Our family is going through a struggle because of my wife's job. She has literally been exhausted, going through meltdown and decided to leave her job as early as possible.
She managed to find a new one she is very excited about but they want her to start a month sooner than her notice period. She might be able to convince her new employer for a month later, but any day more at her current job causes psychological trauma for her. I know this sounds like an overstatement, but trust me it isn't.
And now the problem is if she takes sick leave because of her condition, her notice period will get extended with the number of sick days she get for dealing with the burnout.
And that would jeopardise her new job. Honestly she feels really deadlocked in such a situation. She asked her current employer to release her sooner. She was nice and tried to really explain the situation, but those guys are just not understanding.
What would be the best approach here? I really don't know
As far as I know, notice period does not get extended for sick leave when notice is given by the employee - this rule only applies with notice given by employer. So she can go on sick leave if the job is causing her that much stress.
If you terminate the contract and fall ill during the leave period, the leave period will not be extended . The situation is different if you are not the one who terminates the contract: if you fall ill or have an accident during the period of notice, the period of notice is interrupted during the incapacity to work, but at the most until the end of the legal protection period, before it continues to run.
Si c’est vous qui résiliez le contrat et que vous tombez malade pendant le délai de congé, ce dernier n’est pas prolongé. Il en va autrement lorsque la résiliation ne vient pas de vous: si vous tombez malade ou êtes victime d’un accident pendant le délai de congé, le délai de congé est interrompu pendant l’incapacité de travail, mais au maximum jusqu’à l’expiration de la période de protection légale, avant de continuer à courir.
If she has signed a contract on the new job then the new job need to respect her formal notice period and she needs to tell them that. She basically has no choice but to work her full notice period unless she wants to break her contract and the new job should be ok with that because it is standard procedure.
Surely if she has a new job and is looking forward to it then she can tolerate the last few weeks at her horrible old job and just "do as little as possible" and hopefully work from home?
PS: From what I have seen if she really had true burnout she would not be able to work at any job for a while, including the new job.
Does your wife have any outstanding leave she could use up so her last day in the old job will be before the end of the notice period?
If she is suffering from burnout / stress, perhaps some days holiday between jobs will allow her to start the new job with a fresh mind.
Starting a new job is always going to be stressful, initially - no matter how excited you are about it.
And quite frankly, a new employer who wants you to not respect your contractual obligations to your old employer would be a red flag as to their professionalism.
- If someone is really suffering from burnout and I expect your wife is. Then finding a new job is not the solution. They need medical treatment and time to recover first.
- if a new employer is not willing to respect that notice period and puts pressure on a potential new hire in this way, it a red flag. Especially if the new hire is suffering from burnout.
My recommendation - start with medical advice and follow it.
Has this "burnout" actually been medically diagnosed and she has treatment for it ?
If she really does have burnout, then starting a new job is susally very stressful, plus you need a certain amount of time off to recover your health properly, changing jobs is NOT going to do that, probably it will
Thanks for the messages. Yes, indeed it seems like the sick leave does not extend the notice period. After all, my wife and her employer managed to reach to an agreement.
But since she reached that agreement with her current employer she is doing much better and I have good feeling about this.
She was not diagnosed with a burnout because she never had the chance to visit a therapist. Getting one apparently takes MONTHS being in the waiting list. I find that a bit odd though. Maybe there are emergency practices but I do not think things have reached to that point really.
Also, I was told by one practice when calling them that no therapist can force you not to work if you actually want to.
I have been in a situation where the job was Toxic as heck, it was bringing me down, I quit, got a new job and started it in very much the same mind as I left the last one..... It did not go well.
This is, indeed, very odd. And does not match with what I have seen, in Zurich.
This is true. The patient would have to actually want to do the therapeutic work with the therapist. Whether or not they are willing to do so is a decision that each patient takes for themselves (and perhaps with regard to their personal environment).
Just to clarify the 'facts' - it's not difficult to get a therapist in Zurich (even in English). If you need psychological support urgently then if you use a 'Hausartz' (GP - General Practitioner) they can refer you for a set number of appointments covered by basic health insurance. You can easily search the forum here for suggestions of therapists or you can find one yourself. Generally you need to be seen by a psychiatrist who may then allocate you to a pschologist and that way the health insurance will pay - but if you have capacity to pay (around 200chf/hour) for your own private therapist then you will have no end of options in Zurich for freelance psychologists or psychotherapists of all sorts of varieties.
If it's urgent and you can't get things worked out yourself, then you or someone trusted by you can contact the emergency mental health team or hospital - the Sanatorium Kilchberg has a 'walk in' centre and it's not difficult for them to find a therapist who can meet with you initially and talk to you in English.
There is also a walk-in mental health team in the centre of Zurich.
Further information is available on a 'sticky' in the forum here:
'Burnout' is not a specific mental illness. Without knowing what the person is specifically experiencing as symptoms, and anyway, we are not going to diagnose anyone here on the forum....
Anecdotal evidence suggests otherwise. I know of people who have been waiting 3-6 months to see a therapist in and around Zürich - and waiting times will only increase sadly.
This need to see a psychiatrist will disappear next month and mental health will be covered by one's basic insurance going forward. The stigma though will still be around for some time to come here in Switzerland.
Whilst burnout is not currently listed in DSM-5 (TR) most well-being assessments will screen for burnout - and employers are finally and thankfully starting to take it seriously.
This can be true if one is waiting for a specific therapist who, after all, has to wait, in turn, till there's a new gap after a patient completes therapy or leaves. However, to just get help in general, i.e. to make a start, somewhere, there is, as I observe it, no need to wait that long.
Thanks to your post, I have updated the "Psychotherapy, what it is and how to get it" thread, to address possible waiting times.