employment law

[greenshouse]

Can my employer phone me whilst I am at home sick? with work related questions or when will I be back?

[Miss Zippy]

Your employer has a right to be kept informed of progress of your illness/incapacitation and the expected duration of your absence. Your employer may have a detailed 'sickness' procedure to be followed (which is probably incorporated in your contract of employment) and this may include periodically 'phoning or visiting  you at home to check how you are progressing. This is standard practice in many larger companies where absenteeism has to be managed. With regard to the work related queries you are receiving, whether this is reasonable will depend on circumstances. For instance, if you are off work with a broken leg (i.e. you are otherwise well, but somewhat immobile) it might be reasonable for your employer to call with the occasional query. If you are bed-bound with a serious illness or if you are off with stress or depression (where employers need to tread carefully), then your employer could be in breach of an implied contractual term (breach of trust and confidence for example). Also, the position you hold will have a bearing on what is reasonable - regular queries to an admin member of staff (whose job might be easily covered by other staff members) might be contrued as harassment (thereby breaching an implied term) whereas at senior manager/director level, where only that person may in possession of particular facts or knowledge, regular calls at home may be perfectly acceptable (provided they are not on their death bed of course!).

[OLIVEBUS]

Your employer is not aloud to ring you at home . It is your responsibility to inform him/her when you first go off ill and the nature of the illness.Also if the illness is long term notes from the Doctor should be sent in and you should keep him/her reasonably informed The reason for this is that calls to your home could be seen as harrassment. However if you have a reasonable relationship and are not making it up i have never had a problem with the occasional question being asked