Phased returns and sick pay 




An employee who agrees to a phased return to work on temporarily reduced hours will lose out financially unless an agreement can be reached to pay sick pay for the working hours that the employee is not yet well enough to perform. The DWP Fit Note Guidance says: “If your employee returns to work on reduced hours, you should consider whether your employee may be financially disadvantaged. In such cases, you may decide to pay sick pay for the hours not worked, or to pay full pay despite the reduced hours.” 




In many workplaces where unions are recognised, collective agreements have been negotiated to provide a financial cushion during a phased return from long-term sick leave.



A phased return can be a reasonable adjustment for a disabled worker. So can paying extra sick pay for the non-working hours of that phased return, since the purpose of the phased return is to support the disabled worker’s successful return to work. Protecting pay in conjunction with other measures designed to help someone get back to or remain in work can be a reasonable adjustment. What is reasonable depends on the facts of the case (G4S Cash Solutions (UK) Limited v Powell [2016] EWCA Civ 983). See Reasonable Adjustments in Chapter 7.


The government is keen to support phased returns in its proposals to reform SSP and the Fit Note (see box on page 264).