Keeping in touch with staff on sick leave

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When sensitively managed, regular contact with someone who is off sick is generally recognised as good practice. As the HSE says, “regular contact helps to keep work on [the] agenda and offers good opportunities to plan the return to work”.

However, if an employer telephones too frequently or at inappropriate times of the day, this is likely to be intrusive, as is visiting them at home without agreement. A rep can help the member organise with the employer the best time, method and regularity of communication during long-term sick leave.

Raising performance concerns with an employee who was off sick was a fundamental breach of the contract that allowed the employee to claim constructive dismissal in Private Medicine Intermediaries Limited v Hodkinson & Another [2016] UKEAT 0134/15.

Failing to keep someone who is absent for a disability-related reason properly informed about important work developments that affect them is likely to breach the duty to make reasonable adjustments (Chawla v Hewlett Packard Limited [2015] UKEAT/0280/13/BA). And even if an absent worker is not disabled, there is likely to be a breach of implied contractual duties of good faith, trust and confidence (see Chapter 3).

Arrangements should be made for absent workers to be included in collective consultation over proposed redundancies or TUPE transfers (see Chapters 12 and 13).

The law on holiday rights during sick leave is explained in Chapter 4.