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Further Guidance for Managers and Employees on the Sickness Absence Management Policy.
Return to work interviews must be conducted after every period of absence and where possible managers should carry this out on the day an individual returns (or as soon as practicable).
Return to work interviews are an important part of sickness absence management and can help identify absence problems at an early stage; they also providemanagers with an opportunity to start a dialogue about underlying issues, which may be causing absence(s) and allow them to make any changes to support the employee.
The return to work interview needs to be separate to any Stage One, Stage Two Meetings and Stage Three Hearing.
The Return to Work Interview Form must be used to record the discussion.
Stage One, Stage Two Meetings and Stage Three Hearings
The purpose of the stage meetings is to provide assistance and support to the employee to improve his/her attendance to a satisfactory level. The aims of the Sickness Absence Management meetings are to:
Where an employee is absent for one calendar month, a Stage One meeting should take place after this one month absence. If the employee returns to work prior to one calendar month, the Stage one meeting should be held following their return to work.
Managers should treat individuals in a sensitive manner. Discussions between employees and managers will be kept confidential as reasonably possible. The meetings will be arranged at a suitable venue which will normally be the employee’s place of work. However, in some circumstances (depending on the employee’s health and well-being) this may be held at the employee’s home with their consent.
A referral to Occupational Health should not be used as an alternative to carrying out a Sickness Absence Management meeting. A referral to Occupational Health is a separate process.
If due to the nature of their illness, the employee is unable to attend the Sickness Absence Management meeting/hearing, advice will be sought from Occupational Health on their fitness to attend and any reasonable adjustments which may enable the employee to attend will be considered. Upon receipt of advice from Occupational Health and also considering all of the circumstances of the case, management will make a decision as to whether the meeting/hearing should proceed in the employee’s absence. If the manager has tried to obtain Occupational Health advice but the employee fails to attend without good or acceptable reasons or refuses to give consent for the report to be released then management will go ahead with the meeting, without the Occupational Health advice.
If the employee is unable to attend the meeting/hearing for some other reason or their representative is unable to attend, the meeting may be postponed and will be rearranged within five working days or as soon as is practicable. The employee should be notified of the date in writing and informed that if they are not able to attend on the revised date the meeting/hearing will proceed on this occasion in their absence.
If employees cannot attend a meeting/hearing personally, they can put their case either through their representative (Council work colleague, Recognised Trade Union Representative or Trade Union Officer), or submit their case in writing in advance by no later than five working days in advance of the meeting/hearing.
When reviewing absences against the trigger points it may be necessary in exceptional circumstances for managers to use their discretion on what the trigger points are. This particularly applies when an employee has an underlying medical condition that is covered under the Equality Act 2010 and advice is usually obtained from Occupational Health.
Any extensions to the trigger points as a reasonable adjustment resulting from Occupational Health advice should be regularly reviewed. Please refer to the additional guidance provided within the Supporting Disabled Employees Review of Reasonable Adjustments section of the Policy.
If management wishes to apply discretion to change an employee’s trigger point then this should only be applied in exceptional circumstances. The manager must be able to justify, discuss, record and seek approval with their Senior Manager and HR Advisor.
A default review period is normally 1-2 months. It is recognised there may be exceptional circumstances where a longer review period is needed, up to a maximum of two months. Contact a member of the HR Team if unsure of how long the review period should be. Management should seek Senior Manager approval for longer review periods.
Where a decision is taken to extend a Stage 1/2/3 review period the above time frames will also apply. However, for the purpose of extended review periods managers also have the discretion, where appropriate, to set an extended review for a period of less than two months.
At the end of the review period the manager will complete the Review Checklist.
Following completion of this, management will make a decision based on the evidence gathered.
If an employee has not attended work and you have not had any contact with them, firstly as an employer we have a duty of care to check on their wellbeing. Therefore, the line manager, should attempt to contact the employee by phone. If the line manager is not able to contact the employee, they should contact a member of the HR Team to seek further guidance.
Once you have spoken with an employee regarding their sickness absence, it is good practice to agree when you will next speak to them. For example, if it is a short term absence, they will be required to update you on a daily basis and this should be agreed.
