Employee Issue
Discussion
We had an employee go off sick 3 weeks ago.
Monday morning and the marking the 6th period of absence, all of which started on a Monday since Jan.
No updates since then, bar one week later a picture of a positive covid test. His phone has been turned off the entire time since then.
We know he isn't coming back at this point, and not hugely bothered as performance is poor anyway.
Got an employee to visit his house yesterday when passing the area, but not in. Ring door bell is asking if he is dropping off a parcel.
Anyway a few hours later he appears in the office to hand back his equipment.
He states I know what you have done. Rather confused I ask what it is we / I have done?
He then accuses us of having hacked his phone. I ask him how would we, why would we and what would the benefit be before assuring him we havent.
Anyone ever experienced a mental breakdown from a staff member? I suspect some sort of background drugs problem has been going on here.
He genuinely believed we had, and then when I said prove it he couldn't.
All very strange, not sure what the point of posting was other than to say perhaps vent. Still find the whole encounter pretty odd.
Very strange event, not one I could have predicted for years.
Monday morning and the marking the 6th period of absence, all of which started on a Monday since Jan.
No updates since then, bar one week later a picture of a positive covid test. His phone has been turned off the entire time since then.
We know he isn't coming back at this point, and not hugely bothered as performance is poor anyway.
Got an employee to visit his house yesterday when passing the area, but not in. Ring door bell is asking if he is dropping off a parcel.
Anyway a few hours later he appears in the office to hand back his equipment.
He states I know what you have done. Rather confused I ask what it is we / I have done?
He then accuses us of having hacked his phone. I ask him how would we, why would we and what would the benefit be before assuring him we havent.
Anyone ever experienced a mental breakdown from a staff member? I suspect some sort of background drugs problem has been going on here.
He genuinely believed we had, and then when I said prove it he couldn't.
All very strange, not sure what the point of posting was other than to say perhaps vent. Still find the whole encounter pretty odd.
Very strange event, not one I could have predicted for years.
Raymond Reddington said:
He obviously needs help and the employer has a duty of care, no matter how inconvenient it may be.
I certainly wouldn't be turning up at his house.
Well we won't again, but genuinely (prior to accusations) wanted to check if the guy was alive, having a mental breakdown needed help. I think we acted quite kindly to actually check on the guy.I certainly wouldn't be turning up at his house.
JimmyConwayNW said:
Raymond Reddington said:
He obviously needs help and the employer has a duty of care, no matter how inconvenient it may be.
I certainly wouldn't be turning up at his house.
Well we won't again, but genuinely (prior to accusations) wanted to check if the guy was alive, having a mental breakdown needed help. I think we acted quite kindly to actually check on the guy.I certainly wouldn't be turning up at his house.
Driver101 said:
JimmyConwayNW said:
Raymond Reddington said:
He obviously needs help and the employer has a duty of care, no matter how inconvenient it may be.
I certainly wouldn't be turning up at his house.
Well we won't again, but genuinely (prior to accusations) wanted to check if the guy was alive, having a mental breakdown needed help. I think we acted quite kindly to actually check on the guy.I certainly wouldn't be turning up at his house.
I guess it's one of those situations where you need to consider what you want to do. You seem to be writing him off due to poor performance but what routines do you have in place to manage this? I.e., perhaps his poor performance is down to mental health issues, in which case what do you have in place to support that? What kind of return to work discussions have you had for the sickness absences?
No idea of your scale and it can be a real challenge for small employers, but some of the things we do - we have mental health first aiders (trained in recognising and offering first line mental support, informally), we have RTW interviews, we have campaigns/training around around resilience, stress managements, depression etc. We do lunch and learns for various health topics. We have a steering group looking at employee health and engagement challenges and put on events (like social community litters picks, nature walks etc).
It can seem the easy option to do nothing, let him go, but you can put things in place to help all staff and reduce likelyhood of this happening again. Sometimes you just can't help, but at least then if you let them go you know you've done all you can.
No idea of your scale and it can be a real challenge for small employers, but some of the things we do - we have mental health first aiders (trained in recognising and offering first line mental support, informally), we have RTW interviews, we have campaigns/training around around resilience, stress managements, depression etc. We do lunch and learns for various health topics. We have a steering group looking at employee health and engagement challenges and put on events (like social community litters picks, nature walks etc).
It can seem the easy option to do nothing, let him go, but you can put things in place to help all staff and reduce likelyhood of this happening again. Sometimes you just can't help, but at least then if you let them go you know you've done all you can.
Raymond Reddington said:
He obviously needs help and the employer has a duty of care, no matter how inconvenient it may be.
Only up to a point, beyond which is down to the benevolence of the employer which is influenced by the characteristics of the employee in question. A below-par worker with a long history of extended time off work is unlikely to be on the receiving end of much sympathy and support compared to more dedicated and effective staff.The OP has described someone who does indeed appear to be in need for some support but other than keep him employed, in the absence of any two-way dialogue as to what the issue might be, there is little that he can do. So without clarity on where this may all end up, continuing his employment jeopardises the company and other staff.
Raymond Reddington said:
I certainly wouldn't be turning up at his house.
Personally, I would say this demonstrates a high level of duty-of-care. If someone you employ has gone to to ground and are worried about them, swinging by their house to check if they're OK is a nice thing to do. Or prudent if you also think they may be taking the piss.ozzuk said:
some of the things we do - we have mental health first aiders (trained in recognising and offering first line mental support, informally), we have RTW interviews, we have campaigns/training around around resilience, stress managements, depression etc. We do lunch and learns for various health topics. We have a steering group looking at employee health and engagement challenges and put on events (like social community litters picks, nature walks etc).
