Employees Return From Long-Term Sick Leave in England

Your staff members will likely fall sick from time to time and take time off work as sick leave. However, there may be times when your employees are off work due to illness for a lengthy time. Having staff on sick leave can be tricky for you as an employer because it can affect the productivity of your business. There are legal obligations surrounding managing your staff while on sick leave, and it is essential to support them on their return to ensure your staff can return to work as soon as possible. This means they are more likely to return productively and safely. This article will explain what you, as an employer, need to know about when your employees return from long-term sick leave in England.

What Is Long-term Sick Leave?

If your staff member is off work due to sickness, they are on sick leave. However, where your staff member is on sick leave for more than four weeks, they are on long-term sick leave. Your member of staff may have been on long-term sick leave due to, for example, a:

• mental illness;
• physical illness; or 
• serious injury.

Sickness Absence Policy

You are legally obliged to manage sick leave, which includes supporting employees’ return from long-term sick leave. You should have a procedure you follow when staff members return to the workplace from sick leave, including after a period of long-term sick leave. Your procedure should be detailed in your sickness absence policy. Having a procedure in place can allow your staff members to feel secure and comfortable returning to work after long-term sick leave. You should ensure this is compassionate and offers some flexibility in managing a sensitive topic.

Holding a Meeting After Long-Term Sick Leave

When your staff member appears ready to return to the workplace after a period of long-term sickness, the first action you should take is to hold a meeting with them to assess their readiness to return to work and how you can support them as their employer. Whilst this is not a legal requirement, it is good practice. You may invite your employee to a meeting in person at your workplace or online if this is more accessible. In the meeting, items to discuss include:

• if your employee is ready to return to the workplace;
• workplace developments during their absence;
• introducing a phased return to work (see below); and
• whether a doctor has made recommendations for their return to work.

You should also discuss to what extent, if any, you will introduce:

• any reasonable adjustments;
• occupational health support;
• an employee assistance programme (EAP); or
• any other form of support that is needed.

When conducting these meetings, you must follow any procedures you have in place. You should not pressure your staff to return to work. Nor should you challenge the grounds for their absence unless you have a good reason to.

If you do not conduct your return to work meeting correctly, you could face a constructive dismissal or discrimination claim. 

Reasonable Adjustments

When your employees return from long-term sick leave, they may have a disability. If so, you must legally consider changing the workplace conditions to assist them in carrying out the job role. These are reasonable adjustments and include:

• shorter working house;
• a change of work pattern;
• replacing equipment so that it is more easily accessible; and/or
• amending the job role duties.

Making reasonable adjustments will allow your staff members to return to work and should prevent other problems from arising.

Phased Return to Work

If you consider a phased return to work for your employee, this could be a return to work with:

• reduced hours;
• easier tasks; or
• different tasks than previously agreed.

You and your employee ought to agree that a phased return is appropriate and what a phased return will look like. You must regularly review it once the employee has returned to work. 

It is important to note how pay works for an employee returning to work after long-term sickness on a phased return to work. You should pay them their usual pay rate when they are at work. You may agree to reduce their standard pay rate if, for example, their work tasks have become lighter or the duties substantially different. You should ideally record in writing any discussions related to changes in pay.

Key Takeaways

A long-term sickness policy should detail options available to employees returning to work after a long absence due to ill health. The policy should outline the procedures in place to accommodate an employee’s return to work. For instance, it might discuss pre-return meetings, reasonable adjustments, and phased return-to-work options. When working with employees on long-term leave, you should strive to be reasonably accommodating based on their circumstances. This will ensure you foster their productivity and welfare when they return. Devising and implementing a competent policy will also help you not to breach any obligations you owe your employees. This in turn will minimise the risk an employee claims against you for constructive or unlawful dismissal. 

If you need help understanding what to do when your employee returns from long-term sick leave in England and Wales, our experienced employment lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents for a low monthly fee. So call us today on 0808 196 8584 or visit our membership page.

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