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Sickness Absence APPENDIX 1
1. Policy
1.1 The Council’s stated policy on sickness absence is to minimise such
absences with the aim of protecting the health and welfare of all staff,
maximising productivity and reducing pressure on colleagues left in the
workplace to cover for the absent employee.
2 Strategy
2.1 This will be achieved by providing a fair and consistent framework for
handling absence and ensuring that any employee, genuinely absent from
work due to ill health, receives all the appropriate and necessary support
that the Council can provide. A consistent approach will be taken to the
management of sickness. This applies to all employees irrespective of
their roles and responsibilities. The causes of absenteeism, where
possible, will be dealt with effectively, efficiently and with due
consideration. Specifically individuals absent from the workplace will be
supported by:
maximising use of Occupational Health, counselling and the
Council’s private medical scheme where appropriate;
using Return to Work interviews when employees return to the
workplace; and
monitoring individual and organisational sickness levels and causes.
2.2 Targets for maximum organisational sickness levels will be set annually
and reviewed by the Personnel Committee. The policy and associated
documents will be reviewed on a six monthly basis by the sickness
monitoring group.
2.3 Attached to these policy and strategy statements are:
(i) the procedures employees and managers should follow to ensure
proper implementation of this strategy; and
(ii) guidance notes to assist implementation.
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Procedures
3 Roles and Responsibilities
3.1 Employees’ responsibilities
3.1.1 Each employee must inform their line manager that they are absent from
work, due to ill health or injury by telephoning before 10am on the first day
of absence.
3.1.2 Any employee working non-standard hours should try to contact their line
manager before the start of their shift, or by 10am, whichever is the
earliest.
3.1.3 If the employee is incapacitated a relative or friend must be asked to
contact the council on their behalf. If the line manager is not available,
another manager within the Business Unit must be contacted. If none is
available, the absence must be reported to Personnel.
3.1.4 The employee must report their absence every day for uncertified leave.
3.1.5 If an employee is off for 7 days or more a doctor’s certificate must be
obtained and submitted to Personnel.
3.1.6 If the absence is due to a work-related matter, and the employee does not
wish to speak to a manager in their own team, an employee may report
their absence to Personnel.
3.1.7 An employee working off-site, from home, in training, or for any other
reason and not expected to be reporting into work, must also follow this
procedure.
3.1.8 An employee incapable of attending work due to injury or ill-health, but
able and willing to work from home can ask permission for this from their
line manager. This can only take place with the approval of the
employee’s doctor. In these circumstances, the line manager will
endeavour to make the necessary arrangements to support homeworking,
although this may not always be possible. Homeworking during absence
will not be recorded as sickness absence.
3.2 Line managers’ responsibilities
3.2.1 A line manager receiving a telephone report from a member of staff who is
ill must follow the procedure laid down in Appendix 1. This process should
continue daily until a medical certificate is received (as per Sections 2.2
and 2.3 of this policy) or the employee returns to work.
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3.2.2 The person receiving the telephone call must advise colleagues of the
employee’s absence, and ensure diary commitments are either postponed
or covered by colleagues. If not reported as required, Personnel will try to
contact the employee.
3.2.3 Managers must conduct return to work interviews and record on HRPro as
soon as possible after an employee returns to work (see Appendix 2).
3.2.4 Managers should use the flow diagrams in Appendix 4 for short/medium
term absence and Appendix 5 for long term absence.
3.2.5 Managers with staff responsibilities must record all employees’ sickness
absence using HRPro, and monitor their absence levels (see para 3.7).
3.3 Personnel and Training
3.3.1 The support and advice of Personnel is essential to the effective
management of sickness absence. Any employee may contact Personnel
for advice regarding their own wellbeing. Line managers are also able to
gain support and advice.
3.3.2 In summary, the services provided by Personnel in respect of sickness
absence include:
giving advice to employees, and managers, on issues relating to
health at work
identifying whether counselling, or any other specialist services,
may be beneficial in facilitating the return to work of an employee
providing a point of contact for absent employees not wishing to
liaise directly with their line manager
providing advice and support to employees and managers in respect
of periods of long-term absence
providing a link to the Occupational Health Advisor (see below).
3.4 Occupational Health
3.4.1 The council has retained the services of an Occupational Health Advisor
(OHA) to assist staff and managers with professional work-related health
advice. Initial contact with the OHA must be through Personnel. However,
the OHA’s role is independent from the council and their services are
confidential. The OHA will seek to:
give advice to employees and managers on issues relating to health
at work
assess an employee’s return to work date
advise line managers if any reasonable adjustments are required to
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facilitate an employee’s return to work
identify whether counselling, or any other specialist services, are
required to facilitate an employee’s return to work
advise whether an employee is able to return to work to carry out the
duties under their contract of employment
provide reports to the Pension Scheme administrators in respect of
ill-health retirement applications
provide advice to the employee, and help them to understand their
illness and how to minimise its impact on their ability to work.
