Letter received from work while absent

lifeandtimes

Hi,.

Without going into detail too much I have been with my employer for over 8 years, iv been off work sick for 3 months,all certified and my contract states I'm paid for 6 months,prior to this our department was being offshored and they were trying to move our positions to an area which we weren't trained and it was a headache but the union were on our side and helped us

A registered letter was sent to me simply saying they can't keep my position open indefinitely and want to meet with me to discuss this.

This really haven't helped me as my absence is relating to issues encountered at work which I was getting better from but I'm all over the place again now.

I'm not sure what's going on,I feel like the wording of the letter is basically telling me they are going to fire me if I don't come back immediately

Any thoughts on this?

Mrs OBumble

Contact your union, they should be your first source of advice.

runawaybishop

Start looking for a new job.

harr

Perfectly normal for a business to do this , probably just a review meeting with HR on when you might be in a position to return to work and they more than likely will want you to go to the company doctor to verify your current health..
Just be aware the company can still bring disciplinary action against you even when out certified.

ted1

You are signed off work ,do you are not fit to meet them.

Suggest to them that they get a temp into replace you.

harr

Probably no need to be confrontational about it...go to meeting and take things from there ...after 3 months off sick OP you are lucky this is only your first visit...

lifeandtimes

Thanks for the replies

I'm concerned as our contracts were bought over to another company 2 years ago and since then they have been off shoring work and tried to do the same to our department however it had died down before I left. I now have a feeling this is connected,i can understand meeting to see how i am and is there any idea ill but be back but that wasn't said in the letter and seeing as they are saying the can't keep my position open indefinitely, kinda feel like its a bully tactic to make me come back

pilly

I would agree with contacting your union, that's what they're there for.

Rubberchikken

contact your union. not sure if you should be entering work premises if you're signed off work. it might be fairly normal for a company to send out this type of letter but i'd consider the possibility that job searching is in your future.

even if you recover and return in full health, will the issues that contributed to the time off have gone?
hope you get things sorted. good luck

livedadream

ted1 wrote: »

You are signed off work ,do you are not fit to meet them.

.

shes unfit for WORK, not to attend a meeting, in that case people wouldnt be allowed out of their houses when signed off.
contact your union. its perfectly normal that they would get in touch to check in and make sure you are on track to either come back or if you are looking at a longer span of time off. they just want to see the lay of the land.(in my experience anyway)
i was roared at by the husband of a woman who was off work in a job i had years ago, she was off sick suddenly no explanation just certs arriving in... sent a letter after 3 months to check in like youve received, 
turned out she had breast cancer, her husband told her not to tell us as 'they'll just want to get rid of you' when in reality once we found out we were able to get a temp in to cover her role (therefore keeping her headcount spot open so her job would be there when she recovered) husband ate the head off me in the meeting, shes dying dont you know that you ****wit etc etc hurling abuse at me etc etc. I was genuinely afraid of him...
we were able to keep paying her, up her health insurance and make sure she was comfortable knowing her job was there if she wanted it. I couldnt have done that if i didnt know what was going on. and she was able to come back to work after a while.
I know your experience is different but not all HR mangers are the devil, sometimes we just want to make sure the people we work with are okay.

_Brian

Contacting an employee who is on long term absence is common enough. We would make contact every month.

I expect they are looking to get an update on your condition and maybe an estimate on when you will be ready to return to work.

It wouldn't be unusual to be asked to attend another GP/consultant appointed by work so they get an independent opinion.

Again for long term absent employees using registered post creates a paper trail of communication it would be standard practice.

Heisenberg1

OP contact your union immediately and see if there have been any developments regarding the off shoring of your roll. If there has been make sure you have your union rep with when you go to the meeting.

lifeandtimes

Heisenberg1 wrote: »

OP contact your union immediately and see if there have been any developments regarding the off shoring of your roll. If there has been make sure you have your union rep with when you go to the meeting.

I've been in touch with colleagues in my department and there has been talk and rumours going around.
There has also been movement of people from the company to the department to monitor things and understand processes which is what happened before to other departments,generally when the rumours start going they're 99 percent correct in my experience of my company.

So I have a feeling it's all connected,i know people who have been out for long term and have been contacted by phone to meet with HR to see how they are etc but not registered letters with wording about their position being in doubt which is my concern.

Cushie Butterfield

Worrying about it, listening to the rumour mill & imagining the 'maybe it's this or maybe it's that' or worst case scenario, & going over it all in your head again & again isn't going to change anything apart from having a negative effect on your health.

As suggested by other posters above, contact your union to have them ready to attend the forthcoming meeting with you. Dig out your employment contract for them to have a look at it in advance. Take your union reps advice with regard to contacting whoever sent you the letter. Avoid speaking to them at all costs before the meeting, even idle chit chat like 'how are you' or whatever - either get your union rep to set up the meeting or do it yourself by email or letter.