Will my BB fire me if I go on sick leave for 2 months? [London]
Currently 10 months into a role at a BB in London. I joined with 6+ years of prior IB experience, so I know what pressure looks like, but nothing compares to the absolute sweatshop here. My team is understaffed, the juniors are inexperienced and there's an MD and an ED who thrive on humiliation, intimidation and psychological abuse. Retaliation is real, so no one speaks up.
I've been working 90-110 hour weeks for 10 months straight, no bank holidays and they just cancelled my summer leave (approved back in Feb), pushing it to end of September. I’ve been suicidal for around 3 months, saw my doctor and was diagnosed with stress/burnout, maybe depression. Got a 1-month sick note, but haven’t submitted it to HR because I’m terrified of getting fired (I’m tied down by a £180k clawback until the end of Sept). I'm barely functioning but can’t afford to quit and I don’t even have time to interview for other roles.
Everyone knows the team leadership is toxic. Turnover is insane and no one stays longer than a year except those two. Apparently, someone from my team filed a complaint with HR about the ED last year and was suspended and quietly pushed out.
Question for anyone with experience:
If I go on a doctor-certified sick leave (stress-related) for the remaining two months, how likely is it that they fire me while I’m signed off?
If it's relevant, my formal performance feedback has always been positive.
TIA
This place sounds terrifying. As a community it would be nice to know what the firm is / kind of group / whether it is bank wide or group dependent.
Note, you shouldn't owe the clawback if you get let go. I thought that much was standard
I'll share that once I'm gone in 2 months.
The clawback clause in my contract says I can keep the bonus only if I'm not terminated within 12 months of joining but it doesn't define 'termination.' Is it standard in London or the U.S. to keep the bonus if you're let go?
I've read previous WSO posts on clawback repayment, but they mostly cover analysts with smaller bonuses. Any idea how does it work for larger bonuses for VPs?
Unsure as not experienced enough - but I would anonymise your username a touch more just in case someone on your team sees this and can deduce who you are. Unlikely, but the internet is a weird place lol
Thanks, I'll anonymise the post once I have enough 'silver bananas'...
Just gave you a banana - get renaming and make anon broski (and ofc do name and shame the group once you're out) Best of luck.
Bump
I don’t think employers have the ability to fire people with legitimate sick leave in London. One for you to check but I’d be surprised if they could
Man in 2 months please make a post about your experience and in the name of God name your firm, so we all avoid this place
Dude you got to delete this post asap. It’s obvious to me immediately which bank you work at (which I’m not going to name so as to not out you) and if people know you posted here that puts you at risk. A sick note won’t put you at risk so get one asap. And quit the second you can.
I would say extremely unlikely you are fired while on sick leave (that would be handled through HR, not your team). Less sure on employment laws in the UK, but in the US which tends to be less protective it would be illegal.
To second another commenter....please anonymize this post better for your own sake (even using ED instead of just "director" is a bit of a giveaway, as only a few banks use the alternate title)
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