The situation
A valued employee had been signed off for four months with a stress-related condition. The owner kept delaying contact, worried about making things worse, while the team was stretched and morale was slipping.
Why it was difficult
Avoiding contact felt kind but created real risk: no medical picture, no plan, and growing exposure to a disability discrimination claim if the absence was mishandled.
What Samantha did
- Put a proper welfare-contact process in place that felt supportive, not threatening
- Established a clearer medical picture through occupational health
- Built a phased return plan the employee genuinely felt supported by
- Kept the owner protected throughout
What it could have cost
Four months of paying someone who was not working, with no plan and no end date, and a disability discrimination claim if the owner had pushed too hard.
The outcome
She returned part-time within six weeks of the occupational health report, and full-time shortly after. The owner stopped dreading every Monday.
Back at work. No formal process needed.
What this means for you
Silence is not neutral. Staying in proper, supportive contact is what gets people back and keeps you protected.
Related support
Sickness absence support →Anonymised. Sector, names and identifying details have been removed or changed. Outcomes reflect the specific circumstances of each case and are not a guarantee of any particular result.