It's considered to be good practice to prepare a return to work plan at around 3-4 weeks into an employee's absence. Try to get the timing right: discussing it to too soon could put pressure on your employee, but leaving it too late may mean the person loses confidence in being able to return to work.

In cases of post-operative convalescence, there may be clear physical milestones in the healing process that will influence the plan.

• the goal of the plan;
• the time period of the plan;
• information about alternative working arrangements;
• information about changes to terms and conditions;
• what checks will be made to make sure the plan is put into practice;
• dates when the plan will be reviewed.

Check that your employee is happy with the plan before implementing it, and that advice given by professionals, such as the individual's GP or occupational health adviser, has been taken into account.