3.5 Home Visits
3.5.1 As a guide, absences greater than 14 consecutive days should be
considered for a home visit. In cases of prolonged absence, visits will
usually be arranged to maintain contact with an employee. The manager
and Personnel must decide each case on an individual basis and in
agreement with the absent employee to the visit. Members of Personnel
are available to advise managers before, or after, a visit or to participate
in, or carry out a visit if required.
3.5.2 At any time during an employee’s sickness absence they may be required
to visit the OHA or may be asked to obtain, with their consent, a health
report from their GP (under the Access to Medical Reports Act 1988).
3.5.3 In the course of their duties no council employee is to visit another
employee at home on sick leave without being accompanied, but an officer
from Personnel is not necessary in all instances. Care should be taken to
ensure that the employee agrees in advance to the visit. This policy does
not apply to personal visits from friends.
3.6 Return to Work Interview
3.6.1 Each employee, on returning to work after a sickness absence of any
duration, will be expected to attend a return to work interview with their line
manager to:
welcome them back
highlight that their contribution to the team has been missed
complete a return to work form at the interview
ensure that the employee is fully recovered and decide whether any
further support is required from the council and
review their sickness absence record for the past twelve months and
agree either:
that no further action is needed or
to set a time for a further, more in-depth, review meeting.
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3.7 Monitoring Absence
3.7.1 Appendix 3 provides details of the recording and monitoring facilities for
sickness absence available through HRPro. Some of the monitoring
facilities are only available to line managers.
3.7.2 At least once a month, all line managers must review all their employees’
sickness absence levels. Any individual with a Bradford Factor of more
than 250 (see Appendix 3) may need further investigation.
3.7.3 The purpose of the investigation is to:
draw to the employee’s attention that their sickness absence level
has caused some concern, and explain why
explore with the employee any underlying reasons for their absence
level, including possible work-life balance issues, dissatisfaction with
their work environment, or any health concerns.
3.7.4 A record of this discussion must be made by the manager, and include
agreed actions. This record is to be kept updated as appropriate.
3.7.5 The flow charts in Appendices 4 and 5 detail the main indicators/trigger
points that a manager may consider in seeking to identify a potential
concern with an employee’s absence record, and what course of action to
take.
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Guidance
4 Definitions
4.1 Sickness Absence
4.1.1 Relates to absence due to ill-health or physical injury only. Absence due
to work-related injury is dealt with separately. The overall types of
absence are defined by their duration (which includes weekends and
public holidays):
Short term absence = up to and including 9 days
Medium = 10-30 days+
Long term = over 30 days
4.1.2 If an employee is on sick leave on their last working day of the week
(usually, but not always, a Friday), it is not automatically assumed they are
also sick on the non-working days that immediately follow (usually, but not
always a Saturday and Sunday), unless they are absent from work on their
next working day (usually, but not always, a Monday).
4.2 Certified Absence
4.2.1 This refers to illness where a medical certificate has been obtained.
4.3 Uncertified Absence
4.3.1 This term usually refers to sickness absence from work of up to seven
consecutive days (including Saturday and Sunday) for which a medical
certificate is not normally required.
4.3.2 Periods of more than seven days’ absence for which a medical certificate
has not been obtained, will be dealt with under the council’s disciplinary
procedure.
4.4 Sickness Payments
4.4.1 All sickness payments are currently made on a ‘rolling year’ basis. This
means that an individual’s sickness absence, and associated sick pay, are
calculated over the previous twelve months.
4.5 Absence Commencing During the Working Day
Any individual absent from work from before 12 noon is considered
to have taken a whole day’s sick leave
An absence after 12 noon is considered a half day’s sick leave
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Employees absent in the morning are not expected to return to work
later the same day and are required to take a full day’s sick leave
Shift workers who work less than four hours before taking sickness
absence will be considered to have taken a full day’s sick leave
Shift workers who work four or more hours before taking sick leave
will be considered to have worked a half day
4.6 Current Legislation
4.6.1 The Council has a legal duty to provide a safe working environment for its
staff. The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 provides a general
framework for regulatory control in the work place. Further details can be
found at:
www.healthandsafety.co.uk
www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk
4.7 Sick Pay
4.7.1 Employees who report their sickness absence correctly will be eligible for
paid sick leave, in accordance with their Local Government Service, as
detailed in Table 1 overleaf. Entitlement to sick pay does not affect the
right of the council to dismiss employees on the grounds of ill health (see
Section 11).
