fact that I was unable to a job that I have done, and enjoyed, before the illness.
I am now back full time, boss still off and the acting head is still with us.
I am feeling better but get extremely tired and still quite emotional. I am OK doing my own job at the moment but it has made me rethink my work and retirement plans.
Employers really need to understand that just because the treatment is finished we are not necessarily “better”. Having cancer and the treatment is not like having your tonsils or appendix out! Remember you have the Disability Discrimination Act on your side.
Oh, I am not all doom and gloom, hope that’s not how this comes across, it is just my experience. I am really quite cheery and positive, getting on with life and glad to be alive!!!
Hope you are able to come to an agreement with your employer.
Sheila
Hi there - i think the difficulty is that “phased return” means different things to different people and different employers. In our place, HR determines that a phased return is a period of time where your hrs gradually build up over an agreed timescale until you are back at the hrs you were previously undertaking. In my case it was 6 weeks. One of the difficult aspects for managers/ HR is in trying to ensure the phased return is tailored to the needs of the individual and what the business can sustain.
Other things like - work place adjustments, (eg.might be homeworking) reduced hrs, etc are not technically a phased return but often people refer to it in those terms. Its probably best to get clarity in the first instance ie “what is it that’s on the table for discussion”
Lynn
Hi sue ive been on home visits for the last 7 months company policy im told my HR says when im ready to return i start on a few hours a wk and then on daily hrs weaning process not sure how long this will be for i work 12hr shift pattern days and nites i wont be doin my job for a while yet when im fit and well and not b4 enquire if you can go on a weaning process to. You are more important than yr job you only get one life no trail runs take care
I’m also thinking about going back to work in November. I am a teacher and rang my union for some advice before going to see my headteacher this week so I had some idea of what to expect. The union strongly advised going to my GP for the fitness to return form (replaced sick notes in April) and get them to tick fit to work and the phased return.
I also asked about reduced hours if I felt after my phased return I couldn’t got back to full time (like you 3 kids etc). She advised at that point to go back to the GP and get them to then tick the reduced hours box on the fitness to work form. She said although not legally binding employers would be hard pushed to refuse to do this. She did advise me to ask them to do this on a temporary basis with a yearly review as she pointed out public sector workers are now having a 2 year pay freeze and I may need finantially to return to full time at some point.
Hope this helps.
I understand that you need to have an therapeutic return interview arranged by your CYPS HR department. If you take your GP sick note with you and discuss what you want they will do a report back to the head teacher. Your school should also have insurance so they can claim for your absence plus for the phased return.
You can ring your HR department for advise on returning and pay issues, or get your administrator to do it for you.
I am not a teacher, but I had a phased return - I told them what I wanted and they agreed. I also spoke to the Headteacher requesting, in the short term, reduced hours - luckily she agreed. We also have another member of staff who had a phased return. The start of the phased return kept changing as she didn’t feel well enough and the GP gave us sick notes for this. She has also reduced her hours which meant finding another part time member of staff.
X
I work for the nhs and have already discussed with my boss that I will be on a phased return once I am fit to return to work. I will however have to use annual leave to cover the hours I don’t work unless I wish a pay cut during this time. As others have suggested contact your HR department or have a discussion with your gp or if you have one your occ. health department.
Oh dear This does not fill me with optimism.I am not ready to go back to work yet but am very fearful given my experience with HR and Occ Health whilst I worked through 6 x chemo and took A/L for my 1st surgery. When my manager realised I was working on chemo days she insisted I take the day off for chemos 4,5 and 6. A little while later I had a phone call from HR and according to the policy as I had had 3 days off in 3 months ( the policy does stipulate unexplained absences and they knew what was wrong and why i was off )I was told the HR manager would ‘manage’ my sick leave closely. I explained that when I had surgery I would be off and not sure when I could return.This cut no ice and she told me I would be closely monitored .).)At that point I was the only one of a small team of 4 in post the other 3 had left and I was working 7am-7pm Mon-Fri and going Sat and Sun ( looking back I do not know how I did that)to try to cover the service. My GP assures me that she will give me a fitness to work note with phased return on it and that this will continue as long as she sees fit. My new manager is keen that when I go back I have a phased return. At the moment I would be glad to get through the day the morning even without needing to rest.No -one has mentioned my using A/L for the phased return I do work in the NHS. I think the stress of this is causing me as much grief as BC. Occ health stated that I should take time off when I was tired ( perhaps as well I didn’t) and their only other comment was to pronounce on my prognosis- this was much worse than my Onc had lead me to believe and their prognosis was based on a 10 min phone conversation with me when I was upbeat, realitively well and very co-operative and having had 2 chemos.So long story short I have not found HR or Occ Health at all helpful.I feel very let down after nearly 40 yrs in the NHS and almost no sick leave ever.Thanks for allowing me to rant Jackie
I’m appalled at how badly most of you are being treated! What on earth are your managers thinking of? After I told my employers that I had BC I spent a week tidying up and handing over my work to colleagues and I’m not expected back at work at all until I’m ready. Then it will be a phased return, working a few hours per day initially and building up gradually to my normal hours. Since I do a desk job it’s not physically demanding so I imagine I will be back to normal hours within a month or two, but if I find it’s too much I only have to say and can stay longer on reduced hours. I thought this was all standard practice these days for any decent employer. (I work for a large international engineering company.)
