Can Work Contact Me When Off Sick With Stress? UK

The short answer. Yes. Your employer can contact you while you are off sick, including when you are off with stress or depression. Acas says you should agree between you how often, how (email, phone or meetings) and who with. For mental health absence, the purpose and level of contact should be agreed so it is useful and not overwhelming.

What the guidance says about contact

No statute sets out how often an employer may call someone who is off sick. The practical rules come from Acas, the public body that advises employers and workers on employment matters. Its starting point is simple: an employer can contact an employee who is off sick, and how much contact is appropriate depends on the person.

Acas puts the weight on agreement. You and your employer should settle how you will stay in touch and how much contact is reasonable for you. Acas also notes that employees can benefit from keeping in touch, which is worth remembering if your instinct is to switch your phone off for a month.

Being contacted is not the same as being asked to work. If you are not fit for work, the point of contact is to check how you are, what support might help and what is happening at work that affects you. Our guide to what you can do while off sick covers the other questions people ask during sick leave, and our guide to sick leave from start to finish covers the wider picture.

What to agree with your employer

Based on Acas guidance on keeping in touch. The examples are illustrations, not rules.

Point to agree	What Acas says	Example of an agreement
How often	Depends on your circumstances. Acas does not set a number; you and your employer agree it	Once a week by email, or a short call every other Friday
How	Email, phone or face-to-face meetings	Email only for now, with a call if something urgent comes up
Who with	Your line manager, another manager or someone in HR	One named HR contact rather than the manager you report to
What for (mental health absence)	Agree the purpose, type and level of contact so it is useful and not overwhelming	Checking how you are and what support would help, not work tasks
If contact is too much	Your employer could check in with someone else, such as a family member or close friend	Your partner replies on your behalf for a few weeks

Off sick with stress: what reasonable contact looks like

Stress is often bound up with work itself, so a call from the office can feel like part of the problem. Acas guidance on mental health absence says the employer should agree the purpose, type and level of contact with you, so that it is useful and not overwhelming.

In practice that might mean a short weekly email rather than calls, a fixed day and time so you are not waiting for the phone to ring, and a named person who is not the source of the pressure. If your stress is linked to a particular manager, it is reasonable to ask for someone in HR or another manager to be your contact instead. Acas lists all three as options. More on time off for stress is on our signed off with stress page.

Off sick with depression

Acas says an employer should have appropriate contact with an employee who is off because of a mental health problem. Appropriate does not mean frequent. With depression, even opening an email can take effort on a bad day, so agreeing low-pressure contact at the start helps both sides.

If any contact feels too difficult, say so. Acas suggests the employer could ask whether there is someone else to check in with, for example a family member or close friend. Our page on time off work with depression covers evidence and getting support.

Phone calls from work when off sick

Calls are the form of contact people most often find hard. You can ask to move to email or text, and to have contact at agreed times. Putting the arrangement in a short email to your manager or HR gives you both something to refer back to.

If calls are about handing over tasks rather than how you are, it is fair to point out that you are signed off and to ask that work questions go through the agreed contact, kept to what is necessary. A brief handover note sent once can save repeated calls.

Welfare meetings

Acas says keeping in contact is a chance to check on your wellbeing and see whether you need support, and that meetings for this might be called welfare meetings. Your employer's absence policy usually sets out how these work. If travelling in or sitting in an office would be hard, ask for a phone or video call, or a meeting somewhere neutral. The same thinking applies later on, when a return to work meeting checks you are well enough to come back.

What your employer should still tell you

Contact is not only about your health. Acas says employers should update anyone who is off work, for any reason, about promotion and other job opportunities, redundancies and reorganisations that could affect their job. In some circumstances, missing out on something important while off could be discrimination. That is one reason an arrangement for some contact usually works better than none, and why our page on dismissal while off sick stresses being kept up to date during a redundancy process.

Evidence while you are off

Contact and evidence are separate. For the first 7 days you self-certify. Once you have been off for more than 7 days in a row, your employer can ask for a fit note, or agree to accept another appropriate form of evidence. A private sick note from a GMC-registered UK doctor is one form of evidence your employer can choose to accept: DWP guidance says private medical certificates can be accepted in the same way as a fit note, subject to the employer’s agreement.

If it has become a dispute. This page reflects Acas guidance for England, Scotland and Wales. It is general information, not legal advice. If contact from your employer has become a dispute, or feels like pressure to come back before you are ready, Acas offers free, impartial advice and is the place to start.

Common questions

Can work contact me when off sick with stress in the UK?

Yes. Acas says an employer can contact an employee who is off sick. For stress and other mental health absence, you and your employer should agree what the contact is for, how it happens and how much of it there is, so that it helps rather than overwhelms you.

Can work contact me when off sick with depression?

Yes, and Acas says an employer should have appropriate contact with someone off because of a mental health problem. If calls feel too much, you can ask for a different method, fewer contacts, or one named person. If any contact is too difficult, Acas suggests your employer could check in with a family member or close friend instead.

How often can work contact me when I am off sick?

There is no fixed limit in the guidance. Acas says how often depends on your individual circumstances, and that you and your employer should agree how much contact is reasonable.

Do I have to go to a welfare meeting while off sick?

Acas describes keeping in touch as a chance to check on your wellbeing and see whether you need support, and says meetings might be called welfare meetings. If your health makes a meeting hard, ask for a different time, a phone or video call, or to bring someone along. Check your employer's absence policy for how it runs these meetings.

Can I ask work to stop phoning me while I am off sick?

You can ask to change how contact happens, for example email instead of calls, and agree it with your employer. Cutting all contact is harder, because your employer still needs to keep you informed about things such as job opportunities and reorganisations.

Need evidence for your employer?

A GMC-registered UK doctor reviews a short online questionnaire and issues a private sick note if it is clinically appropriate. No appointment needed.

Request a sick note

Assessed by a GMC-registered UK doctor. Full refund if a note cannot be issued on clinical grounds.

Can work contact me when I am off sick?