'Culture of fear' | Staff should have to call their boss when off sick, UK's work 'tsar' says

Employees requesting time off sick should be required to speak to their manager by phone rather than relying on a text message, email or WhatsApp, according to the government adviser leading efforts to tackle rising levels of health-related worklessness.

Sir Charlie Mayfield, the former chairman of John Lewis, said employers and workers needed to establish an immediate dialogue when ill health affected someone’s ability to work. He argued that early contact could help organisations put support in place before a temporary absence developed into long-term economic inactivity.

Speaking in an interview with The Times, Mayfield also warned that some managers had become reluctant to contact employees during sickness absence because they feared grievances, formal complaints or employment tribunal claims.

“What’s happened in the UK is we have become very procedural and risk-aware in terms of the cost of a complaint or a grievance, let alone a tribunal,” he said.