Take a break from your mental health issues!

Back to work after a break! Perhaps, you had to take a break from your workplace and remain unemployed for quite some time.  The reason may be mental or emotional health problem.

After a long period of absence from work place, you probably have experienced depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder.  When you return to your work place, no matter how good you may be, you may face discrimination or bullying, resulting in feeling unwell again.

Workplace is stressful. There are advantages too:

• Work is beneficial to health and well being.
• Re-employment leads to an improvement in health and wellbeing.
• It gives an opportunity to build new friendships.
• Financial situation and security of the person improves.
• It creates a feeling that you play an active role in society.

Returning to work place after a brief period of sick leave does not mean that you are not perfectly well.  You need to seek the advice of your GP about the impact of your illness.  The benefit of returning to work generally outweighs the downsides.

After you meet your GP, you can arrange a meeting with your employer and/or your occupational health advisor. You can discuss anything that will facilitate adjustments to make the transition back into work easier. Under the Disability Discrimination Act (1995) and the Equality Act (2010), your employer has a legal duty to make “reasonable adjustments” to your work.

Depending on your circumstances, you can ask for adjustments, such as:

• Flexible hours, for example – work on part-time basis or start later in the day if you’re sleepy from medication in the mornings.
• Support from a colleague, in the short or long term.
• A place you can go to for a break when needed.

New job

If you are unemployed and you are on the lookout for employment, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Where would you like to work?
2. What kind of work you’d like to do?
3. What type of support do you need?
4. What are the benefits & perquisites, including any benefits related to your health?

You have a number of opportunities available to you, such as part-time work, volunteering or ‘supported work’ Act.

Your rights and the law

The provisions in the Equality Act 2010 make it illegal for employers to ask health or health-related questions, prior to making a conditional offer of employment. Therefore, it is illegal under the Equalities Act to discriminate against any kind of disability, including mental health issues. So, if you are on the lookout for a job, you need not worry about discrimination on your revealing mental or emotional health problems.