Attending Sickness Absence Meetings

What not to say in a Sickness Attendance Absence Meeting as an Employee?

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Are you nervous about attending a sickness absence meeting with your employer?

The question is what to say in a sickness absence attendance meeting as an employee, the answer is less is more.

Put shortly, the less you say when attending a sickness absence meeting the better.

This page last updated 7.7.26.

What to say when attending a sickness absence meeting with your employer:

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  1. Do ask your employer to email you a list of the questions it wants to ask you 48 hours in advance of attending the sickness absence meeting.
  2. Do outline to your employer during the sickness absence meeting what the ’cause’ of your sickness absence is i.e., work-related stress caused by your line manager bullying you.
  3. Do outline to your employer during the sickness absence meeting how that bullying and harassment by your line manager or co-worker has made you feel.
  4. Do outline to your employer during the sickness absence meeting the detrimental impact, which work-related stressors have had on your physical and psychological health and well-being so that your employer can articulate the magnitude of the risk of harm, and furthermore, the gravity of that harm to your physical and psychological health and wellbeing.
  5. Do outline to your employer during the sickness absence meeting the barriers, which prevents your return to work.
  6. Do outline to your employer during the sickness absence meeting what reasonable adjustments you need implementing to accommodate and facilitate your return to work, so that you can return to work. We suggest following this up in an email after the sickness absence meeting.
  7. Do ask for a copy of the sickness absence meeting notes before leaving the sickness absence meeting.
  8. Do ask for a copy of your employers sickness absence policy to ensure that your manager is following the procedures within the sickness absence policy.

All of the above are examples of what to say in a sickness absence attendance meeting as an employee.

All the below are examples and samples of what not to say during a sickness absence meeting with your employer:

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  1. Do not say you do not know when you will be returning to work.
  2. Do not refuse to be assessed by occupational health in order to assist your employer in better understanding your sickness absence or needs.
  3. Do not ramble when speaking during the sickness absence attendance meeting at work. Remember, less is more.
  4. Do not commit to anything during the sickness absence meeting without thinking it through first.
  5. Do not answer any questions, which you feel under pressure to answer. Say you will think about it and get back to your employer.

My wife Amy & I are employment consultants with 26 years combined experience helping employees like you. If you are worried and nervous about attending a keeping in touch sickness absence meeting, Amy & I can prepare you for the sickness absence meeting with your employer so that you know what to say during the sickness absence meeting, and also what not to say during the sickness absence attendance meeting.

Amy & I know the stress, anxiety and distress, which you now feel, because we have already trodden the path, which you now tread. Amy & I spent months creating this website so that you know your employee legal rights UK when attending a sickness absence attendance meeting UK.

Between 2010-2012, Amy & I both took our respective employers to the Employment Tribunal. We found little or no help for employees knowing their employee rights UK, other than what we could find on the internet. So, Amy & I created this website to assist you in knowing what to do if you are invited to attend a sickness absence meeting and your employee rights UK when invited to attend a sickness absence meeting.

We charge £35 for an initial telephone consultation up to one hour. During that time, we can run you through what is likely to happen during the sickness absence attendance meeting, and furthermore, help you prepare for the sickness absence meeting. Amy & I work seven days a week so weekend appointments are available. Please email us at – myrightsuk@protonmail.com or call us during 9-5 UK time to schedule a consultation on 07775943414.

We have created the following new webpages for 2026:

Question – Do I have to attend a sickness absence meeting?

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Are you nervous about attending the sickness absence meeting with your employer to discuss your sickness absence. Don’t be!

The keeping in touch (KIT) sickness absence meeting is your opportunity to put things right, so that you can return to a working environment with both dignity and respect.

However, the majority of clients who we assist don’t actually want to return to work. The majority of the clients who we assist just want to reach a settlement agreement with their employer to leave their employment.

To this end, Amy & I can assist you if you want to leave your employment and don’t want to return to work. Therefore, if you want to leave your employment and you want to leave with some kind of financial compensation and a reference, please contact Amy & I on 07775943414 (9-5 UK time) or email us at – myrightsuk@protonmail.com to book a telephone consultation.

