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Absence Management?
The CBI estimate that the average cost of absence each year is approximately
£434 for each member of staff, with short-term sickness accounting
for 80% of all absences. In both large and small organisations, sickness
absence, however genuine, can cause organisational difficulties, impacting
on productivity, output and staff morale.
Sickness Absence Policy
Human Resource practitioners advocate that a clearly understood Absence
Policy is the first step to managing sick absence. A sickness absence policy
can include:
- The role of Occupational
Health
- Sick pay entitlement
- Absence Notification
procedures.
- Return to work interviews.
- Trigger points to initiate
meetings to discuss absence - exclude time absent for pregnancy/ child
birth related absence.
- Formal procedures - to
include return to work interviews, the trigger point for the referral
process, informal procedures, formal disciplinary procedures, dismissal
or retirement on health grounds.
- Monitoring - individual
absences and across the organisation.
- Health promotion - can
include health and safety practice, stress management, mental health awareness,
advice on diet and exercise etc.
- Retention, including
gradual return to work for people with a long-term health condition or
disability.
- Redeployment, reasonable
adjustment, aids and adaptations.
A company Absence Management Policy establishes organisational standards
for managing sickness absence and absence monitoring, while letting staff
know where they stand. Additionally a well-managed policy can have the
added bonus of helping to promote an attendance culture, and make a positive
impact on staff morale and motivation. For maximum effect absence monitoring
training should be provided to all staff with line management responsibilities.
Standard Life Model
Reporting Sickness Absence
As part of your policy, when staff take sick leave they should be required
to contact their line manager by a certain time of day giving an explanation
for their absence.
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Return to Work Meetings
Following each episode of sickness, a return to work interview should take
place with the line manager to discuss the member of staff's health or any
patterns of absence that appear problematic and to brief the person on the
work situation during the absence.
Return to work meetings can be used to show staff that they are valued.
The meetings may also identify underlying causes relating to the absence,
including stress or anxiety issues, job design/content or any training issues,
with offers to provide support or counselling where appropriate.
Return-to-work meetings should not used as a disciplinary interview unless
a pattern of excessive absence has been established, with no adequate reasons
given.
Promotion of Health at Work
Here are some things you might try to encourage a healthy workplace and
workforce:
- Consider all reasonable adjustment to job design/ work environment.
Health Promotion - make use of Scottish Health at Work.
- Employee Assistance Programme.
- Stress Management workshops for all staff.
- Osteopathy/ Physiotherapy sessions.
- Free private health care.
- Redeployment where appropriate.
- Gradual Return to Work
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Liaison with outside agencies
It is sometimes necessary for employers to liaise with outside agencies
to support staff through a period of ill health, or back to work. Useful
contacts include:
- General Practitioners.
- NHS/Hospital Consultants.
- Alternative Health Practitioners.
- Disability Employment Advisors (contact your local Jobcentre
Plus office about financial assistance through Access to Work of for
in-work benefits advice.
- Voluntary Organisations, including specialist supported employment
agencies. (You can find a local list here).
- Support Groups e.g. AA.
- Community Psychiatric Nurse/ Mental Health Teams.
The following legislation may apply to managing sickness absence:
- The Health & Safety at Work Act 1974
- Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1992
- Access to Medical Reports Act 1998
- Disability Discrimination Act 1995
- Data Protection Acts 1984 & 1998
- Employment Relations Act 1999
- Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995
The DDA was introduced to end the discrimination that many people with
disabilities face. If a member of staff has a long-term health condition
or disability they may meet the definition of disability used in the act.
Organisations will need to ensure that an absence policy takes into account
the requirements of the DDA, which includes making reasonable
adjustments to support a person with a disability take up employment
or retain it.
Reasonable adjustments can include:
- Altering a job description within a job role.
- Modifications to the way a job is structured.
- Retraining or redeployment to another post.
- Allowing time off for rehabilitation.
Making a reasonable adjustment can help staff with a disability
or long-term health condition to:
- Retain employment.
- Carry out their work more effectively.
- Prevent sickness absence in the first instance.
Employers have a positive duty to explore whether reasonable adjustments
can be made. It is not an absolute duty and reasonableness depends on practicability
and cost. Employers are not obliged to create a job for a member of staff
who becomes disabled but should consider what adjustments can be made.
Note that the Code of Practice on the employment of people with disabilities
indicates that employers should spend as much on retaining a member of
staff who becomes disabled as they would on finding a replacement.
For Further Information:
ACAS - www.acas.org.uk
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development - www.cipd.co.uk
Doctor Patient Partnership - www.ddp.org.uk
Health and Safety Executive - www.hse.gov.uk
Occupational Health and Safety Consortium - www.ohsc.org.uk
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Managing
Sickness Absence |
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