How do we support an employee returning from burnout?

Agree a phased return and reasonable adjustments before they return: start reduced hours or lighter duties from the fit note, set review dates, and treat any underlying mental health condition as a possible disability. A phased return is a gradual build-up back to the full role after a period off, and reasonable adjustments are the changes an employer is legally required to make for a disabled worker.

Start with a return-to-work conversation

Before the first day back, sit down with your employee and plan the return together. The aim is to co-produce the plan, not hand them one. If they have a fit note from their GP, it will usually advise on a phased return and may suggest amended duties or reduced hours; you and they should still discuss and agree the detail. Where you have access to occupational health, ask for an assessment to inform the plan. A useful opening is simply: What would make coming back feel manageable? Avoid framing burnout as a weakness or a performance issue. It is not.

Agree specific adjustments and review dates

Write the plan down. Start on reduced hours or a lighter workload guided by the fit note, then agree concrete adjustments. Acas lists examples that work well for mental health: flexible or shorter hours, more frequent breaks, reviewing tasks and deadlines for a reasonable workload, a preferred way of communicating, working from home, flexibility on absence trigger points, and regular check-ins. Because mental health fluctuates, adjustments must be individualised; what helps one person may not help another. Set review dates, for example weekly at first, so the plan can flex as they recover.

Be clear about pay up front and put it in writing. For the hours they work on a phased return they get their usual rate; pay for the hours they do not work is not automatically full pay. It depends on your policy, and may be company sick pay or Statutory Sick Pay. Agreeing this before day one avoids a nasty surprise that can set the recovery back.

Why "burnout" is not the legal test

Burnout is not a clinical diagnosis in the UK. The World Health Organization classes it in ICD-11 as an occupational phenomenon, not a medical condition. So do not gate support on the word or wait for a label. What can trigger a legal duty is an underlying condition such as depression or anxiety. A mental health condition counts as a disability if it has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on normal day-to-day activities (Equality Act 2010, section 6). Where it does, and the person is put at a disadvantage, you are under a duty to make reasonable adjustments (section 20). Even where the test is not met, Acas is clear you should still offer support. See the duty to make reasonable adjustments and the sickness absence linked to a disability answer.

Your duty of care, and the crisis route

You have a legal duty of care for your workers' health, safety and welfare, including mental health and work-related stress. A returning employee can be in acute distress, so watch for it and act on it. You are not their clinician: route them to their GP, occupational health, and any Employee Assistance Programme you offer, and do not give clinical advice yourself. If someone is in immediate danger, call 999 or go to A&E.