Get signed off work is the first step.
You can be fired.
There is a short period of protection which is dependant upon the length of time you have worked for the company at the moment they terminate your contract, it also depends on your company, as some contracts offer better conditions than others.
Some companies though do not respect this and fire employees willy nilly during illness periods without thinking there will be any consequences for them.
The period of protection could be anything from 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months or a full year. This is how much time your company has to wait before issuing you with a termination of contract letter.
Nevertheless it may not make much difference to you financially in the long run when you are fired during a long period of illness since* ...
Ordinarily if you are fired whilst you are off sick, 100% unfit to work, then after the termination of your contract your firm's insurance company will take over paying your salary, from that point on you deal with them directly. They typically pay out up to 720 days continual sick leave (or approximately 2 years), including the time you were still employed. The entire time you are off sick but still employed is officially paid sick leave.
Again depending on your contract, once this has ended, you might only be paid 80% of your salary during the first year you are off sick and again 80% or possibly less, during the second year. However some firms offer insurance policies for these situations with better conditions and you might receive 100% of your salary for the first year or even for the full two years.
* Having said that however, after your contract has been terminated and you are in receipt of sick pay from an insurance company, your retirement pension contributions are not being paid, so you are liable to pay the at least the minimum amount, I believe Fr.504.-- per annum, payable pro rata, based on the time you are not working and officially still off sick simultaneously. This will be invoiced to you by your canton at a later stage, in my case it took more than a year for this invoice to reach me.
more here: Unemployment after sick leave
The answer is yes but he will need a doctor's certificate which needs to be renewed every 2 months approximately. With a medical certificate there is then a down-time (180 days?) before the firm can fire him. This 180 days will be counted in addition to the notice period. The doctor may also be involved in discussions as to the extent of the working ability (typically 0-50%) and subsequent reintegration into the company.
Hope this helps
Where I worked for example (a larger company), everyone who was off sick for a more than a couple of months (7 of us at that time) was simply referred to AI/IV and then all fired in any case, as an insurance company took over the payment of the monthly salary... the employer sees it as a chance to get rid of the old and tired existing and expensive employees, to bring in the new...
The idea is to keep the person in work, either with adaptations or by training them to do a new role in the same company. So not what your old employer was doing.
However in part, they are essentially 'shooting themselves in the foot' as they end up paying out again to employees who do not get back on their feet within the 2-year pay-out time frame of the sick pay insurance policy, as once this has run out they (the employer) have to start paying the now-former employee (which they thought they had got rid of!) again in the form of AI/IV.
The other process (initiated by employer), generally takes around a year for the decision to come through. I know this from my own experience and that of colleagues and acquaintances.
By 'ordinary' do you mean you applied it for yourself and/or through your doctor?
I've been in the process for 5 years now... but my case is very complex. To be honest, I don't really want to go into details. And me going into details won't help the OP I'm sure.
I didn't realise that a decision could take so long from AI/IV. I could only assume/deduce that the claim for AI/IV was rejected or only partially granted and you appealed or started a new application after the original one was closed. But of course I may be way off the mark.
I had thought that the decision has to be given within one year, or exceptionally if there are possibilities for work reintegration etc. then a maximum of two years.
As I previously mentioned, there were 7 of us who were fired whilst off sick where I was working; 3 of us used up the entire 2 years of sick pay and were granted IV/AI in the meantime, all within a year, the employer, one the two years of sick pay from the insurance company were up, then had to start paying us again! In my case, since I had worked in 3 other countries as well as Switzerland, those 3 countries benefits systems were also involved (although not in the decision itself for entitlement to the Swiss incapacity benefit).
I find the AI/IV extremely slow. For instance, I have a 'Renterevison', which has been ongoing now for over 18 months, and it's not nice not knowing what the decision is going to be, even if I know whatever the outcome, if it is not right for me, I can appeal. But to appeal you also need the energy!
Had you worked previously in the U.K.?
Whatever you are going through with AI, you have my understanding and sympathy, I hope it all works out for you.
I'm glad your friend is seeking help. It's important to get a perspective on things - your health is more important than your employment status. There's not much to be gained by being employed right up until your drop dead from a heart attack brought on by stress.
For example if I change my company will my next employer know that I took a medical leave for burnout?
'burnout' is not a specific medical condition as far as I know, and your medical history is private (you're more likely to get an official diagnosis/treatment) for anxiety, depression, insomnia, panic disorder, drug or alcohol dependency... it will be a more specific diagnosis than 'burnout' - but the employer (current or future) are not automatically entitled to know the details...