Sarah x
In defence of occupational health, I have found them to be so supportive. I am a teacher. I was actually quite ignorant of the role of occupational health and I mistakenly thought that they were employed by the education authority for their benefit i.e. checking up on workshy employees. How wrong I was they are totally working on the side of the employees! I had a minor struggle to try to get back to work. I finished rads 1 week before half term, I wanted to go back to work the week after half term, 2 weeks after radiotherapy. They wanted at least 6 weeks and we compromised on 4! We worked together to sort out an agreeable phased return and even then, there were conditions attached outlined to the head e.g. no playground duties, no subject responsibility, I wasn’t to teach PE or do any clubs. In was put in a way that the head didn’t argue! The phased return was so gradual, half a day one week, then a full day, then 2 days. It took up until the next term before I was full time.
When I was diagnosed with secondaries this year, I actually referred myself back to them because I valued their support. As it happened, the school bent over backwards to sort out a job-share, as this is what I then requested.
I realise that, as in most things in life, there isn’t a gold standard that everyone follows, but I do advise employees with organisations that have occuational health to get in touch with them and see how they can help you.
Nicola
Hi all
I really dont know where to start!!! I had BC 6 years ago & have been a teacher for nearly 5. I had no absences due to any BC-related illnesses but ended off work for 6 months with what appeared to be a scare but ended up to be chronic pain/symptoms due to stress at work.
Through Occ Health & my NUT rep we negotiated what we thought to be a 12-week phased return (its a relatively new concept for people who need a rehabilitation to work more than just a slow build up of hours). When 12-weeks was mentioned, HR & my head gave each other a knowing look & I knew I was in trouble. As I had OH & NUT there, I managed to sort out the first 3 weeks of work with Head teacher’s agreement - it should have been a morning & a afternoon first week & three half days the second week. Both weeks not teaching, just observing & getting ready to be a teacher again. Then 2 weeks school hols & for 3rd week one full day teacher training (not teaching) and one half day.
It didnt work like that. Monday of second week I was given planning to teach my class 10 mins before the doors opened & kids came in. I was devastated. No break, no support, I just dropped in the store cupboard at the end of the session & cried. I involved the union again but had little help. By the 5th week I was working 4-full days (despite OH writing to my head saying anything above 3 days wasnt recommended)& had somehow been made to agree to change my contract to 4 days a week instead of 5 (even though I said I hadnt had 12 weeks to see what hours I could actually do). It all ended in tears (mine) - I managed til beginning of March then ended up off sick with severe burning, shooting & stabbing pains in my chest. That developed to carpel tunnel in my wrists & my confidence/self esteem going for a nose dive & my trust in my school disappearing.
Ive been off sick since then. OH have told school that I cant return to work until they sort out the issues theye caused. OH dr has recently said that its detrimental to my health working there & as I was on half pay & coming to the end of getting even that (as it happens, its run out now so as of last Saturday Im on no pay at all)I did a deal with my boss with the help of NUT. They agreed to pay me full pay Oct-Dec if I resigned with a ‘neutral’ resignation letter & dropped the appeal (grievance) I’d lodged about my 4 or 5-day working contract. I agreed, then started to wonder why I’d heard nothing about my appeal. I worked out that the difference in pay I should have had was over £2500 & was getting edgy. I did some digging & found out that my Head teacher hadnt forwarded the appeal. It was never lodged. I’d been asked to drop an appeal that would have never been dealt with because she’d ‘lost’ my letter. How she knew it was an appeal letter, without opening it I dont know - this is reading like a horror story!!!
Anyway, now Ive been told that due to what the OH dr has written, & me asking q’s about my appeal, that the appeal money will not be considered & my deal is off the table. So I am now on no pay, £65/week benefits and have two options. Resign & get no notice pay but try to get a job elsewhere with a horrific sickness record (Im fine now - if I dont push myself I’d be able to work 3 or 4 days a week). Or do nothing, & within the next week they will ask me to leave my employment due to medical capability.
This all sounds like a horrific scary story & Ive not shared it to scare anyone. I just wanted you all to know that we are covered under the DDA (disability discrimination act) just because weve had cancer. Doesnt matter whether we are years down the line, we will always be covered by it. Under that act our employer has to, by law, give us ‘reasonable adjustment’ to working conditions ie hours, tasks that we do, breaks etc. I was badly informed by my union. I wanted to act against employer months ago but they stopped me. If you want to act, just look into a DDA tribunal claim (has to be made within 3 months of someone discriminating against you). Im sure that just the phrase will make an employer start to think again about what theyre doing.