4.8 Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)
4.8.1 SSP is payable for up to 28 weeks in one period of sickness. For further
details, visit the Inland Revenue website at:
www.ir.gov.uk/employers/employee_sick.htm
4.9 Occupational Sick Pay
4.9.1 Occupational Sick Pay (OSP) is provided through voluntary payments
made by employers in addition to SSP. Details of entitlement to OSP are
provided in Table 1 overleaf.
4.9.2 Council employees are entitled to SSP from the fourth continuous day of
sickness absence. The council also pays employees for the first three
days of absence, although there is no legal obligation to do so.
4.9.3 A doctor’s certificate is required for sickness absences for seven days or
more, to enable an employee to continue receiving SSP and OSP.
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Table 1: Council Sick Pay Entitlements
Length of service:
Sickness Up to 1 During During During After 5
nd rd
Payments Year 2 Year 3 year 4th/5th Years
year
Occupational 1 month 2 months 4 months 5 months 6 months
Sick Pay, full pay full pay full pay full pay full pay
including
SSP**
Occupational 2 months 2 months 4 months 5 months 6 months
Sick Pay, half pay* half pay half pay half pay half pay
excluding
SSP***
* after the completion of 4 months service.
** SSP is included within the Occupational Sick Pay
*** SSP is paid in addition to the (half pay) Occupational Sick Pay
4.9.4 When calculating an employee’s entitlement to paid sick leave for a
current period of sickness, the amount of sick leave taken during the
previous 12 months is deducted. Any SSP due is included in the OSP.
4.10 Sickness Absence due to Third Party Accident
4.10.1 If an employee is absent as a result of an accident caused by a third party,
and for which damages may be recoverable, that employee will not be
entitled to OSP. However, they can request (via their chief officer) an
advance from the council equal to their OSP. This will be subject to them
agreeing, in writing, to refund this amount when damages have been
received. Any period of absence for which a refund is made in full will not
count as sick leave, and will not affect future entitlement to OSP.
4.11 Support
4.11.1 The council provides a range of support services to employees aimed at
improving their wellbeing. These services are available to all permanent
employees, and can be accessed either through line managers or
Personnel. They include:
counselling
Private Medical Insurance
Occupational Health Advisor
Health Checks
first aiders
medical room on site
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provision of a workstation audit
4.11.2 In addition the council also has a policy on home working aimed at
facilitating improved homework life balances for employees.
4.12 Ill Health Retirement/Dismissal
4.12.1 There may be occasions when it is in the best interests of an employee to
take early retirement on the grounds of ill health. This may also be
appropriate for some employees who have been unwell and are unable to
return to work in any capacity. Each case will be dealt with on an
individual basis, through close working with Personnel, the OHA, the
employee and/or their representative.
4.12.2 In the event that it becomes necessary to dismiss a sick employee, this
decision must be taken by a Corporate Director or the Chief Executive.
Personnel and Occupational Health can only advise. Factors taken into
account when considering retirement or dismissal in a sickness absence
case are:
the period of absence that has already elapsed
the period of time before the employee can be expected to return to
work (if that is ascertainable)
any likely restriction on the employee’s ability to carry out the full
range of duties on their return to work
the effect of the employee’s absence on the work of the council
the length of service of the employee
the advice of Occupational Health
the employee’s wishes
the employee’s circumstance
precedents for dealing with such cases in the council
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APPENDIX 1
Recording of Absence Report by Line Manager
Using the Notes Section in HRPro
On the first day of each uncertified absence, the employee or their representative
will contact the line manager or Personnel to report their absence, and the
following information will be recorded:
Business Unit
reason for absence, if provided
expected duration of absence
whether there is any support/action by the council that would benefit
the employee
date and time of call
agreed time for absent employee to call again if to be absent for more
than one day
any additional comments
Inform caller that the details of the conversation have been recorded
on the notes section of HRPro, and that they will be required to
complete a Return To Work Form (Appendix 2) with their line manager
on their return to work
For periods of longer-term absence, that have been medically certified, the above
process is not required.
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APPENDIX 2
Return to Work Interview Form
Name of employee___________________ Business Unit_____________
Name of Interviewer _____________________ (if not line manager state why)
Date of Interview________________________
Period of absence: Date from ________________to_________________
Reason for absence (if known) ___________________________________
Bradford Factor value __________________________________________
Long term implications of employee’s illness (Is it likely that the employee will
need further time off?)
