What Is The Longest You Have Known Someone To Be Off Sick From Work?

[Raidergal2022]

What is the longest you have known someone to be off sick from work for (for stress/mental health reasons)?
Would you say 6 months is out of the ordinary? I am not asking if it right or wrong jut if it is an unusually long time?

[wolf63]

If someone is off work after a serious illness or accident it may be that they will require six months to fully recover.

I had some periods of sick leave that were nine months or more at a time. I was eventually given early retirement on health grounds. I was off sick more than I was at work

I last worked on 31/10/2003 and have been unable to work since.

To answer your question - it depends.

[andy-hughes]

I knew someone who was off work for more than two years, and I myself had an absence of twelve months once.

[MissTerious2]

No 6 months isn't out of the ordinary. It can be a lot longer.

[Buenchico]

From 2013:
"Whilst the average amount of time someone has off with stress is 81 days, over 650,000 (2.9%) UK workers have been off with stress for more than a year during their career. Indeed in the last three years one in 50 (435,800) workers have been off sick for more than a year".

Source:
https://www.hrreview.co.uk/hr-news/wellbeing-news/stress-and-depression-responsible-for-majority-of-sick-days-off/49200

[david small]

As I was self employed for years I couldn’t afford to be off sick.

[Canary42]

2 years is the longest I've known.

[THECORBYLOON]

Many folk believe they cannot be dismiss for an absence if medical evidence is being submitted but that is not the case.

If the employee is not able to carry out his or her employment because of sickness absence or even when reasonable adjustments have been made, the employee can be dismissed on the grounds of capability.

[wolf63]

Corby
I was concerned about being let go on the grounds that I could no longer do my job safely.

Thankfully I had 24 service and a medical report stated that my illness was permanent and would prevent me from being able to be in paid work again.

It depends on the person, the job, the illness and your employer.

[jno]

I think it's "out of the ordinary" - "ordinary" is being off with a cold for a couple of days. But it's not rare or suspicious. When half our office came down with RSI after computers were brought in, many were off more than a year, though most of those long-term sufferers were allowed to retire on generous terms.

[barry1010]

david small, I think what you meant to say is that you have been very fortunate not to suffer a critical illness or serious injury during your working life.
If you are too sick to go to work it matters not whether you are employed or self-employed. You simply cannot work.
Not all employees can survive on statutory sick pay.

[Prudie]

TCL it's totally untrue to blanket say people can still be dismissed because of sick absence. It depends on the employer and the circumstances. It can't happen in the Civil Service for example, if you cannot do your job because of long term illness then you are medically retired with pension. Certainly not dismissed - a term which always carries negative connotations against the employee.

[barry1010]

In the Civil Service you must be incapable of doing any suitable job, not just the job you had before the sickness. If the new role is a lower pay grade, the salary may be slowly decreased.

[Peter Pedant]

I was 12 m for cancer.

we had 6 m for blood pressure ( but he was... 61 or 62 and retired soon after

[Peter Pedant]

I was concerned that they wd fire me for incapacity ( ca)
but was reassured they werent allowed to ( which I wasnt aware of)
...
and incapacity is quite difficult to establish

[Peter Pedant]

from the answers
it is very variable
and depends on your job ( contract)
and who your manager is....

and beware bad advice - one was told to retire by managers....when she shd have gone sick long term...and sued the Hospital
pay out was peanuts tho.

another was fired for reason, a day before his 50th when a day after his 50th he wd be able to stop work ill. ( spite from mgt|)

[rowanwitch]

I was off for 8 months, mainly because they needed to find a new job for me. I couldn't go back to what I was doing.