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Keeping in touch

during sickness absence

Although it can feel difficult, it is advisable to keep in touch with your employer. This is partly so that practical issues around sick leave can be resolved and you can clear up any worries you have that relate to the job. However it’s also important for emotional and social reasons. It’s easy to feel cut off and isolated and to lose confidence. And, the longer you are away, the more difficult it can be to cross the threshold when you do return.

Some issues you might like to consider are:

• worries about losing your job or about financial issues. It is best to raise these fears directly so that you can clarify the true position
• whether there is a half-way house between working and being off sick – for example, maybe you could work a couple of hours a day from home?
• when it is right for you, could you attend work just for a cup of tea so that you are in touch with people and what’s happening both at work and socially?
• is there a colleague or friend at work who can keep you in touch and let others know how you are?
• do you want visits / cards / calls from colleagues?
• what will you tell them when they visit?
• what questions are off limits? And how will you handle this?
• can your manager refer you to sources of support or treatment?
• are there any company schemes that you can draw upon? such as . counselling, access to healthcare, access to occupational health professionals (doctors and nurses who specialise in workplace health).