signed off with PND do I need to keep weekly contact with work?

[ffffffedup]

Hi I've been signed off for 4 weeks with PND on the 1st day of sickness I received a letter from head office referring me to occupational health and now today I received a voice mail (from the bosses personal mobile ) saying that I needed to contact work on a weekly basis to keep him updated on my condition. If I've sent a sick note in why would I need to ring each week it's not like the situation is going to change by ringing in every week to confirm I'm still depressed

I'm not an HR person but I would imagine you don't have to keep in touch if you've been signed off for 4 weeks - and that your firm's HR manager would probably have a canary if she knew your boss had contacted you!

But I expect your boss is just worried about managing staffing and will be hoping to keep a handle on whether they need to arrange longer term cover or if you're expected to come back - and maybe can't imagine how it must make you feel.

I don't think this is right. I've been signed off work for anxiety and other than telling them how long I was off for and I had a note they didn't expect to hear from me until I came back. I'm not an expert though. I'm sure someone else will come along soon.

I hope you feel better soon - I'm waiting for my PND referral for treatment. Last month they told me it would be two weeks and they called to tell me it would be February now.

It's tough.

Your work probably have an absence management policy that specifies how often you're supposed to be in touch with your manager. Whilst I agree with you that nothing is likely to change within four weeks, your manager may just be following the letter of the policy and not thinking that it may not be wise to contact you during this recovery period. If you have an employee handbook and feel up to looking, I would check to see what it says. If you're able, it's best to just do the contact they request. Could perhaps be by email if that's easier for you and acceptable to manager?
Hope you're ok.

I have emailed HR to ask if this is necessarily I'm yet to get a reply. If anything this has made me feel more anxious I'd just like to be left alone to try and get better asap than be feeling harassed by work

I expect there is a policy in place regarding weekly contacts.

Mind you I think it should be your boss contacting YOU not the other way round. They should be seeing if there is any support they can give you. Keeping in touch with the workplace should help you stay connected and prevent isolation etc. That said if you feel it is really too much at the outset then you could request fortnightly contact. The contact doesn't need to be for long, a quick phonecall if that's all you want/need, but it is important.

You can talk about it with your occupational health & they will make a recommendation that is in yours and your companies best interest.

I hope you are feeling better soon.