.
Jeez, sounds like a whole load of happy clappy snowflake b.
ks to me.....If someone in the workplace came up to me with this crap i'd tell them to do one..... go and find a millennial to waste your time over...... yuck!!
JimmyConwayNW said:
I have never been in the situation of dealing with this level of 'mental' hence posting. I have no idea the right thing to do or what to put in place we are a company of around 12 staff.
He's returned his kit? Then terminate his employment! Harsh, but you can't keep spending company money on someone who quite plainly doesn't give a st...super7 said:
Jeez, sounds like a whole load of happy clappy snowflake bks to me.....
If someone in the workplace came up to me with this crap i'd tell them to do one..... go and find a millennial to waste your time over...... yuck!!
People are an investment, I can't think of many businesses that can run without them so treat them as you would any asset and look after them. If you have machinery then you run routine maintenance etc, this is no different and the results are very clear in terms of employee retention and productivity increase, which increases profitability.ks to me.....If someone in the workplace came up to me with this crap i'd tell them to do one..... go and find a millennial to waste your time over...... yuck!!
If you can't see that, then you aren't in a sustainable business.
StevieBee said:
Personally, I would say this demonstrates a high level of duty-of-care. If someone you employ has gone to to ground and are worried about them, swinging by their house to check if they're OK is a nice thing to do. Or prudent if you also think they may be taking the piss.
I agree.Years back, we had a worker vanish for a few days, and when someone went round to check on them, they were dead in their armchair, heart attack I believe.
JimmyConwayNW said:
I have never been in the situation of dealing with this level of 'mental' hence posting. I have no idea the right thing to do or what to put in place we are a company of around 12 staff.
Your primary obligation is towards your business and other staff. You are not a Mental Health professional so whatever you do, don't try to be one. What you can do should be by mutual consent with the person concerned. In other words, they have to accept that they need to go and get help and commit to do so. You can then consider to what extent you are able or willing to support them. That requires honest and open dialogue between you. They simply saying they have mental health issues is insufficient. They need to be diagnosed. Only with this can you assess any changes you need to make in the workplace or work practices that can then accommodate their needs.
You can encourage them to seek professional diagnosis but you cannot force them. If they chose not to, there is little else you can or should do.
JimmyConwayNW said:
Anyway a few hours later he appears in the office to hand back his equipment.
So, did he formally resign or.....?If he just came in and handed back his equipment without doing anything else, you need to probe whether he considers this as resignation or.....?
One assumes he does, in which case you need to get that in writing.
If he does or doesn't then determines your course of action in respect of handling any mental health issue.
JimmyConwayNW said:
Raymond Reddington said:
He obviously needs help and the employer has a duty of care, no matter how inconvenient it may be.
I certainly wouldn't be turning up at his house.
Well we won't again, but genuinely (prior to accusations) wanted to check if the guy was alive, having a mental breakdown needed help. I think we acted quite kindly to actually check on the guy.I certainly wouldn't be turning up at his house.
It's not pleasant dealing with this kind of situation and I hope it works out okay. For someone to get in to that much of a paranoid state I would suggest if he carried on working for you, this will flare up some time in the future. Something to keep in mind when figuring out what to do next.
ozzuk said:
I guess it's one of those situations where you need to consider what you want to do. You seem to be writing him off due to poor performance but what routines do you have in place to manage this? I.e., perhaps his poor performance is down to mental health issues, in which case what do you have in place to support that? What kind of return to work discussions have you had for the sickness absences?
No idea of your scale and it can be a real challenge for small employers, but some of the things we do - we have mental health first aiders (trained in recognising and offering first line mental support, informally), we have RTW interviews, we have campaigns/training around around resilience, stress managements, depression etc. We do lunch and learns for various health topics. We have a steering group looking at employee health and engagement challenges and put on events (like social community litters picks, nature walks etc).
It can seem the easy option to do nothing, let him go, but you can put things in place to help all staff and reduce likelyhood of this happening again. Sometimes you just can't help, but at least then if you let them go you know you've done all you can.
Wow, do you mind sharing the name of your organisation please?No idea of your scale and it can be a real challenge for small employers, but some of the things we do - we have mental health first aiders (trained in recognising and offering first line mental support, informally), we have RTW interviews, we have campaigns/training around around resilience, stress managements, depression etc. We do lunch and learns for various health topics. We have a steering group looking at employee health and engagement challenges and put on events (like social community litters picks, nature walks etc).
It can seem the easy option to do nothing, let him go, but you can put things in place to help all staff and reduce likelyhood of this happening again. Sometimes you just can't help, but at least then if you let them go you know you've done all you can.
So I can avoid it!!!
ozzuk said:
super7 said:
Jeez, sounds like a whole load of happy clappy snowflake bks to me.....
If someone in the workplace came up to me with this crap i'd tell them to do one..... go and find a millennial to waste your time over...... yuck!!
People are an investment, I can't think of many businesses that can run without them so treat them as you would any asset and look after them. If you have machinery then you run routine maintenance etc, this is no different and the results are very clear in terms of employee retention and productivity increase, which increases profitability.ks to me.....If someone in the workplace came up to me with this crap i'd tell them to do one..... go and find a millennial to waste your time over...... yuck!!
If you can't see that, then you aren't in a sustainable business.
Im guessing this firm (12 employees) is maybe a garage or something or a shop?
as far as Mental health advocacy goes, employee went incognito, after a few weeks, they went round to check he was OK.
Maybe they could have turned up with a clipboard and a 'mental health advocate' lanyard?
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