Where possible, the return to work interview should be completed by the line manager the same day that a team member returns to work. The line managers judgement can be used to determine how best to conduct the return to work interview however the following should be considered as that decision is made:
Reason for absence
- Is this period of absence due to stress or mental health? If so (or you suspect it may be) the return to work interview should be completed in person or via video call (not on the phone)
- If the period of absence is due to a short term illness (e.g. vomiting bug) it could be appropriate to have a brief phone call with the team member that asks how they are feeling and if they are able to conduct their normal duties.
Length of absence
- If this period of absence has been longer than 3 days, then the return to work interview should be completed in person or via video call (not on the phone or message).
Where you as their line manager are not in work on the day the team member returns, or if you are unable to have a full return to work interview and that is needed, another team leader / senior staff member should speak with the team member on day 1 to ask how they are and plan any initial adjustments that may be needed on their return to work. If there is no team leader available to do this, the People and Culture team will have this call. The line manager should make the People and Culture team aware if that is needed. The full return to work interview should be completed by the line manager (or appropriate alternative) within 3 working days of a team member returning to work.
As you are planning the return to work conversation think about when and where to have the conversation: we want the team member to be able to share what they want / need to and we need to be in a place, with enough time, to hear their thoughts
- Start with the person – asking how they are and if there is anything you (or we) can do to support them. Talking about tasks in work can happen after.
- Make sure you both are in confidential spaces
- Give yourself more time than you think you will need to enable conversations to be finished well
- Some team members don’t want to share details with us and that is usually ok. What we know will help us support our team better (and put in adjustments if needed) – but we want to respect the team members privacy also if they do not want to share
- When planning support / adjustments collaboration is key! Where there is choice, let the team member take the lead about what is helpful for them
Questions to consider:
- How are you now / how are you feeling?
- What was the cause of your absence?
- Are there any issues, or questions, which you wish to raise following your recent absence?
- Do you require any additional support within work, in order for you to carry out your normal duties?
- Did you consult a Doctor or other medical practitioner? What, if any, advice they gave would be helpful for me to know as your employer?
- Has an occupational health assessment been completed, if applicable? (If yes, ensure uploaded to staff member’s profile and meeting booked in to discuss outcome/support)
- Will your injury/illness pose a danger to others? (e.g. transmittable disease) (If yes, ensure risk assessment is completed and uploaded)
- Was you time off related to an incident / Accident at work? If so, was an accident or incident report form completed? (Yes/No/Not applicable. If not, why not?)
- Are you on any medication which may affect your performance? If yes what effect could this have? (positive or negatively)
- If yes what effect could this have? (positive or negatively)
What if I work part-time – how do we do a return to work? How quickly do we need to mark someone as returned on the staff database?
A staff member should be marked as ‘returned’ on the staff database on the day they return (the staff member can do this themselves or anyone ‘up’ the chain can, as can the People and Culture Team). This means that we can ensure pay isn’t affected and if accounts were paused whilst they were off, confirms that these should be turned back on.
Gold standard is then to also have the return to work on day 1, however this may not be practically possible. If this is the case (especially if the absence is due to something like a sickness bug) then ensure that someone (if you can’t as you don’t work, then Senior management can do this / People and Culture Team) ‘checks in’ with the staff member of day 1. And plan a full return to work within the next couple of days.
However, if the staff member has been off for a while, or if their absence is related to work stress, then a return to work does need to be completed on day 1, with short term planning in place and therefore planning with the wider team (including the People and Culture Team) who can do this if it is not your working day is needed. It could be that the meeting is done in two steps, and when you are next back in work you can have a further conversation to check nothing is missed.