However, if you want to stay employed and you do want to return to work after your sickness absence, Amy & I have outlined below the steps to take during the sickness absence attendance absence meeting:

KIT Sickness Absence Attendance Meeting Step 1:

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If you are suffering work-related stress, anxiety, depression, PTSD or some other mental health issue, and are nervous about attending the sickness absence meeting, you have two choices – (i) to either to attend the sickness absence attendance meeting in person or via video link, or (ii) to ask your employer via email to make a reasonable adjustment and to undertake the sickness absence attendance meeting via written form.

We suggest the latter. We suggest that in the alternative to attending a sickness absence meeting in person or via video link, that you ask your employer to undertake the sickness absence process via written form as a ‘reasonable adjustment‘. Chances are, if you are signed off sick from work with a medical condition, your employer will be amenable to undertake the sickness absence review via written form. This way, at least you are complying with the keeping in touch (KIT) sickness absence policy.

To this end, ask your employer to email you a list of questions 48 hours in advance of the sickness absence meeting, which your employer wants to ask you regarding your sickness absence from work.

Once you have the questions which your employer wants to ask you during the sickness absence meeting, ask your employer to undertake the sickness absence attendance meeting via email. This way you can obviate the stress, anxiety and distress of physically attending the sickness absence meeting in person or via video link.

Notwithstanding, by asking your employer to undertake the sickness absence attendance meeting via email, it provides you with the opportunity to raise a letter of grievance to your employer to put things right via the grievance route in the alternative to attending a sickness absence attendance meeting.

Right now, the clock is ticking. Your employer will not tolerate your sickness absence indefinitely. At some point during the stages of the sickness absence policy, if there is no indication of your return to work, your employer is going to start capability proceedings against you.

The key here is (i) to slow the sickness absence capability route down, and (ii) to take control of your sickness absence from work.

In order to take control of your sickness absence from work, your employer needs to know what the ‘root cause’ of what your stress is, which stress led to your sickness absence in the first place.

Thus, if your employer does not know the ‘reason’ for your work-related stressors it is fair comment to say that your employer does not know what it has to do to get you back to work, or how your employer can put things right?

For example, your sick note might say ‘work-related stress’. However, your sick note is not going to state what has caused your work-related stress.

By outlining your complaints in a grievance letter about the triggers of your stress at work, you are providing your employer with the opportunity via the grievance procedures to both address (and remove) the problems at work, which are causing your work-related stress. See Donelien v Liberata UK Ltd UKEAT/0297/14/JOJ at paragraph 34:

“The real cause of the Claimant’s problems was workplace stress, producing adverse health effects, which could be remedied not by any medical treatment but only by changing the workplace in a way in which the employer had decided not to do, though the employee would wish, so that as long as the employer was determined to resist any change, the adverse health effects on the employee would be likely to continue.”

A similar position was held in the authority of Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust v Foster UKEAT/0552/10/JOJ:

“The claimant went off sick with stress following a period of alleged bullying and harassment by his manager within the Security Department. He raised a grievance in connection with this treatment which was rejected. During the period of sickness, the claimant was first informed that he would be given another job outside the department, which meant that he would no longer be working alongside his manager. This job did not materialise. He was then put on the redeployment register for 3 months; an alternative job was found but the claimant was too ill at that time to pursue it. No other steps were taken by the respondent to address the claimant’s ongoing concerns. Eventually the claimant was dismissed on capability grounds. The claimant brought claims of disability discrimination and unfair dismissal, both of which were upheld by the Tribunal. The Tribunal found that the requirement that the claimant should work within the Security Department placed him at a substantial disadvantage: his disability, i.e. his stress, was the result of working within the Security Department, and he could only be expected to return to work there once the factors which had caused his stress had been eliminated. There was no chance of that being done because the respondent had never thought it necessary to explore, as part of the process to get the claimant back to work, what had caused his stress in the first place.”

