employment/bullying resulting in a nervous breakdown, advice please

[FLWLSW]

I am in such a mess i cannot see the wood for the trees. I have worked for the NHS for 16 months now. During that 16 months i have experienced bullying on a daily basis from a group of 4 other employees. I was isolated, accused of poor performance, subjected to rumours, shouted at, threatened and even asaulted. It came to a head last year when i was hospitalised with a perforated stomach ulcer resulting from sheer stress.

I went back to work after 12 weeks sick and it did not improve. The department in question is known for bullying, and the managers were aware but refused to take action, prefering to heap more stress on me to * not give them a reason to bully me*. For the last few weeks i have been unable to sleep and when i did i had nightmares and since my operation i developed an addiction to painkillers, somehow they helped me cope with the bullies, basically i diddnt care. I used to vomit before i went to work, vomit during work and spend all night terrified to go back. I became a nervous wreck and my GP prescribed anti depressants.

 

Now this is the part i am ashamed of, on Friday, my kids were away for the night and i stole a diazepam vial from work. I dont know why i did it, i just knew it would help me sleep deeply enough not to have the nightmares. It was a moment of madness i will pay for for the rest of my life, i was caught. Part of me is relieved i dont have to go back there but im scared what will happen now. My Gp has said i have had a nervous breakdown. I have never done anything like this before ever. I just wanted a night of peace.

 

So far i havent heard from the police for two days, they caught me with it at home after an annonymous tip off. I pannicked and diddnt say anything to them, they said they can trace the vial through lot numbers, but i fully admit i did it. I know il never work in that field again and fully expect and deserve to be struck off the register.

 

My GP has issued a sick note on a monthly basis and i have agreed to a detox program and treatment. Do i resign or wait to be sacked? to be honest i was going to resign before this, i have never been so miserable working in that department. I dont know what to do for the best as i also have bills to pay and rent.

 

I fully understand i have no right to ask for advice, i did it, i deserve to be punished, so if i get no replies i understand why. I just wanted the bullying to stop and they wouldnt do it. I dont trust my on judgement at the moment and would appreciate some practical advice on what i can do now regarding resigning/any benefits i could claim/do i let them sack me? Please help.

[stuart_coogh]

some of this is not making sense, first you say you stole a viale that your workplace can trace via serial numbers, then you say "So far i havent heard from the police for two days, they caught me with it at home after an annonymous tip off. I pannicked and diddnt say anything to them, they said they can trace the vial through lot numbers, but i fully admit i did it. I know il never work in that field again and fully expect and deserve to be struck off the register."

 

How did anyone know you stole the vial in the 1st place? for the police to come to your house?

 

you worked for 16 months and you have been bullied all that time, did you put a grievance in?

 

why did you go back to work after 12 weeks if you were still not well, did your employer threaten you?

 

sorry for the questions but if you can give more details it would give a better picture

[FLWLSW]

thank you for your reply

 

the reason the police found out was because someone from work had seen me take it from the box and anonymously informed the manager and it was reported to the police who then attended my home. It happened within 3 hours of me leaving so policys had to be consulted ect which accounts for the time i left to when the police turned up. I apologise for not being very clear. Im ashamed, exhausted and receiving treatment for my mental health.

 

I followed the grievance policy to the letter, in fact i asked them to move me to another dept for a week for the managers to see that i was good at my job ect - other employee`s had reported it previously. I only had a meeting 3 weeks ago with one of the senior managers and i reported it again then. Even the manager said i should not have to suffer abuse. But nothing was done. I went back to work after 12 weeks as i was pressured into it by my manager and her manager, i was left with the impression that if i did not go back, i wouldnt have a job to go back to.

 

I know i deserve the consequences, i breached trust, i disgust myself quite honestly

[suziebear67]

The best thing is to let them fire you if you need to claim benefits.

 

Try not to worry we have all done daft things at one time or another.

 

Sue

[Nystagmite]

The best thing is to let them fire you if you need to claim benefits.

 

I think if you leave voluntarily and state that you had to leave due to bullying / depression, you could still get benefits.

 

The above doesn't apply for ESA - only JSA.

[Feebee_71]

Be aware that, if you are dismissed for gross musconduct (and, from what you've said, that is a likely outcome), then once you claim benefits they will contact your employer and you will most probably be sanctioned and lose entitlement to JSA for a lengthy period of time!

 

This won't be the case uf your GP signs you unfit and you put in a claim for ESA.

 

Feebee_71

[FLWLSW]

thanks again for all the replies. I saw my GP again this morning, who has signed me as unfit to work. What is ESA please? i dont understand the benefits system.

[suziebear67]

Its employment and support allowance once you have had sick pay for 28 weeks off your employer they no longer have to pay you.

 

You can claim esa when your sick pay runs out.

[FLWLSW]

thank you suzie, ive read the policy for my employers and i will be dismissed for gross misconduct, so the way i see it is thats the end of the road for them, why should they pay me sickness benefit?

