It is possible and I have considered it, but the whole “unfinished business” confuses this.
Plus, after my hols, I only have 5 weeks work before retirement, if I stick to my original plan.
I guess it’s ’suck it up buttercup’ 
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Makes me wonder what battle OH and HR are trying to win (if that is indeed the case)
I would argue for reduced hours (parcelled as phased return) until retirement.
Not that I would phrase it that way, you still have to play the corporate game.
Of course you still have the option of accepting whatever phased return they offer, working it, and then going sick.
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Completely understandable. I bet in reality it won’t be as bad as your imagination is trying to make you feel today.
Given what you’ve battled through, not just recently, but the shit you’ve had to overcome in that job , I think you’ll have more than enough mental and emotional strength to see you through 
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^^^^^^
Well said
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What about them paying for a taxi to work and back to minimize stress,so you have a chance of being effective when you are there?
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That’s the thing with stress, if it’s hampster wheel daily adrenalin (and that’s the base level) then it can burn out even the most robust of men. But you have a light a the end of this tube tunnel it does make a big difference. Generally when working with stress there has to be a release / relief / conclusion or end goal or it just whittles all reserves - You’re very nearly out of the woods, promise little, deliver just enough and cruise on out of the door !
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Yeah.
Not sure the end of the tunnel is particularly visible here right now. For context, KettleJnr2 has a fairly full bingo card of neurodiversity and a lot of attention seeking but not to the point of needing an EHCP. That means that there isn’t any official help but things like the main holiday club provider in the area can’t cope with him (the one we used until he was kicked out as it was safe, because Southport and stuff like that) so we have just come off a long school holiday of trying to cobble together childminders, working around them (not exactly easy at times especially when the lower earner has the title “Head of” in one of the larger organisations of its type) and basically no other input as the availability of assistance appears to be in inverse proportion to how much it is needed (case in point: other people we know regularly have grandparents babysitting for weekly date nights, we just about managed to negotiate a meal out a couple of days after our anniversary which was the second occasion like that since lockdown). Right now the list of things that happen regularly and should be easy (meals, getting dressed, doing teeth, getting in a car) that take a struggle to actually happen is quite long, and I think I am noticeable getting twitchier (the adrenaline thing probably) as a result.
I have just about managed to cling on to playing some cricket/music through this, I suspect that if I stopped I would never get started again. Certainly anything beyond that that involves time out from parenting is essentially a non-starter which is why I haven’t been to a bakeoff in years.
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Who told you he doesn’t need an EHCP?
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It is a crying shame that supports once available there have been reduced and diluted to naught. Parenting at the best of times is a challenge - For various reasons we get little in the way of family support which from time to time has been a strain. The schools SeNCO has been supportive but we’ve had to really drill into them to get anything meaningful in the way of support (hurdle after hurdle) I’m sure you’ve been all over the map for what might be possibly available for you locally. We found the SeNCO was when we discussed with her how it affects the family as a whole. Glad you shared this.
The school, who to be fair are right. He is doing far more than fine academically (year 6 maths in year 2) and doesn’t need TA attention full time.
Apologies my word triffle failed to indicate I was talking about out of school activities and support.
We were told that our son didn’t need an EHCP by his primary school, and his secondary school, even though he was in the SEN class. He was sinking badly, so we had independent assessments done, which although expensive, allowed us to fight to get him funding to go to a specialist school. He’s now at six form college and really happy. This never looked remotely possible 5-6 years ago.
If your son is neurodivergent, getting him assessed by an educational psychologist, may really help you properly understand what’s going on with him, and perhaps devise a plan, if necessary. We now understand a lot better what our son’s needs are, and that alone has made our (and his) lives less stressful. Let alone the actual schooling stuff.
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It’s a right clusterfuck at times - Sarah’s eldest has had a diagnosis of severe dyslexia (that of course Sarah had to pay for herself) and it’s taken the school fully two years to put anything remotely tailored in place, and even now, it’s not actually a plan, they’ve just apparently written something that they now want to discuss with Sarah.
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It was uncomfortable but not as bad as expected. One of the better managers that I’ve known for a while made herself available to conduct my Return to Work interview.
The result being;
Four hour per day for 4 days this week,
Nothing operational
A few low level staff issues
and try to setup a local security plan
Thursday I have my Teleconference with OH.
Friday I start Annual Leave for a fortnight. On my return we’ll have another meeting about my work restrictions and hours based on the OH report.
At least once this week is under my belt, I’ll have brushed up on what’s been happening and can relax while off.
The countdown is go!
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Today- all these days later with no return to work interview- a ‘Fact Finding Investigation’ was carried out.
No notice; found out today at 06:22.
If an RTW was carried out, this wouldn’t have been necessary so there we are.
I’m feeling livid, so fuck it, this is what I wrote on the day about the incident:
The CCTV was downloaded and ‘investigated’ as one can see here:
Although it was found that there’s no case to answer, if a kind hearted passenger hadn’t filmed this, I’d have been totally fucking fucked!
I am beyond incandescent with fury.
The bus industry is toxic. Proof above.
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Wallonia needs you , do it
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Have you pointed out that CCTV that does not capture behaviour easily recorded by a phone is unfit for purpose and unable to therefore contribute to a safe working environment?
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Very good point. I haven’t yet done this, however I’ll be writing an email including pen friends in TfL as well as copying in my Local MP.
With a calmer head, this will be written tomorrow and sent by end of week.
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Actual buswankers.
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