Further Actions
Yes No Yes No
None - fit for Adjust working
normal duties environment
Refer to Alter work
Occupational patterns
Health Consultant
Refer for Other – refer
Counselling to Personnel
Additional comments
Signed (Employee) _________________ Dated_______
Signed (Line Manager) ______________ Dated_______
Line Manager must forward completed form to Personnel and Training
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APPENDIX 3
Recording and Monitoring Absence on HRPro
Recording Sickness Absence
When notified that an employee will not be coming into work due to sickness,
each manager is required to record the individual employee’s absence on their
personnel record via HRPro.
The programme allows for specifying the length of absence, if known, and the
reasons for the sickness absence. It also enables any absence to be linked to a
previous record. This is of particular importance when applying the Bradford
Factor.
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The line manager records date of return to work in HRPro. Personnel identify
any incomplete records and managers are prompted to complete them. The
manager should also ensure that these records are cross-referenced with the
flexi-clock to check there are no discrepancies.
Absence Calendar
The Absence Calendar function allows managers to view an employee’s absence
record in a year planner format.
In order to see what the absence type was, hovering the mouse over the
appropriate date on the calendar creates a red arrow that points to the relevant
code on the key. For further details about a particular period of absence, double
clicking on the relevant date on the calendar creates a summary of that record for
viewing.
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Absence Monitoring
The absence calendar provides an overview of an individual’s pattern of
absence. To assist managers with absence management, HRPro also has the
facility to further interrogate an individual member of staff’s absence.
The absence breakdown facility allows reports to be run that provide a
breakdown of the amount of time taken off as sick leave on each day of the
week. For example, it will show how many Mondays have been taken off sick.
This task can be performed for an individual’s record, and also for the total team
managed. The table below shows an extract of a range of reports that managers
can run, including the sickness absence reports for:
sickness in prompted dates – business unit
sickness in prompted date – individual
sickness in prompted dates – section
sickness summary in prompted dates – business unit
sickness summary prompted dates – section
The Bradford Factor
The Bradford Factor report analyses occurrences of illness together with the
duration of the absence, to provide an indication of when a manager needs to be
concerned by absence rates.
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The Bradford Factor is calculated using the following formula:
no. of occurrences in the period x number of occurrences x total duration
For example, one period of absence of 10 days would give a Bradford Factor of
10:
1 X 1 X 10 = 10
but ten periods of absence of 1 day would give a Bradford Factor of 1,000:
10 X 10 X 10 = 1,000
As a general rule, if the Bradford Factor is over 250 the sickness absence
requires further investigation. However, managers are advised to consult
Personnel for advice first. There may be instances where the member of staff’s
sickness absence has been recorded incorrectly and this needs to be checked.
Traditionally, the Bradford Factor analyses sickness absence only. However,
HRPro also has the facility to incorporate other absences.
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APPENDIX 4
Short Term and Medium Term Sickness Procedure
Employee phones in on each day of sickness until
return to work, or a certificate is received by the council
If sickness is likely to, or
Manager records on does, exceed 30 days initiate
HRPro long-term sickness procedure
(see Appendix 5)
Employee returns to work
Manager records return on HRPro, checks sickness record
and calculates Bradford Factor
Manager carries out return to work interview, as soon as
possible, preferably on day employee returns to work
Manager completes return to work Manager sends form to
form with employee at interview Personnel and Training
Send employee home – No Is employee fit to
record on HRPro return to work?
Yes
Agree further action Consider need to escalate to
next line manager
Offer Alter work Assess Adjust working Employee fit
counselling Refer to OHA patterns capability issues environment for duty
Manager refers to Manager refers
Personnel and Training to Admin
Manager completes return to work form and sends Manager completes return to work form and
to Personnel and Training to initiate action sends to Personnel and Training
Manager reviews
outcomes No further action
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APPENDIX 5
Long Term Sickness Procedure
Employee phones in on each day of sickness until
return to work, or a certificate is received by the council
If sickness is unlikely to,
Manager records on HRPro and or does not, exceed
checks Bradford Factor 30 days initiate short-term
sickness procedure
If sickness is likely to, or does, exceed 30 days
initiate long-term sickness procedure
Personnel and Training and line manager assess circumstances and determine
who should maintain contact with employee for duration of illness
Home visit by two officers by Maintain weekly contact
prior arrangement with employee
Engage OHA to provide support to individual and
OHA to liaise with GP
advise on appropriate future actions
Personnel and Training will initiate a review with the line manager, employee,
and OHA. Timescale will depend on circumstances.
Consider need to escalate
Agree further actions to next line-manager
Continued Fit to
Ill health Dismissal Alter work Phased
support return, no
early under patterns Re-deploy return to
during action
retirement capability work
absence needed
Refer to chief Employee returns to work, with
officer ongoing support from Personnel and
Training, OHA and line manager.
Situation is kept under review for as
long as necessary
Manager records return to
work on HRPro
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