 

the bottom line is they have caused the breakdown by refusing to act on the bullying, however i accept total responsibility for what i did, i wasnt in my right mind at the time, its not an excuse but a mitigating factor. My GP gave me a sick note for two weeks and is reviewing my medication and progress every week, so the sick note will be reviewed every week or so. But in the meantime i have a child to support and a mortgage to pay and no savings - im terrified to tell you the truth

[Marieleeza]

thank you suzie, ive read the policy for my employers and i will be dismissed for gross misconduct, so the way i see it is thats the end of the road for them, why should they pay me sickness benefit?

 

the bottom line is they have caused the breakdown by refusing to act on the bullying, however i accept total responsibility for what i did, i wasnt in my right mind at the time, its not an excuse but a mitigating factor. My GP gave me a sick note for two weeks and is reviewing my medication and progress every week, so the sick note will be reviewed every week or so. But in the meantime i have a child to support and a mortgage to pay and no savings - im terrified to tell you the truth

 

You should be able to get benefits as a sole parent and help with paying the mortgage (only the interest of course) and council tax

 

. I think you need some support from your union. Is there anyone you can contact?

[FLWLSW]

i am a member of a union, i will contact them, thank you

[jqinfo]

I may be barking up the wrong tree, but can you resign and claim constructive dismissal and then explain the circumstances with regard to the nervous breakdown and the mitigating circs of the theft?

 

Good luck.

[honeybee13]

I may be barking up the wrong tree, but can you resign and claim constructive dismissal and then explain the circumstances with regard to the nervous breakdown and the mitigating circs of the theft?

 

Good luck.

 

CD is notoriously difficult to prove though, might need serious legal advice as it could be a dodgy route to take.

 

My best, HB

[suziebear67]

Also send for an industrial injuries form the number is on the direct gov site,

I filled one in for an incident that happened at work and they said that my ilness (anxiety) was caused by my employers.

[Marieleeza]

i am a member of a union, i will contact them, thank you

 

The union should be able to support you through the disciplinary meeting(s) and also advise you on how to use mitigating factors (harassment, stress, effects of medication etc) to try to save your registration. They should have loads of experience with these issues.

[jtors65]

did you suffer a physical injury that caused your anxiety and depression or was it the bullying that caused it, whats the link for the direct gov site for the industrial injuries form?

 

how long are you off work suzie?

[suziebear67]

I been off 22 weeks just put industrial injury into the google bit and you will be able to find it.

 

Good luck.

[jtors65]

is depression classed as a industrial injury?

[suziebear67]

I had work related anxiety n my fit note.

[sarahdurrand]

The union should be able to support you through the disciplinary meeting(s) and also advise you on how to use mitigating factors (harassment, stress, effects of medication etc) to try to save your registration. They should have loads of experience with these issues.

 

UNION will not advise stress, effects of medication they will tell you they are reasons for employer to let you go as they can say you can no longer do the job so UNIONS will advise against this. You would need witness to the harassment most wont stand against their employer for you trust me I know....

[Marieleeza]

UNION will not advise stress, effects of medication they will tell you they are reasons for employer to let you go as they can say you can no longer do the job so UNIONS will advise against this. You would need witness to the harassment most wont stand against their employer for you trust me I know....

 

The aim here is to save the registration not the job.

[stuart_coogh]

even if you dont have witnesses your GP can confirm at any tribunal that your nervous breakdown was due to your work problems, so you are covered to a very high extent there

[flowerchild]

This may have changed but back in 2003 I got fired for alleged gross misconduct (in my case, posting pictures of my graphic design work online, but I was working for an outsourced department within an investment bank so you couldn't expect any less). As I was a homeowner and in those days the benefit rate was just £52/week and there was a 9 month wait before you could get any help with mortgage interest, I wasn't desperate to sign on, however, I made a claim on my mortgage insurance and the insurers sent me a form which I had to return with a stamp from the Job Centre, so I went to make a claim for UB. My unemployment claim was approved with no fuss and I started getting my benefits, however, the insurers turned down my claim as they were told I'd got dismissed for gross misconduct. I was putting together an ET case but they wanted to see the transcripts! The point is, I had no problems claiming benefits as gross misconduct is open to interpretation and can easily be disputed

[sarahdurrand]

The aim here is to save the registration not the job.

 

Read like the job needs saving to take care of the bills. The first thing is then to get police to drop the case if going to stay on the register.

[sarahdurrand]

This may have changed but back in 2003 I got fired for alleged gross misconduct (in my case, posting pictures of my graphic design work online, but I was working for an outsourced department within an investment bank so you couldn't expect any less). As I was a homeowner and in those days the benefit rate was just £52/week and there was a 9 month wait before you could get any help with mortgage interest, I wasn't desperate to sign on, however, I made a claim on my mortgage insurance and the insurers sent me a form which I had to return with a stamp from the Job Centre, so I went to make a claim for UB. My unemployment claim was approved with no fuss and I started getting my benefits, however, the insurers turned down my claim as they were told I'd got dismissed for gross misconduct. I was putting together an ET case but they wanted to see the transcripts! The point is, I had no problems claiming benefits as gross misconduct is open to interpretation and can easily be disputed

 

Claiming benefits I agree you should not have a problem even if you are sactioned there is emergency benefit you can claim during the saction time.