We cant be sacked or treated badly because we need some gentle treatment getting back ‘into the swing of things’. If you have OH depts they will plan out your phased return. Your employer has a right not to agree to it, but PLEASE make sure you ask this. I didnt. My head teacher only admitted a few months ago that she’d never agreed to it.
I hope all of you get to go back to work under your terms, hopefully with the support of your gp’s, OH depts or unions if you are teachers (God help you!!!). The new sicknote that we have works in our favour as a gp can stipulate youre ok to work but part time/phased so its easier than ever to do.
Good luck to all of you & I hope you get back to being strong, beautiful women again!!!
xxxx
Hi Sue,
I think from reading all these posts I must have an amazing manager. I wanted to post to reassure you that some managers are understanding. Mine has been fantastic throughout and has agreed to any request I’ve made, reduced hours, funny patterns of days to accomodate treatments, homeworking. My sicknote says reduced hours and flexible working and I’ve had no problems at all.
When I was having chemo and working they put up loads of alcohol wash dispensers to try and keep the germs down. They really have done whatever they could to try and accomodate me and to make it easy for me to come to work.
Good luck
Joxx
post deleted
Some employers walk rough shod over the DDA, including large ‘private’ ones like Lloyds Banking Group for whom I work. I was signed back end August with reasonable adjustments specified by my GP on my fit line. Employer refuses to accept that reasonable adjustment (working from home as an IT programmer which I was doing for 18 months before dx) and is counting me as sick still, hasn’t restored my pay to full rate and my sick pay runs out in December.
I’m worried sick, stressed, fed up, suicidal on occasions - and just cos some dumb wit in Scottish widows HR decides there’s no legal case law to support me. OK, the union are involved, but that doesn’t make things move any faster and doesn’t pay the bills in eth meantime. I don’t have a great prognosis cancer wise - descobed as poor - and I really don’t need this.
Sorry for rant - just so low right now.
Nina
post deleted
Hi all
I work for the NHS as a nurse. I had 10 months off for various BC treatments and then went back to my job. I was given a 4 week phased return (you can have longer at your mangements discression). I now only do a couple of shifts a week as I find it physically and emotionally draining. OH & my GP recommended I be given a non manual handling post because of my bone mets, but they were unable to accommodate this and I ended up back on a busy ward with reasonable adjustments.
I was also allowed to use my accrued AL, so took 2 days off every month till it was used up.
Judging by other posts I think I’ve been treated reasonably well. For those of you thinking of going back on a phased return I would be inclined to contact your HR manager to find out your company’s policy on this.
Good luck xxx
I too have a really good employer who has been very supportive throughout and I have wanted to work as much as I can and agreed reasonable adjustments to help me do this - these were around me able to work from home on days when I felt fatigued, giving my deputy temporary promotion so he could take on more of my responsibilities particularly the line management of managers who are based all over the country, agreement that I would not travel to meetings and these would be arranged wherever possible at my home base and lastly to take annual leave as rest and recuperation throughout the period. I returned to work around 6 weeks after surgery (had two ops) and was able to work through(with reasonable adjustments) my chemo and rads.
My problem is me! I have now finished my RADs (last week) and I am putting pressure on myself to get back to normal. I feel a bit of a fraud having ‘reasonable adjustments’ now I have finished treatment. For example yesterday I drove to manchester, attended an all day meeting, did a presentation and drove back - completely exhausted both physically and mentally and very emotional when I got home (I am still weepy even this morning!).
I hope I learn from this and whilst I ‘look’ ok ie people are always saying how well I look! inside I am still a wreck emotionally and I still have a number of Physical side effects that do affect me.
I feel I have lost my confidence and I don’t think you can actually measure this - what I would have done in the past and taken in my stride, for some reason i now find difficult now and it takes it toll. I think not having, hair, only one breast, no eyebrows or eylashes, sore feet, bad nails and generally feeling ugly doesn’t help with this.
So whilst a phased return is a good thing and you can gradually build up to ‘full time’ I think it will be a while before we can really say we are back to how we used to be (if we ever get there) and I think employers should recognise this.
x
I am going back to work tomorrow. I work as an Estate Agent. I have agreed that I am going to work three days a week and if I feel particularly tired I can go home. I have told them that this side of Christmas I am not working weekends. Funny though before my B.C I would not have dictated to them what I wanted but now I feel I am a stronger person who is more than capable of making decisions with regard to my well being. I have to admit I have taken a step back from being Manager but again I am not in the least bothered as I don’t want the hassle. My sick note does last until the 23/11/10 but being on reduced sick pay has also been a factor in my decision to return to work.
Hi does anyone know if you are entitled to full pay when you are on a phase to return to work ??? thanks Jane.
Hi I’m a teacher and as soon as I start a phased return to work I will be on full pay.