When off sick

[SkyOfficer]

I am on sick leave at the moment, GP has signed me off for 4 weeks, am having MH issues which are ongoing. Manager wants to have a weekly call with me whilst I am off. I genuinely feel like it will be detrimental to my MH, would prefer to be left alone, just thinking about speaking to them is making my anxiety worse. I am happy to have a chat before I go back to talk about support, return to work etc. But really don't want to now. Am I within my rights to say no to the weekly Teams meeting?

Are they even allowed to do this?

I'd feel the same way, I suffer with my MH and I'd be dreading that phone call every single week even if it was supportive.

They are allowed to keep in contact for wellbeing checks as far as I know, but I wouldn't think it would be teams. It says here it has to be agreed. So you would need to negotiate like not every week, but one 3 minutes phone call a fortnight would be ok, that kind of thing.

https://www.acas.org.uk/sick-leave#:~:text=An%20employer%20can%20contact%20an,an%20appropriate%20level%20of%20contact.

Did your manager say what would be discussed in the weekly chats?
it could just be a tick box exercise from HR that they have to do.
it might not be so daunting if you know what you will be discussing,how long the calls will be etc. And maybe you could set the agenda, that puts you in control?

It's considered good practice to keep in touch with staff off sick. It makes the return to work smoother for the staff member.
However the frequency and method needs to be agreed between you. If Teams is too much for you could you cope with a brief phone call, or text message or email check in?

Hi how did it go? Did you come into agreement? Just wondering how much contact is necessary during phased return and afterwards, does the individual have any say for that the same as for these calls you asked about....