Hi all,
I’m in the UK and I’m really struggling with anxiety at the moment. I’ve been having a lot of breakdowns during the day, sometimes for hours, and there are days where I genuinely can’t do any work properly. Then I have to get up at 5am the next day and do it all again. I feel completely exhausted and constantly on edge.
I’ve been trying to push through because I’m scared of what people at work will think. But I think I’ve reached the point where I need to take sick leave because I’m not coping.
The thing I’m most anxious about is the fit note. I’m scared that if I go to a GP/private GP, they’ll only sign me off for something really short like 2-3 weeks. The thought of having to keep going back, checking in and explaining everything again is making me even more anxious already.
I feel like a longer fit note would actually help me calm down a bit, and it would also help my team plan resourcing instead of everything being uncertain every week.
A colleague told me I could ask my employer to refer me to Occupational Health. He said OH might be able to help if I need longer sick leave. He was off sick for about 6 months himself, but I don’t know whether that was because OH signed him off, or because his GP kept extending his fit note, or both.
So I wanted to ask:
Can Occupational Health in the UK actually sign you off work instead of a GP?
Or do they only advise the employer, while the actual fit note still has to come from a GP or treating doctor?
Any experiences would be really helpful.