As stated above, you cannot stay off sick indefinitely. However, what you can do is to let your employer know what it has to do to get you back to work, and furthermore, to remove the barriers which prevents your return to work, such as a bullying line manager, micro management, performance issues, or a bullying co-worker.

By raising a formal grievance letter what you are doing is taking the onus off you i.e., the sick employee, and putting the onus on your employer via the formal grievance procedures to put things right. Volià You have just turned the tables on your employer!

If you do not take the aforementioned route, your employer will just manage your sickness absence through each of the stages of the sickness absence management attendance policy and eventually give you the boot on grounds of capability. For the avoidance of doubt, in accordance with s.98 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, your employer can dismiss you on grounds of ability, capability, health or any other physical or mental quality:

“Capability”, in relation to an employee, means his capability assessed by reference to skill, aptitude, health or any other physical or mental quality.” 

Over the last 13 years, Amy & I have assisted countless employees to obviate the risk of being given the boot down the formal capability route. We have turned the tables on the employer to put things right.

Remember, you are not responsible for your sickness absence!

Chances are, it was work-related stressors which caused your sickness absence from work in the first place. Therefore, if your employer failed to provide you with a safe place and a safe system of work, being a working environment free from bullying, harassment and discrimination, on the balance off probabilities, you would still be at work working now! See Spring v Guardian Assurance plc, (1994) 2 All ER 129 whereas the House of Lords held:

“The changes which have taken place in the employer-employee relationship, with far greater duties imposed on the employer than in the past, whether by statute or by judicial decision, to care for the physical, financial and even psychological welfare of its employees“.

Question – Keeping in Touch Sickness Absence Review Meeting Questions?

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What to say at a sickness absence attendance meeting – The purpose of the sickness absence meeting is to establish when you will be returning to work. Your answer to this question is that you will be able to return to work once your employer has removed the barriers, which prevents your return to work via the formal grievance route. In other words, once your employer has addressed your grievances via its formal grievance procedures, and provided you with a safe system of work being a working environment free from bullying, harassment, discrimination, or workplace victimisation, you will be able to return to work.

Your employer is ‘statutory obliged’ to provide you with a working environment free from bullying and harassment as held in the authority of Wigan Borough Council v Davies, [1979] ICR 411, EAT on 26th January 1979:

“There is an implied term in contracts of employment that the employer will provide reasonable support to ensure that the employee can carry out his/her duties without harassment or disruption by fellow workers; and where an employer has an obligation to take reasonable steps to achieve something and takes few or no steps, the onus of proving what steps would have been reasonable is on the employer.”

The barriers which prevents your return to work may include any of the following:

All the above are very likely to be barriers to your return to work, which you can raise as samples during the sickness absence attendance meeting with your employer to put things right so that you can return to work.

Look, the purpose of the sickness absence meeting is to establish when you are likely to return to work, and also to establish what your employer has to do to get you back to work. Thus, the sickness absence attendance meeting is (i) your opportunity to outline to your employer what has caused your work-related stress, and (ii) to outline to your employer what it has to do to get you back to work.

Keeping in Touch Sickness Absence Questions and Answers:

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If you are signed off from work as unfit to work with work-related stress, chances are your employer will want to meet with you to discuss what is causing your stress at work. Amy & I suggest that if your employer contacts you to attend a sickness absence meeting to discuss your work-related stressors, that you raise a grievance letter to outline the ‘root causation’ of your stress before attending the sickness absence meeting. By outlining the cause of your stress in a grievance letter you will:

  • Slow the sickness absence procedures down.
  • Inform your employer of the barriers, which prevents your return to work.
  • Give your employer the opportunity to put things right via the grievance process.

Raising a Grievance Letter for Work-Related Stress:

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By raising a grievance letter for work-related stress you are letting your employer know what has happened at work, which has affected your health and wellbeing. We suggest you first read our 20 Hot Tips before writing your grievance letter, and furthermore, visit our webpage on what not to say in a grievance meeting.