If they are signed off work for longer than one week, you should then agree when you will next speak to them and if their absence is long term, agree contact on an ongoing, regular basis. This continued contact, helps to support the employee during their absence and gives them an opportunity to keep in touch.
Please also remember to signpost the employee during their absence to the support services, available to them.
Employees have a responsibility to respond in a timely manner to any communications from the Council and attend Sickness Absence Management meetings as required. This includes submission of medical Statement of Fitness Note on time. If the line manager is receiving no correspondence from the employee, that is to say via telephone or in writing, then the line manager should seek advice from their HR Advisor. Employees who continually fail to respond to communication may result in their circumstances being escalated to a Stage Three Hearing, without the Stage One or Stage Two Meetings taking place.
This would need to be discussed with a HR Advisor and a manager with authority to dismiss. At the Stage Three Hearing the Chair will give consideration to dismissing the employee with notice on the grounds of capability (where an underlying medical condition is identified) or ‘Some Other Substantial Reason’ (SOSR).
If an employee has reached the absence trigger and a meeting is to be arranged, management do not need to wait until the absence has been continuous for one calendar month for the meeting to go ahead. Management can arrange the meeting as the employee has already reached the trigger prior to the recent period of continuous absence. This meeting can then discuss the short term absences as well as refer to the current long term absence.
Where an absence period changes from short term to long term or vice versa, the relevant Chair will need to consider giving a further time period to consider the reason for the absence and to allow for new medical advice if appropriate.
Where abuse of the Sickness Absence Management Policy is suspected, which may include:
consideration will be given to disciplinary action. HR Advisor advice must be sought in these cases.
Employees must make their manager aware if they have more than one job with the Council. Their manager will then liaise and share information regarding the employee’s absence with the other manager(s) to assess whether action by the other manager is required to ensure an employee is not putting their health and safety at risk by continuing to attend work in their other post(s). It is important to recognise that jobs may have different responsibilities and therefore different impacts on an employee’s health and any reasonable adjustments which may be required.
Sickness Absence Management meetings can take place to cover both roles, although managers from each service area need to be present to allow a consistent approach within the procedure.
Employees absent due to sickness accrue annual leave and may request to take annual leave during a period of sickness absence. However, employees are not expected to go away on holiday when absent due to sickness unless this is supported by their GP.
Employees who go on holiday during sick leave and have not requested annual leave will automatically have the period of time taken off their annual leave entitlement.
Employees wishing to take leave during sickness absence must request this in writing via their line manager. The annual leave will be deducted from an employee’s leave entitlement and the employee’s sickness will still be recorded on the payroll system as being absent.
Employees advising they are not contactable or available to attend meetings whilst they are absent, this annual leave should be deducted from the employee’s leave entitlement.
Employees returning to work in the current leave year, should be encouraged to take their accrued annual leave entitlement to assist with their rehabilitation back to work.
Should they be unable to take all of the leave, they may seek approval to carry any statutory leave forward into the next leave year, but this leave must be used within the first three months of the new annual entitlement. Approval will be agreed with HR and a Senior Manager.
Employees returning to work in a new leave year, have the right to the statutory annual leave they have accrued during their sickness absence in the previous leave year and should, therefore carry this forward into the new leave year. Such employees should be encouraged to take most or all of this leave in a block in the three months after their return to work date or to assist with extending a phased return to work.
Employees who fall sick prior to commencing pre-booked annual/flexi leave or during will be able to reclaim their annual/flexi leave, as long as they comply with sickness reporting procedures, are still available for contact and meetings when absent and supply a Statement of Fitness Note to cover the period they wish to reclaim.
Employees who become fit for work whilst still on leave, must confirm the date on which they became fit to work, on their return from leave.
