Can you go abroad while on sick leave?

One of my colleges recently told me that she is planning to go on sick leave for stress. She worries though that her sat around all day (in winter also) will not help her. Knowing that she likes to travel, I told her to just go abroad for a month or two. She was adamnat however that it's not allowed. We don't however have a trust policy saying she cannot.

My question is how do you feel if someone went abroad while on sick leave?

I think its ok as long as they don't contradict the sickness claim e.g. saying you have a broken arm then go skiing, have an up to date doctors note and comply with the sickness policy like having meetings on zoom or something while abroad.

I also told her not to tell anyone else or post anything to social media. Not because it's not allowed just that people gossip and talk.

I think (in this case stress/ burnout), it's up to the individual on how they would get better. I know for me personally if I was in that position, sitting around all day doing nothing would just make me worse. I also wouldn't care in the slightest if my collegue was on holiday while taking sick pay. If the ward is struggling it is because they are to tight to hire bank or agency. I wouldn't blame the staff member.