Put shortly, you can’t reasonably be expected to return to work if you are currently signed off from work with work-related stress. Therefore, you can argue that returning to work without resolving the cause of your work-related stress will only exacerbate your work-related stressors even further – Waters (A.P.) v. Commissioner of Police For The Metropolis [2000] 1 WLR 1607; [2000] UKHL 50; [2000] IRLR 720:

“If an employer knows that acts being done by employees during their employment may cause physical or mental harm to a particular fellow employee and he does nothing to supervise or prevent such acts, when it is in his power to do so, it is clearly arguable that he may be in breach of his duty to that employee. It seems to me that he may also be in breach of that duty if he can foresee that such acts may happen and, if they do, that physical or mental harm may be caused to an individual.”

As such, it is likely that your employer will put the sickness absence meeting on the back burner if you raise a letter of grievance to complain about work-related stress. The grievance procedures should then take priority.

Thus, by identifying within your grievance letter what the ’causes’ of your work-related stressors are, you are giving your employer a reasonable opportunity to put things right so that you can return to work. This can obviate the sickness absence meeting because your employer is then aware of what it needs to do to get you back to work.

Work-Related Stress Anxiety and Depression:

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Amy & I often see that work-related stress has triggered anxiety and depression being diagnosed by your GP.

In fact, in the case authority of Donelien v Liberata UK Ltd UKEAT/0297/14/JOJ, The Employment Appeal Tribunal held that “stress” is synonymous with anxiety, depression, and panic at paragraph 19:

“Although “stress” is probably better considered as a potential cause of some cases of illness, and is not and cannot sensibly be called an illness on its own, it is common experience that the word is used as a useful label to attach to symptoms which arise from such pressures in those cases, generally though not exclusively being related to diagnoses such as anxiety, depression and panic.”

Thus, if you are signed off from work by your GP with ‘work-related stress’ it is fair comment to say your employer already knows that you are suffering from ‘anxiety / depression’. This is called ‘constructive knowledge’.

Once your employer has ‘constructive knowledge’ of an impairment or disability, the employer is statutory obliged to put in place reasonable adjustments. This position is held in The EHRC Code of Practice on Employment at Chapter 5, Paragraphs 5:14:

“It is not enough for the employer to show that they did not know that the disabled person had the disability. They must also show that they could not reasonably have been expected to know about it. Employers should consider whether a worker has a disability even where one has not been formally disclosed, as, for example, not all workers who meet the definition of disability may think of themselves as a ‘disabled person’.” 

A similar position was also held in the authority of AECOM Ltd v Mr C Mallon: [2023] EAT 104, whereas the Employment Appeal Tribunal made the following observation at paragraph 30:

“An important theme in the case law on this issue is that consideration of whether an employer reasonably ought to have known whether the claimant was disabled and at the relevant substantial disadvantage requires the employer to make reasonable enquiries of the employee. An employer cannot ‘turn a blind eye’. This is a point made clear in the EHRC Employment Statutory Code of Practice 2011 (“the Code of Practice”) which states at paragraph 6.19 that an employer must “do all they can reasonably be expected to do to find out whether” an applicant/employee has a disability and is, or is likely to be, placed at a substantial disadvantage.”

Question – Keeping in Touch What to say in a Sickness Absence Attendance Meeting?

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If you are suffering from anxiety / depression, then make sure that you say so within your grievance letter before attending the sickness absence meeting. This way, you can alert your employer that it needs to implement reasonable adjustments to accommodate and facilitate your return to work, and furthermore, implement reasonable adjustments for the sickness absence meeting too.

Question – Keeping in Touch What to say in an attendance meeting as an employee:

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We suggest you outline what has happened at work which has led to your sickness absence from work. You need to outline the ‘causal link’ between your sickness absence from work, and what happened at work which made you ill in the first place.

It is incumbent upon you to outline this information in writing in advance of attending the sickness absence meeting.