The Statement of Fitness Note is a form employees will receive from a GP or Consultant, which confirms whether the employee is either: (a) not fit for work or (b) maybe fit for work. In option (b) cases, the GP will make recommendations for reasonable adjustments to help the return to work. It is for management to determine whether they can be implemented. It has been acknowledged that GP’s are not Occupational Health experts and they do not have a detailed knowledge of either the work undertaken or the workplace of their patients. Where the changes cannot reasonably be made, and the employee cannot return to work, the Statement of Fitness Note can be used to cover their sickness absence. Where the GP has stated they do not need to assess the employee again, this means that the employee should be able to return to work at the end of the period stated. If however, the manager has concerns that the employee is not fit to return to work, they should seek advice from the Human Resources Team. It may be necessary to ask the employee to visit their GP to obtain a Statement of Fitness Note, advising that they are fit for their role. If the GP charge for this, the Council will reimburse the employee, on production of a receipt or invoice.
If an employee wants to return to work prior to the Statement of Fitness Note expiring, the manager will need to ask the employee to return to their GP to seek a new Statement of Fitness Note reflecting the timescales in which the employee feels they are able to return to work on. If the manager has concerns regarding an employee’s return to work due to their health or with the recommendations that are on the Statement of Fitness Note, the manager should contact the Human Resources Team, who may either suggest that they request Health and Safety to carry out a risk assessment or seek advice from Occupational Health to assess their concerns.
Employers Liability Insurance does not require employees to be 100% fit for work, but there is an expectation by the Council’s insurers that the risks of those returning to work will be managed effectively, both for their well-being and safety and that of other employees and members of the public who may come into contact with them during their duties.
Further advice may be sought from the Human Resources Team, Health and Safety Advisor or Occupational Health as appropriate.
The role of Occupational Health is to provide independent advice and guidance to the Council and its employees on the impact of an employees’ ill health on their ability to undertake their duties, and what measures can be put in place to support the employee, where appropriate. The following points should be noted:
Where Occupational Health recommends a further assessment, they may state a time frame when this should take place or instead state that it should take place when a particular treatment has ended or when they have received advice from the employees GP/Specialist. In these cases, the manager will need to continue to progress through the Sickness Absence Management Procedure and at the specified time make a new referral to Occupational Health.
There may be times when Occupational Health recommends the manager/Health and Safety undertakes a risk assessment to establish the potential risks for the employee associated with their health condition and being at work. They may also be able to advise of any reasonable adjustments that could be made to support the employee.
This will help the manager evaluate what the potential risks are and whether enough has been done to manage the risks or whether more needs to be done. If management need help with carrying out a risk assessment, please contact the Health and Safety Team or a member of the HR Team.
Occupational Health may suggest alternative work/duties for the employee. This may be considered in cases where an employee is unable to perform the full range of his/her duties but is able to attend work and undertake restricted duties or alternative duties for a temporary period, with the expectation that they will be able to resume full duties in the near future. The manager will need to review whether this can be accommodated and assess the risk or impact on the business and other members of the team that might be impacted by any change. If they are unable to accommodate the request, then the employee will remain off sick.
Temporary alternative work of this nature will normally be part of a return to work plan, incorporating the advice from Occupational Health or it could be from a Statement of Fitness Note. A temporary change to a contract for the duration of the GP’s Statement of Fitness Note does not constitute a variation of terms and conditions.
It may be suggested from Occupational Health or a Statement of Fitness Note that the employee reduces their hours for a period of time, usually more than the six week phased return duration. The manager will need to review whether this can be accommodated and consideration should be taken about whether the employee’s duties can be carried out part time, how long the adjustment is recommended for and how the service will be provided.
If this reasonable adjustment can be accommodated and the employee is in agreement to reducing their hours and they are aware that this will impact on their salary, then the manager will need to notify Payroll, specifying how long this temporary reduction in hours is for.
This confidential service delivered by Remploy, funded by the Department for Work and Pensions, is available at no charge to any employees with depression, anxiety,stress or other mental health issues affecting their work.
They provide:
The Council has an embedded service agreement with Remploy; a member of the HR Team can signpost employees to Remploy and they will then make contact with the employee and arrange a meet to explain the service fully.
The Remploy adviser will be able to work with the employee for an initial period of nine months, offering support as outlined above. It should be made clear to the employee that this is not a counselling service, but it can be offered to support an employee to compliment any counselling they may be receiving.
