We have an employee who has been with us for almost 10 years. Over the last couple of years, she has systematically fallen out with colleagues in and out of her department for various reasons. About 9 months ago, she asked to be demoted from Team Leader as she felt she was working harder than other Team Leaders, we tried to discourage this and support her as best we could and make improvements where possible but she still insisted she wanted to be demoted so we eventually reluctantly agreed.
She was clearly very unhappy when we appointed a new Team Leader without too much problem and soon enough, she started to claim his behaviour was a problem and she didn’t want to work for him anymore. We agreed to move her to another area (after she had moved herself there one day) which we were able to justify with workloads etc. and there she has been without problem for a couple of months.
Last week, while we were in the process of reorganising her department’s work area, she went missing, we found she had taken herself downstairs to another department claiming she had nowhere to sit or anything to do. The department she took herself to were very light of work and she therefore sat reading magazines for 3 days while her colleagues were working upstairs. She claimed on the 4th day, she was bored, she had a problem with her boiler at home and took the rest of that day and the next (a Friday) off as holiday. Monday morning she rang in sick, she had a cold and earache from living in the cold and having to wash her hair in cold water etc. Her boiler was due to be replaced today (Thrs).
Tues she returned to work, she went straight to the department she had sat herself in last week and actually started doing some of the work they now have. We asked her why she was still down there given her department was now settled and she said her Team Leader had not come and found her and told her she could come back. We questioned why, having been off for almost 5 days (incl weekend) she hadn’t reported to her Team Leader when she arrived back at work and she said she shouldn’t have to, he should come and look for her. We tried to reason with her but the conversation went round and round in circles. We explained she must report to her Team Leader if she is ever in doubt and reiterated exactly who she reports to now. We followed this up with a letter confirming which department she works in and where/to whom she should report.
She was in work yesterday, in her proper department but very quiet. She has fallen out with a few people in there in the past and they now do not speak. She seemed fine when she left, smiling and saying she had made it to her finish time.
Today, her partner has called saying she is depressed and he was taking her to the doctor. He has now come in with a doctors note signing her off for 2 weeks and citing work-related stress as the cause.
Can anyone give me some advise/tips on conducting her Return to Work interview and how we can deal with the matter best? Without being too cynical, it does seem odd that she could be so stressed in two days she has had to see her doctor. We suspect she is angling to move departments but this of course, is only one theory and we are trying to keep open minds.
