What is phased return to work?

Sometimes when an employee has been on sick leave with a long-term illness or disability, they may not be able to take on all of their previous duties and responsibilities once they return to work. Employees on maternity or parental leave may also have phased return to work.

What your employee’s return to work programme looks like will likely depend on how much support they need and how much they are able to do in their current condition. You might want to include making reasonable adjustments if they are disabled or create an employee assistance programme. 

Why is phased return to work important?

Having phased return to work means that your employee is more likely to successfully recover. You might find that some employees on phased return to work are able to eventually take on all of their previous responsibilities. However, their responsibilities might change slightly to fit their new needs. This might include making reasonable adjustments if they have a disability.

Phased return to work can be beneficial for employers too, as it can save you from having to look at hiring a new employee. If you are considering dismissing an employee who has been off work in the long-term, it is worth thinking about phased return to work first to make sure that you are making the best decision. 

Recruiting a new employee to replace your absent one could cost you time and money. Plus your employee on phased return to work will understand the structure of your workplace without any additional training. What’s more, if your employees can see that you are dedicated to helping a sick employee return to work via graded stages, this can help boost morale and potentially reduce turnover. 

If an employee who has been absent due to a long-term illness or disability takes on all of their previous responsibilities at once, they might become ill again. This might lead to them taking further absences. Therefore, phased return to work can be a good strategy for making sure that both you and your employee get the most out of their return. 

The UK law on phased return to work

Before you create a definite strategy for your phased return to work plan, it’s a good idea to familiarise yourself with the UK law surrounding phased return to work. You may consider reaching out to a lawyer for legal advice to make sure that you are fully compliant.

According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), you should ‘record and monitor sick leave to help you identify trends and manage risk.’ Furthermore, it is important to get advice from professionals if making adjustments from employees.

Under UK law, employees are protected by the Equality Act 2010. This means that if they have a protected characteristic such as a disability, employers are not allowed to discriminate against them on the basis of this disability.

This is important to consider if you are looking to accommodate an employee during phased return to work. If they are now considered to have a disability, you may have to make some reasonable adjustments by law. For more information on reasonable adjustments, please visit the UK government website.

It’s also important to follow the UK law on health and safety. As an employer, you are required by the law to carry out risk assessments to make sure that your workplace is safe for your employees. While you might do this already on a regular basis for fire safety, access and other workplace issues, it is important to consider this for phased return to work as well. For more information, you can consult the UK government’s page on health and safety.

That’s because an employee’s return to work might introduce new risk factors that weren’t there previously. They might need a ramp for a wheelchair or assistance climbing stairs if they have reduced mobility.

If your employee has a dispute about your phased return to work plan

If your employee has an issue with the way you plan to introduce their phased return to work, they will usually raise this with you first. This is known as raising the issue informally. If they have any concerns that your scheme doesn’t follow UK legislation or that it covers all of their needs, it is worth having a one-on-one meeting to address these. 

However, if your employee still isn’t satisfied with their phased return to work, they might raise a grievance. This means that your employee has raised the issue formally. This might be mediated by an outside body who looks at the case in a balanced, neutral way, taking into consideration the needs of all parties. If the issue isn’t solved via a grievance, then your employee might take you to an employment tribunal. 

To avoid any confusion, it’s useful to ensure that your phased return to work scheme is stated clearly and accessibly in a return to work policy. 

Return to work policy

You might choose to include your phased return to work scheme in your return to work policy so it’s clear to your employees what you offer. This might be in the form of a handbook or resource which they can access with ease. 

Return to work interview

Once your employee decides that they are capable of returning, you might have a meeting with them to decide whether they can return and what responsibilities they can manage. One benefit of having a return to work interview is that you can also help your employee to reintegrate into their role as well as working with others in your workplace. 

This could also follow with a risk assessment process to ensure that your employees do not have an increased risk of an accident due to their health status. Other factors or accommodations you could discuss with your employee during an interview include:

• Whether there are any changes to their role in their absence;
• Whether there have been any changes to their workplace during their absence;
• Whether they need any reasonable adjustments (such as if they have a new disability);
• Drawing up an employee assistance programme;
• Whether you or your employee should make an occupational health referral.

During the interview, you could also discuss with your employee how much they should be paid during phased return to work. You might decide that if they have far fewer responsibilities than they previously did, that they should be paid less. It’s worth making this clear to your employee so that they know the new conditions of their return and how much they can expect to be paid. 

Monitoring a phased return to work scheme

You might decide that it’s useful to measure an employee’s productivity during a phased return to work scheme. This could also help you to make changes or adjustments as you go along (while checking in with your employee to make sure the adjustments are useful). 

If your employee is finding certain aspects of returning to work difficult, then this might be a good time to discuss making adjustments. 

Phased return to work can be useful if an employee is looking to come back to work after a period of ill health or maternity leave. While every business usually has a different phased return to work scheme because of their own needs, it’s useful to follow the UK law on both health, safety and equality while doing so. That way, you can best accommodate your employee while staying compliant with the law.