Hi Alibobs and BlueMonday,
It is way too soon for employers to be putting such additional pressure on you when you haven't yet had all your treatment and have GP fit notes. It not right, unfair and could negatively impact your recovery.
My employer was dreadful when I returned to work on phased return and when I gave them 2 fit notes from 2 different GP's told me it, "caused them a problem," since their occupational heath nurse (who didn't seem to know much at all about breast cancer) thought I should be able to return to full hours much quicker than the 2 different GP's/fit notes. I was crawling home from work and having to go to bed before I had enough energy to cook dinner. It was no joke, and my employer was trying to get me back even quicker than their occupational health nurse.
So, the top tip for how to send a warning flare across your employers bow (excuse any puns - sticking with the Seabreeze theme). Best done now given they are putting pressure on soooo mega soon:
I have to give my GP a degree of credit on this.....she was far from impressed by my employer, and said, "Well, if they won't take my word for it, you could always ask your oncologist for a letter. You can't get any higher than that!" It was a very valid point. I spoke to my oncologist (who was appalled) and offered to write a letter (before I asked if that would be possible).
So, occupational health (OH) nurse (and possibly an OH doctor above the nurse) versus specialist breast cancer oncologist. Pretty hands down on who is going to win that one on medical knowledge!
I think that would send shudders through any employer behaving badly and putting pressure on a breast cancer patient going through treatment, recovering and/or when returning to work. It did mine, I only wish I had done so sooner since I felt the stress caused by my employer upon my return was worse (because it was unnecessary and I had extreme aneamia during later stages of recovery), than the stress of the diagnosis months earlier. Before the letter from the oncologist I had written a formal letter of complaint about OH setting it in the context of professional OH standards which I felt OH had failed. While I was informed there were insufficent records to address many of my points, I found out later that the OH company lost their consultancy appointment with my employer soon after my complaint. It may just have been a coincidence.
If you don't have an appointment with your onc for a while, you could always call the hospital, track down the oncologists administrative assistant, and leave a brief message explaining that you feel you are being put under pressure by your employer, what the employer is doing, that the employer does not seem to be accepting your GP's advice and ask if, given the circumstances, your onc would be prepared to consider writing a letter since you are worried this could affect your recovery.
Other points
1 - Keep a time line of all conversations, requests, meetings etc with your employer and include dates of your treatment, meetings with GP, fit notes, onc, radiologist etc on the same calender. Keep it going all the way through your treatment and return to work.
2 - I think granting your permission for your GP to speak to your employers OH is one thing, and demonstrates you have nothing to hide, however having access to your records sounds too much of a personal intrusion. Macmillan have a special employer issues advice team. When I called them they took a message and I received a call back from the specialist team a few days later.
3 - Are you a member of a union or is there one you could join? If you can take a union rep with you to a meeting it will (from your employers perspective) bolster your seriousness about matters.
I would strongly urge you to speak to your oncologist now, if your employer is being like this at this early stage it doesn't bode well for current or later stages of recovery, let alone phased return.
Prepare the rocket launch and send that rocket out!
Do let us know how you get on. Happy to provide any other support/comment ideas from my experience.
Seabreeze (now nearly 4 years on and wanting to help get fairness through recovery!)
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