Tesla home visits: can your boss legally stalk you on sick leave?

Picture this.

You’re lying in bed, with a terrible case of the flu, when the doorbell rings. When you answer the door, fully clad in your dressing gown, your boss is at your doorstep. The reason? They want to check whether you’re actually sick or not.

It might sound crazy, but it does happen.

Automotive giant Tesla hit the headlines in Germany when two of the company’s top executives turned up at the home of sick employees. According to German newspaper Handelsblatt, the two executives – André Thierig and Erik Demmler – claimed that sick leave levels at the company’s Berlin factory had hit 17% in August and 11% in September.

A little closer to home, the number of employees taking time off work due to sickness is growing by 300,000 a year in the UK, according to research by The Health Foundation. It also found that there are 3.9 million people with work-limiting conditions – an increase of 1.5 million since 2013.

Home visits from your boss might sound like borderline stalking, but are they breaking the law by doing this?

Is it legal for your boss to come to your home when you’re sick?

The short answer is yes. There are no laws in place that prevent employers from visiting an employee’s home when they’ve called in sick.

However, according to the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS), employers and employees should agree on how to stay in touch, how often the contact should be and who the employee should be in contact with.

Moreover, the University and College Union reported that if home visits are part of a company’s policy, the employee is likely to have consented to them when accepting their contractual agreements. 

Why would your boss contact you?

Work is the last thing you want to think about when you’re off with an illness or injury. However, in some instances, it may be necessary for your employer to contact you while you’re absent from work. These include:

• Determining how long you’re likely to be off work
• Updating you on any important changes at work
• Discussing matters related to your absence, such as sick pay or fit notes
• Discussing any adjustments to be made for your return to work, if needed

Why are more people on long term sick leave?

Sick leave rates in the UK have increased by 55% since 2019 and 6% since 2022, according to research by People HR. But why are more people calling in sick?

Work-related stress is a significant contributor, as 79% of UK workers have reported feeling stressed because of work, with high pressure and demanding workloads contributing to sickness absence. 

Mental health problems in the workplace are also on the rise, with around 1 in 6 people (14.7%) experiencing issues in the workplace, and 28% saying that they were “miserable” in the workplace. The NHS also reported that anxiety, stress and depression were the most reported reasons for sickness – making up 24.3% of all sickness absences in January 2024. 

People HR’s Sick Leave Report 2024 also revealed that the number of days taken as holiday dropped by 7.6% from 2022-2023, meaning it was likely that more sick leave was taken due to higher amounts of burnout and stress. 

Should businesses do home visits?

While it may not be illegal, we wouldn’t recommend knocking on employees’ doors and taking their temperature. That being said, we understand that sickness absences can affect business, so here are a few ways to approach it appropriately:

• Don’t excessively contact employees: The frequency of contact depends on the type of leave they’re on, but employers should make sure not to be excessive, as this can come across as harassment. A good practice would be to pre-arrange contact times with the employee to make them feel at ease.
• Choose the best method of contact: Employers should think about the best approach for both you and your employees. This includes discussing what method of contact would work best for them – whether it’s via phone or email – and planning contact from there.
• Decide who should contact them: Having too many people contact the employee at once can become overwhelming, and increases the likelihood of miscommunication. That, and the employee won’t know who to contact if needed. Therefore, employers should assign one consistent contact for the employee. That way, they’ll know who’s responsible for maintaining contact and keeping the business updated.