Outlining in writing the ‘causal link’ between your sickness absence from work and what the triggers for your sickness absence from work are will automatically trigger your employer’s grievance procedures. For the avoidance of doubt, any ‘complaint in writing’ is a ‘grievance’ as held in the authority of Shergold.

Anxiety / Depression Sickness Absence Meeting:

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If you are feeling nervous about attending a keeping in touch sickness absence meeting and you are diagnosed with anxiety or depression, you can ask your employer as a ‘reasonable adjustment’ to undertake the sickness absence meeting via email.

Put shortly, in the alternative to attending a sickness absence meeting in person or via video link, ask your employer to email you a list of questions, which your employer wants to ask you, and inform your employer that you will email them your responses. If your employer fails to agree to this ‘reasonable adjustment’ in the alternative to attending a sickness absence meeting, contact us – myrightsuk@protonmail.com or 07775943414 during business hours 9-5 UK time.

Reasonable Adjustments Sickness Absence Meeting:

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If you are signed off with work-related stress, anxiety, depression or any other medical condition, your employer should be making reasonable adjustments for you to attend the sickness absence meeting. Therefore, if you have been invited to attend a sickness absence meeting, but your employer has failed to implement any reasonable adjustments for the sickness absence meeting, that could potentially amount to a contravention of s.20(3); s.21(1)(2) & s.39(2)(b)(d)(5) of The Equality Act 2010. If this is the case, contact us to arrange a telephone consultation.

For the avoidance of doubt, there is no onus on you to have to either suggest or request reasonable adjustments for the sickness absence meeting. This position was held in the authority of Mr C Orogbu v Duncan Lewis Solicitors Ltd: 3201906/2021 at paragraph 121:

“The duty to make the adjustment arises by operation of law, it is not essential for the claimant to have identified at the time what should have been done. The EHRC Code of Practice on Employment (2011) at paragraph 6.24 says that there is no onus on a disabled person to suggest what adjustments should be made.”

A similar position was also held in the authority of S v A 2201874/2018 whereas the Employment Tribunal held that:

“The duty to consider whether adjustments should be made and what those particular adjustments should be, falls squarely on the employer at the time it is under the duty.”

Sickness Absence Trigger Points:

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It is very likely that your employer has written to you to invite you to attend a sickness absence meeting because you have triggered the sickness absence trigger point.

The majority of employers will have a trigger point within the sickness absence policy.

As such, if your sickness absence is ‘disability-related’ then your employer MUST readjust the sickness absence ‘trigger point’ within the sickness absence policy as a ‘reasonable adjustment’.

For the avoidance of doubt, a failure to adjust the sickness absence ‘trigger point’ if your sickness absence is ‘disability-related’ could amount to ‘discrimination arising in consequence of disability’ in contravention of s.15 of The Equality Act 2010.

In this regard, we draw your attention to The EHRC Code of Practice on Employment at Chapter 17, Paragraph 6.20:

“Employers are not automatically obliged to disregard all disability-related sickness absences, but they must disregard some or all of the absences by way of an adjustment if this is reasonable. If an employer takes action against a disabled worker for disability-related sickness absence, this may amount to discrimination arising from disability (see Chapter 5).”

The Courts have held that employees with a disability or impairment will likely have a higher rate of sickness absence. See Parnaby v Leicester City Council UKEAT/0025/19/BA at paragraph 14:

“It was also well known that someone suffering from a mental impairment would be at a higher risk of that impairment recurring”

To this end, if you have a disability or impairment and your employer has failed to amend its sickness absence trigger point for you, or is applying the Bradford Factor for your sickness absence from work, reach out to Amy & I at: myrightsuk@protonmail.com or call is 9-5 on 07775943414.

Recording Sickness Absence Meetings:

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Most employers will have a policy which prohibits recording sickness absence meetings. However, if you have an impairment or disability, your employer allowing you to audio record the sickness absence meeting would be a reasonable adjustment. If your employer insists that you cannot record the sickness absence meeting and you have a disability or impairment, this would also likely amount to ‘discrimination arising in consequence of disability’ in contravention of s.15 of the Equality Act 2010.

please list our webpage on the legalities of audio recording sickness absence meetings, and furthermore, the admissibility of covert audio recordings in the Employment Tribunal.

