Punished – for depression

Paddy Cunningham, a rail signal-box worker, fell seriously ill and, like any of us would, he took time off from work.

He eventually recovered and was eager to return to the job. But his employer would not have it – instead of welcoming him back to work, Paddy was eventually sacked.

Paddy, who was diagnosed with a bout of depression, is one of millions of workers whose illness is stigmatised because the symptoms aren’t physically manifest, although the suffering is often unbearably great.

Unite regional officer Davy McMurray explained that Translink, the company Paddy works for, had originally told him that he could return to his position once he became ‘tablet-free’.

This, McMurray said, was “a challenging goal he achieved with the assistance of his own NHS GP.”

Paddy told UNITElive of the struggles he faced weaning himself off his medication with the full support of his GP.

“My GP drew up a plan of action and together we worked toward it so that I could get my job back just as my employer had promised,” he explained.

“I steadily made progress and once I was medication-free, every report from the health team that was working with me was positive.”

But then, McMurray explained, Paddy’s bosses turned the tables on him.

“Translink’s own private-sector, occupational health doctor moved the goalposts without any justification whatsoever and against the counsel of one of his colleagues and the worker’s own NHS GP,” McMurray noted.

That the company used a private sector doctor outside of the NHS was especially galling because in Northern Ireland, bus and rail transport is entirely publicly run by a single public sector company.

Management told Paddy that he couldn’t return to his old position as he might suffer a relapse in the course of the next two years.

After Unite began to pile on the pressure, management offered Paddy a number of different positions he could take on – but all paid less than half his previous salary.

Scared

“I couldn’t believe it,” Paddy noted. “I worked so hard to get my job back. All the progress I’ve made feels like it’s about to slip away. I’ve started to again feel anxious and have trouble sleeping after the way they’ve treated me. I’m scared I won’t find another job.”

McMurray said that the union was “appalled at the unfeeling approach taken by Translink management to workers facing mental health difficulties.”

“Their actions make a mockery of the publicity they garnered nominating ‘Action Mental Health’ as their ‘charity of choice’ for the next three years,” he added.

“They are forcing workers who are prescribed medication for mental health conditions to choose whether to do the wrong thing and keep quiet and hope not to get caught using non-disclosed medicines; or do the right thing, inform management and run the risk of losing your job as a result.”

Sadly, Paddy is not alone in being punished in the workplace for suffering from a mental illness.

New research from the Mental Health Foundation discovered that a shocking nine in 10 people with mental illnesses report in a recent survey that they have experienced discrimination. And more than 56 per cent said that they would not employ someone with depression even if they thought that person was best qualified for the job.

Beyond it being illegal to discriminate against people with certain mental health conditions under the Equality Act 2010, the Mental Health Foundation has found that this discrimination is bad for the economy.

That’s because people living with mental health conditions – working in industries ranging from entertainment to construction and more – contribute an estimated £226bn gross value added to UK GDP. This is 12.1 per cent of GDP overall, and as high as nine times the estimated cost to economic output arising from mental health problems at work.

A survey by the Foundation found that for those who are coping with a mental health conditions such as depression or anxiety, work is often a lifeline – 86 per cent of all respondents believed that their job and being at work was important to protecting and maintaining their mental health, which highlights the importance of a supportive workplace.

But still so many people fear disclosing their mental health conditions to their bosses – an understandable position, given what Paddy and others like him have endured.

Of those surveyed who did not disclose their illness to their employer, nearly half said that they feared being discriminated against and harassed at work, with 40 per cent saying they felt ashamed to do so and another 25 per cent reporting they simply had no guidance to report their illness.

Despite his experience, Paddy encouraged anyone who has or suspects they might have a mental health problem to speak up about it.

“Talk to someone you trust,” he said. “When you’re anxious or depressed, isolating yourself will only make things worse.”

Unite support

Paddy praised the backing of his Unite rep, Adrian Kelly, who he said “always supported me 100 per cent of the way.”

“When I was going through this whole ordeal, he was always on the end of the phone, calling me when he had not heard from me in a few days,” he noted. “He went out of his way to make sure I was okay.”

Above all, Paddy believes awareness of mental health conditions is the most crucial first step in combatting workplace discrimination.

“Because people don’t talk about it, so many people don’t know the symptoms of depression,” he said. “They don’t know how common it is – it can strike anyone at any time, no matter what job you have, how much money you earn or where you’re from.”

While Unite continues to support Paddy in his fight to get back his job, the union is also a wider champion of supporting people with mental health conditions in the workplace.

Unite has worked to both lobby the government for well-funded mental health services and has also played a leading role in skilling up its reps in many parts of the UK with training on mental health basics. Find out more here.