Phased Return to Work UK: Plan, Pay & Hours Calculator

Discuss what the person can do, what remains difficult and any fit-note or occupational-health advice. A shorter day may help one person; different duties or fewer demanding tasks may help another. Consider reasonable adjustments where disability is involved.

Write down the start date, working days and hours, temporary duties, breaks, pay arrangement, who to contact if the plan becomes difficult and the next review date. Give the employee a copy. Avoid treating a provisional end date as a deadline they must meet regardless of their health.

The table shows the arithmetic for a possible four-stage plan. These stages are an illustration, not a recommended medical schedule. Agree whether a stage lasts a week or another period, and review before increasing the workload. Reduced hours with an unchanged full workload may defeat the purpose.

Multiply the normal hours for the period by the agreed percentage divided by 100. For a shift of 11.5 hours at 60%, the calculation is 11.5 × 0.60 = 6.9 hours. Convert the decimal part to minutes: 0.9 × 60 = 54. The result is 6 hours 54 minutes, not 6 hours 9 minutes.

Use the same period throughout: a percentage of weekly hours gives a weekly total, not the length of each shift. Agree how those hours are distributed and whether paid or unpaid breaks are included in the normal-hours figure.

For usual duties on reduced hours, Acas says the usual pay rate applies to the hours worked. Payment for time not worked depends on the agreement and company policy. There may be an agreed full-pay arrangement, company sick pay or SSP if the employee qualifies. Record the arrangement before the return so there is no surprise at payday.

SSP is not an automatic hourly top-up. A day on which the employee does any work does not count as a full day of incapacity for SSP purposes. Payroll needs the actual work pattern and qualifying sick days, not just a percentage reduction. If duties or workload change, agree the pay arrangement in writing.

Statutory holiday continues to accrue during sickness absence. A temporary return at 60% of normal hours does not, by itself, tell you to reduce the person's contractual annual holiday allowance to 60%. Check whether the contract has changed and how sickness and working time are being recorded before changing a balance.

At each review, ask whether the hours and duties are manageable and whether extra breaks, support or a slower increase would help. A phased return can be extended or changed. If the employee cannot manage the arrangement, discuss it promptly and reconsider the plan in light of the available advice.