My wife Amy & I are employment consultants with 26 years combined experience helping clients like you. We only work with employees – not employers.

Can you be disciplined for being sick UK?

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Yes, if the employer reasonably believes that your sickness absence is not legitimate, or that you are malingering. However, if you are diagnosed with anxiety, depression, ADHD, cancer, asthma, PTSD, migraines or some other medical condition, your employer seeking to discipline you because of your sickness absence would likely amount to ‘disability discrimination’.

How long can you stay on the sick before dismissal?

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The answer to ‘how long can you be signed off work sick before dismissal’ really depends on your own employer. For example, the NHS and other public sector employer’s are unlikely to take steps to dismiss you for being on the sick until you have been off from work for 12 months. However, private organisations will be more robust in managing your sickness absence and will likely be more proactive in managing your sickness absence. However, and for the avoidance of doubt, if your sickness absence is ‘disability related‘ your employer must adjust the sickness absence trigger point for you as a ‘reasonable adjustment‘. If the employer does not amend the sickness absence trigger point as a reasonable adjustment, you may want to reach out to us to assist you in writing a grievance letter for disability discrimination. Notwithstanding, if your sickness absence is because of a disability such as anxiety, depression, ADHD, asthma, cancer etc, your employer is statutory obliged to disregard some or all of your sickness absence as a reasonable adjustment in accordance with The EHRC Code on Employment:

“Employers are not automatically obliged to disregard all disability-related sickness absences, but they must disregard some or all of the absences by way of an adjustment if this is reasonable. If an employer takes action against a disabled worker for disability-related sickness absence, this may amount to discrimination arising from disability (see Chapter 5).”

How Many Sick Days Before Disciplinary?

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The question is – how many sick days before disciplinary? The answer all depends on your own employer’s sickness absence policy and procedures. How many sick says before disciplinary also depends on whether or not your sickness absence is ‘disability related‘. Many of us have a disability or impairment without ever even realising that you may be covered under the auspices of The Equality Act 2010. For example, I have been asthmatic since childhood. However, it was not until 2009 that I realised that my asthma was a ‘disability’. It was only after I had been off work with asthma and pneumonia for a few months when my employer started to subject me to its ‘capability procedures’. It was at this time that I raised a grievance letter for disability discrimination when my employer hastily reversed track to obviate the risk of being sued for disability discrimination.

As such, if you are being subjected to your employer’s sickness absence policy or capability procedures, we strongly suggest reaching out to us to assist you. Amy & I created this website to assist you in writing a better letter of grievance to your employer, and to better know your employee rights and employment rights in the UK. Again, we suggest you first read our 20 Hot Tips before writing your grievance letter to your employer, and furthermore, visit our webpage on what not to say in a grievance meeting.

Amy & I have another web site which also has valuable information about attending sickness absence meetings.

However, this website has dozens of webpages dealing with all manner of employment issues. Take the time to educate yourself and articulate your employee rights UK.

You don’t have to go through the sickness absence process alone! We are here to help you. Amy & I can assist you in avoiding the pitfalls and common mistakes, which we see employees make when being subjected to their employer’s sickness absence procedures. You only get one chance to get this right, so make sure you do just that!

My wife Amy and I have over the past 15 years helped thousands of clients address their sickness absence issues with their employers. Please read our testimonials page.

Amy & I can assist you in any of the following work-related matters:

Go on, pick up the phone and call us to arrange a telephone consultation on 07775943414.

We work 7 days a week (9-5 UK time) because we know that your employment problems don’t just end on a Friday afternoon!

We only charge £35 up to one hour for the initial consultation and £50 an hour thereafter. 

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Moreover, any discussion with Sam or Amy does not amount to ‘legal advice’. Any opinions expressed verbally or in writing are ‘opinions’.

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