During a period of sickness absence, it is important to maintain regular contact with the employee – doing so can ease the employee’s transition back into work, whenever it comes.

My client’s employee has recently been unwell. Their absence has been sporadic so far, but they have now submitted a fit note for one month and they have indicated this is likely to last even longer. My client is worried about contacting them and saying the wrong thing. Can you give them any advice?  

Your client is not alone with these questions. Managing sickness absence is a regular topic of employer queries - the Office of National Statistics (ONS) recently published data showing that an estimated 185.6 million working days were lost to sickness absence in 2022 (the most recent figures). This was a record high for the UK.