Return to work interview: questions to ask and what to record

A return to work interview is a short, private conversation between a manager and an employee on their first day back after sickness absence. Also called a back to work interview, it has three purposes: confirm the person is well enough to be at work, find out whether anything at work contributed or could help, and close the absence record properly. Held consistently and briefly, it is one of the few absence measures that reduces repeat absence without feeling like surveillance.

Why hold one after every absence

Doing it after every absence, including single days, removes the awkward question of when a conversation is warranted — it is simply what happens on return. That consistency also produces usable data: patterns such as repeated Monday absences, absences tied to a particular shift, or a series of short absences that signal an underlying condition become visible when every return is recorded the same way. The conversation itself usually takes five to ten minutes.

Return to work interview questions

• How are you feeling now — are you fit to be back?
• What was the reason for the absence, in broad terms?
• Did you see a doctor, and is there any advice we should know about?
• Is there anything about the work or workplace that contributed?
• Do you need any adjustments — duties, hours, a phased return, equipment?
• Is there anything outstanding you need help catching up on?
• Is there support you would like, such as occupational health or an employee assistance programme?

Keep the conversation about fitness for work and support needed, not diagnosis. Health information is sensitive personal data: record what is needed to manage the absence and the adjustments, not the clinical detail.

Keeping it supportive, not punitive

1. Hold it privately, on the first day back, away from colleagues.
2. Open by welcoming the person back rather than by quoting their absence record.
3. Listen more than you speak; the useful information is usually volunteered, not extracted.
4. Agree any adjustments and who arranges them, with dates.
5. Only discuss absence triggers or formal procedures if a threshold has genuinely been reached, and say so plainly.
6. Record the outcome, share it with the employee, and follow through on anything promised.

Ettex Records fits the record-keeping half: one row per absence episode with dates, reason category, the interview date, adjustments agreed and follow-up actions, feeding straight into absence management reporting. Because the interviews are logged consistently, the patterns emerge from the data instead of from a manager's recollection, and sensitive notes can be kept separate from the absence dates themselves.

Common problems

• Interviews held only after long absences, so short-term patterns are missed.
• Managers using the meeting to deliver a warning, which teaches employees to stay silent.
• Adjustments agreed and never arranged.
• Clinical details written into general HR records.
• No record at all, so trigger points cannot be applied consistently or fairly.