Keeping in touch during absence

Employers and employees should agree on how to stay in touch during absence and how much contact is reasonable.

There are some types of absence where keeping in touch is not usually needed. For example, if an employee is on holiday. However, the employee might still ask their employer to update them about certain things while they're off.

There are other types of absence where an employee might want regular contact. For example, to know what's going on at work while they're on maternity leave.

When talking about keeping in touch, the employer and employee should agree:

how often the contact should be – this will depend on the employee's individual circumstances
how to contact each other, for example by email, phone or face-to-face meetings
who the employee will be in contact with – this might be their line manager, another manager or an HR manager

Keeping in contact is a good chance to check on the employee's wellbeing and see if they need any support.

Depending on the circumstances, any meetings might be called 'welfare meetings'.

If someone's off because of a mental health problem

An employer should have appropriate contact with an employee who is off sick because of a mental health problem. Employees can benefit from keeping in touch.

Employers should agree the purpose, type and level of contact with the employee. This is to make sure it's useful and not overwhelming.

The employee might find contact too difficult. In this situation, the employer could ask if there's someone else they can check in with. For example, a family member or close friend.

Find out more about supporting mental health at work