# HR Issues - Contacting Employees while on holidays or out sick



## Mrs Mac (27 Sep 2007)

Hi there

Could anyone enlighten me on the position if your employer contacts you while you are out sick from work or on holidays?

I was in France last week and was contacted 4 times by phone and a couple of texts also.  My phone is not a company phone and so I will be left paying the bill.  

Also, I have been contacted while I was out sick and I have some recollection that a company is not supposed to contact you while you are out sick ( I could be very wrong about this).

A colleague of mine who was unfortunate enough to end up in hospital was also contacted several times and he had the guts to say " this is not a work phone, please do not contact me if I am ever out sick again".

Would someone be able to shed any light on this?
Many thanks


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## Trafford (27 Sep 2007)

I don't know if there are any hard and fast rules but I suppose it comes down to what is reasonable and what is not. I get contacted when I am leave too from time to time, and like you I don't have a company mobile phone. If I am out on sick leave I certainly have no objection to it and I always make it clear to them that if they need to check something with me then to give me a call. I wouldn't like to see the job suffer, or my colleagues struggling while they are covering my work. 

While on holiday it would probably annoy me if they were always contacting me, but I find when they do it is out of necessity, and they are very apologetic.


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## adorado (27 Sep 2007)

Trafford said:


> I don't know if there are any hard and fast rules but I suppose it comes down to what is reasonable and what is not. I get contacted when I am leave too from time to time, and like you I don't have a company mobile phone. If I am out on sick leave I certainly have no objection to it and I always make it clear to them that if they need to check something with me then to give me a call. I wouldn't like to see the job suffer, or my colleagues struggling while they are covering my work.
> 
> While on holiday it would probably annoy me if they were always contacting me, but I find when they do it is out of necessity, and they are very apologetic.


 
All depends on the job you do and if you are essential or not. Before leaving you should delegate somebody who can answer for you. 

If they intentd to ring you while abroad, you should either ask for a work phone or probably best, claim your bill on expenses.


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## Trafford (27 Sep 2007)

adorado said:


> All depends on the job you do and if you are essential or not. Before leaving you should delegate somebody who can answer for you.
> 
> If they intentd to ring you while abroad, you should either ask for a work phone or probably best, claim your bill on expenses.


 
Yes, if I'm on holiday leave I delegate everything. Sick may be harder as it is often without notice.


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## adorado (27 Sep 2007)

Trafford said:


> Yes, if I'm on holiday leave I delegate everything. Sick may be harder as it is often without notice.


 
I would bring this issue up with HR. Review the policy book and definitely claim that bill! 

Nobody should get a call when sick, unless it is something EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AND URGENT.


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## pat127 (27 Sep 2007)

Mrs Mac said:


> Hi there
> 
> Could anyone enlighten me on the position if your employer contacts you while you are out sick from work or on holidays?
> 
> ...



No specific law preventing the company from contacting you. I suppose that in theory it should be in your contract if the company is determined to always stay in touch,  particularly if your continuous availability is critically important. I'd imagine though that if you were that important you'd already be aware of it and be prepared for taking calls. Similarly if an emergency arose an employee is likely to understand the need for communication.

Another aspect is what the culture in the company is, whether all employees are formally or otherwise expected to be available, or whether other employees don't seem to mind. I'd imagine too that if the company pays you while you are out sick, it could have an influence on the matter, especially as they see it.

If calling you is taken to the extreme such that you can't enjoy your holiday or it impedes your recovery from illness and the company persists in doing it despite your stated objections, I suppose that they could be accused of bullying.

In the ideal world it should be possible to discuss the matter with your boss and reach an acceptable agreement. You are going to tell me it's not an ideal world however, and you'd be right!  I think it's down to you to 'manage' your boss if you know what I mean. Mobile phones can break down or be permanently out of range, you can be too ill to take a call etc but you have to make your own decision about such tactics.


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## Purple (27 Sep 2007)

If you are being contacted because others in your company are too lazy to find out stuff that they should know that's one thing but if you are being contacted because it's important that's another. It all comes down to what’s reasonable, as other posters have said.
I'd hate to think I could go on holidays for a week or two and wouldn't be missed! Personally I don't have someone sitting at the other side of my desk twiddling their thumbs 48 weeks of the year to cover for me when I'm out.


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## purpeller (27 Sep 2007)

Another thing you can do is divert all your calls to voicemail while away and change the message to say you are on holidays, not checking voicemail and if urgent, send a text.


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## FredBloggs (27 Sep 2007)

I would definitely agree with Purple.  It does all go down to what's reasonable.   I would be annoyed if I was off and was contacted on something that could easily be found out by others or on something that could wait until I came back.   Problem would be if a boss phoned you looking for an answer on something just because he's used to you being available to him.

A colleague of mine was on two weeks holidays recently and I was covering for him.  I went out of my way not to contact him until an issue arose in his second week when only he could provide the answer.  This I believe is reasonable.   Contacting him regularly on his holidays would not be reasonable.

He was off a month or so earlier when a relative of his wife's died.  Initially he phoned in to say he needed to take two days off to mind his young children as his wife was consoling her relatives.   As it was not an immediate family member who had died he was contacted several times the first day by various staff members in relation to ongoing jobs.   He was quite annoyed at this and turned off his mobile phone which caused problems for his colleagues who were trying to do his job.  Again I would have thought him being contacted in this situation was reasonable.  If it had been someone who was close to him who had died he would not and should not have been contacted.

Basically it all comes down to common sense on both sides.   No one likes being contacted when they're off but sometimes you have to be


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## RainyDay (27 Sep 2007)

Mrs Mac said:


> Could anyone enlighten me on the position if your employer contacts you while you are out sick from work or on holidays?
> 
> I was in France last week and was contacted 4 times by phone and a couple of texts also.  My phone is not a company phone and so I will be left paying the bill.


If you want to stop this happening (without having a direct conflict with your employer), just change your number, and keep the new one private.


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## Purple (28 Sep 2007)

On the point about it not being a company phone, I would either supply a company phone or offer to pay for all calls to and from work for an employee if there was any contact with them while they were on holidays. Everybody needs a break and it's very short sited for an employer or boss to hound someone on their holidays. It also undermines the relationship between both parties and can lead to resentment. People work much better when they feel they are respected.


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## Trafford (28 Sep 2007)

I must say, my boss has never contacted me nor would he have known I was being contacted I'd say. It was always my own level colleagues.


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