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This session provides you with top tips and issues to consider when dealing with short term sickness absence Gemma Steele also looks at what you can do during a pandemic.
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Managing short term sickness absence
Strategies and tips on how to
• manage short term sickness absence in
your organisation, minimising risk
• managing your workforce during
pandemic
Here are a few key reasons
• impact on patient safety and service delivery
• financial costs
• impact on the organisation – colleagues and
patients
• duty of care to employees
Remember the employment contract is two way
– employees are contractually obliged to attend
work regularly
CIPD annual absence survey 2013 (public
sector)
• 8.7 days sickness per employee per year
• just under half of absence is short-term
(up to 7 days) absence
CIPD annual absence survey 2013 (public
sector)
• 1/3 absence due to longer-term of 4
weeks+
• increase in absence due to stress –
workload most common cause
• cost of absence per employee is £726
Make sure you
• follow your policy and regularly review it –
is it Fit for Purpose?
• monitor absence rates
• carry out return to work interviews
• identify if there is an underlying health
condition
• are absences genuine?
• identify if there is a pattern which needs
to be dealt with - have they hit triggers?
• use your triggers points to take action
• make effective use of occupational health
• keep in contact with employees during
absences - be sensitive and supportive
• keep a paper trail
• most common absence management tool
– they make a difference to reducing
levels of absence and reinforcing your
Duty of Care
• ensures you are consistent
• essential to identify potential underlying
conditions
• opportunity to explain concerns about
attendance
• opportunity to identify support that may
be required
Short-term absence: first formal meeting
• the effect of the pattern of absences on the
employee's colleagues, department and the
service
• the likelihood of continuing absences and the
impact they are likely to have
• whether there are changes to the employee's
job or redeployment opportunities that would
assist in attendance, reduce the effect on
colleagues or the service to patients
• whether the employee has a disability and, if
so, whether there are any reasonable
adjustments that could be made
• whether it is appropriate to give the employee
a formal warning that their attendance levels
need to improve and attendance targets.
1. Does the employee suffer from an
underlying condition which could
amount to a disability?
do you have clear and up to date medical evidence?
do you need further evidence – GP/specialist?
work related injury?
reasonable adjustments exhausted?
2. targets: set, communicated, reasonable,
extension?
3. surrounding circumstances
4. impact of absence on service
delivery/colleagues
5. alternative employment
6. PHI/Ill health retirement
7. potentially fair reasons for dismissal –
SOSR/Capability/Conduct
TIP: Consider was it reasonable to dismiss -
band of reasonable responses
• communicate with staff about current
health risks and ensure staff
communication systems are reliable
• advise staff with flu like / D & V
symptoms to stay away from work
• treat employees consistently
• have contingency plans for staff absence,
especially key staff
• familiarise yourself with sickness,
absence and dependent leave policies
and consider how they need to be
modified
• consider arrangements for homeworking
where appropriate
act promptly
know the absence policy well, and follow it consistently
informed line managers
a culture which is open and supportive
keep detailed records and notes of absence
perform your return-to-work interviews
consider disability and as a consequence reasonable adjustments
gather appropriate medical information
don’t pre-judge the outcome of meetings
contemporaneous notes
We hope you found in useful.
Please get in touch if you have any questions or wish to
discuss the topic we covered further…
t +44 (0) 121 237 4561