Remploy can also assist with referrals to Access to Work, in the support of the employee.
Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) is available to employees and their household family. This service is delivered by Workplace Options, an independent, provider of employee support services. Their staff are specialists in fields such as well-being, family matters, relationship issues, debt management, consumer rights, and much more.
This is a confidential service that employees can contact 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The helpline is manned at all times by qualified counsellors. Employees can call for in the moment support at any time and if the EAP felt that the employee would benefit from short term counselling they will offer and arrange up to six counselling sessions. If however, the EAP feels that the employee requires a longer term counselling provision, they will refer them to other suitable providers. The employee would then need to either contact the providers themselves or speak to the GP to arrange a referral.
How counselling can help:
If any employee is already receiving counselling, it would not be appropriate to sign post them for counselling, but it is important to remind them of the service and that they can call them for “in the moment” support anytime, to give them comfort that someone is available to support and listen to them 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
As well as counselling the EAP supports many other areas, as listed below:
The EAP also provides Manager Assist for anyone in a management, team leader or supervisory role, to provide information and support on any subject which is impacting upon you, an individual or your team. Manager Assist can be used as a sounding board for talking through concerns you have about an individual, or for guidance on people management issues.
Full contact details, can be found on the intranet.
The Wellness Action Plan (WAP) has been developed by the organisation MIND as a tool to help employees support their own mental health by thinking about how their work impacts on their health and how they can best manage these triggers.
Where Occupational Health recommends a WAP it should be drafted by the employee, with support from a health professional where appropriate or Remploy, and then discussed and agreed with the line manager. It is designed to open up a dialogue between the manager and employee so they can agree on the help and support the employee needs whilst at work.
The Equality Act 2010 prohibits discrimination because of disability and places a duty on employers to make reasonable adjustments to working practices and premises in order to accommodate the needs of individual employees and job applicants who have a disability. This means that an employee with a disability must not be treated less favourably than any other employee without justification.
The Equality Act 2010 defines the protected characteristic of disability as applying to a person who has a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.
If there are problems with an employee’s attendance and an underlying medical condition or disability is identified, the manager must have an open discussion with the employee and if appropriate seek advice from Occupational Health. Occupational Health may be able to suggest reasonable adjustments that could be made to either the physical place of work, or the work itself.
Please be aware that in some cases a short term absence pattern could be related to a disability or a long term condition can become a disability in the long term.
As a Disability Confident Leader, the Council is committed to supporting disabled employees in the workplace and where possible all reasonable adjustments will be made to support the employee.
When supporting a disabled person in the workplace, the Equality Act 2010 requires the organisation to consider and make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to ensure the disabled employee is not put at a substantial disadvantage, and is able to perform in their role and ensure their safety in the workplace. A number of factors influence whether it is reasonable for an employer to make changes, including:
It is difficult to specify the amount of variation required for reasonable adjustments as each individual’s disability is different. Making the same adjustment for all may not remove the disadvantage. Where adjustments are made, the employee should be given time to readjust (usually three months). However, if after this period they are unable to meet the levels of attendance expected and further adjustments are deemed unreasonable, it may be necessary to consider Medical Redeployment (see Medical Redeployment Section).
Regular review should take place between the employee and manager to ensure that the adjustments put in place, which includes extension of trigger points resulting from Occupational Health advice, continue to be effective.
Specialist advice from third parties, such as Occupational Health, Access to Work or IT specialists may be needed before changes can be agreed and implemented.
Reasonable adjustments may be reviewed:
For further information on reasonable adjustments, please refer to the guidance for Supporting Disabled Employees in the Workplace.
The Equality Act 2010 does not require absence relating to the employee’s disability to be automatically discounted for trigger points; nor does it require an employer to retain someone indefinitely if they are frequently absent due to a disability.
However, when counting disability-related absences towards trigger points for unacceptable attendance procedures, line managers must be able to demonstrate that:
Where the combination of both disability-related and general sickness absence exceed the trigger points, the line manager should seek advice from Occupational Health on any reasonable adjustments that should be considered.