After a work injury, some employers make it clear they want you back quickly: repeated calls, hints about your job, or pressure to come in before you are ready. Here is where you stand.
What does a fit note mean?
If you are off sick for more than seven days, a doctor or other approved healthcare professional can issue a fit note. It either says you are not fit for work, or that you may be fit for work with adjustments, such as a phased return, altered hours, amended duties or workplace adaptations. The fit note is advice to you and your employer. Your employer can consider other medical evidence, such as an occupational health report, but should not simply ignore the fit note and insist you return.
Can my employer contact me while I am off?
Reasonable contact to check on your welfare and plan your return is normal. Repeated or hostile contact, threats about your job, or pressure to come back against medical advice is not, and may amount to unlawful detriment or, if it is serious, a breach of your employer's duty of care to your mental health.
What is a phased return?
A gradual return with reduced hours or lighter duties, increasing over several weeks. If your injury amounts to a disability under the Equality Act 2010, broadly a physical or mental impairment with a substantial and long-term effect on day-to-day activities, your employer must make reasonable adjustments, which can include a phased return or alternative duties.
Can I be dismissed for not returning?
An employer can, in some circumstances, dismiss for long-term sickness absence on capability grounds, but only after a fair process including medical evidence and consideration of adjustments and alternatives. Dismissing you for raising a health and safety concern is automatically unfair, and dismissing you because of a disability without justification can be discrimination. See can I be sacked for claiming?.
Will going back early hurt my claim?
Returning to work does not end your claim. But going back before you are ready can delay recovery, and your solicitor will need medical evidence about your true capacity. If you return and cannot cope, tell your GP and keep records.
What if my pay or hours are cut?
Deducting wages without a legal or contractual right is an unlawful deduction under section 13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. Lost earnings caused by the injury can also be recovered in your compensation claim. See unpaid wages after a work injury.
Employment disputes have much shorter time limits than injury claims. Since 1 October 2026, most employment tribunal claims must be started within six months (previously three), with early conciliation through Acas first, so get advice promptly.
Sources
Browse every plain-English guide in the work accident guides hub, or read the main guide to how a claim works.
This guide is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Every claim turns on its own facts. For advice about your specific situation, speak to a regulated solicitor.