Sickness and Absence Management Policy 

Disabilities 
 
“Disability” means a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities or from the first day of a diagnosis of HIV, cancer or multiple sclerosis. 
 
We are aware that sickness absence may result from a disability. At each stage of the sickness absence process, particular consideration will be given to whether there are reasonable adjustments that could be made to the requirements of a job or other aspects of working arrangements that will provide support at work and/or assist a return to work. 
 
If you consider that you are affected by a disability or any medical condition which affects your ability to attend work regularly or affect you in work you should inform your line manager at the earliest opportunity. Any information you provide will be handled confidentially. 
 
Medical appointments  
 
Wherever possible, appointments for the doctor, dentist, opticians or hospital should be made in your own time to minimise the operational impact. If this is not possible, the appointment should be made at the beginning or the end of the day. All medical appointments in work hours should be agreed in advance with your line manager and will be recorded in your personnel file, time taken at medical appointments should be made up where possible in agreement with your line manager. Every effort will be made to accommodate requests made with appropriate notice. 
 
Reporting sickness absence 
 
The recording and monitoring of sickness absence is important to ensure that absence is managed fairly and consistently across the Company and to ensure that the impact on our colleagues is minimised. Failure to record sickness absence or to follow the notification procedures is a breach of policy and may be viewed as misconduct. 
 
Who should I contact if I am ill? 
 
 If you are unable to work due to mental or physical illness or injury, you must telephone your line manager, at the start of your working day, and no later than one hour of your regular start time. Voicemails left at reception to notify of absence are not acceptable. A manager will call you back if they are not available when you call.  
 
You should let your line manager know the reason for your absence, the anticipated duration of your absence from work, and what actions you are taking to get better e.g GP appointment/medication etc. This call is also the opportunity to let your manager know about any outstanding or urgent work which your manager should arrange to have covered in your absence and agree the  next contact point if it is anticipated the absence will extend to the next day.  
 
Text messages, voicemails with reception, emails or social media messages and third party contact is not an acceptable method of notifying your manager of your absence although we do accept in rare circumstances, e.g you have been hospitalised, a third party may initially need  to telephone on your behalf. 
 
If you do not arrive for work as expected and we have not heard from you during the morning within a reasonable time we will attempt to contact you. If we cannot make contact, we will endeavour to contact your nominated emergency point of contact to establish your well-being.  
   
If you are unable to reach your line manager, you should leave a message with reception with a suitable contact telephone number for a manager to call you back. Regular communication and updates are important, if your absence is likely to last more than one day, you should agree with your line manager how to keep in touch during your absence. This also applies to long-term absence, where it is important to keep in touch at agreed regular intervals so that we can get updates on your health, provide information about company sick pay, and discuss any other forms of support that can be offered and, where appropriate, share Company updates. 
 
Your line manager will record your absence on People HR and close it on the day of return. The employee and manager have a joint responsibility to ensure the absence is recorded correctly. 
 
 What you’ll need to do if you are absent for more than 7 calendar days 
  
If your absence lasts more than. 7 calendar days (including weekends and non-working days) you need to provide us with a “fit note” from your GP for the absence detailing why you are unfit to come to work. We need this to make sure your absence is properly certified in line with legislation, and we are able to continue to pay you apprpriately. You should email or otherwise arrange for a copy of your fit note to be sent to your line manager who will update People HR and attach the fit note. If your absence continues beyond the length of your fit note, further medical certificates must be provided to cover the whole period of your absence. 
 
What if my doctor says I “may be” fit for work? 
  
If your doctor provides a certificate stating that you “may be fit for work” you should inform your line manager immediately. We will discuss with you any additional measures that may be needed to facilitate your return to work, taking account of your doctor’s advice. This may take place at a return-to-work interview (see “Return to work” below). If suggested measures cannot be taken, you will remain on sick leave and we will set a date to review the situation again. 
  
Returning to work after sickness absence 
 
All sickness absences, regardless of duration, should be discussed on your return to work. An essential part of the managing sickness absence process is a return-to-work conversation. This will involve your manager welcoming you back to work, ensuring you are fit to be at work and updating you with any matters you may have missed during your absence. The return-to-work conversation is a forum to have a supportive conversation and give you the opportunity to ask for help if you need it. 
 
The return-to-work conversation should always happen, but the duration and format will vary depending on individual circumstances. It can be very informal and may just be a short  
conversation but in other circumstances it may be a more structured meeting to discuss what support and adjustments can be put in place by you or the Company to help maintain future good health and attendance. 
 
If you or manager are concerned that there may be an underlying medical condition affecting your fitness for work, your manager may suggest a referral to Occupational Health, to get an opinion on what steps both parties should take to improve your health and attendance where possible. You should make every effort to attend any appointments with Occupational Health. 
 
Sickness absence due to drugs or alcohol 
 
If it becomes clear that you have an alcohol or drug problem, your manager should arrange a confidential review meeting with you and consider referral to Occupational Health for guidance. We will aim to support you as much as we can with any addiction issues. However, if you do not accept advice or assistance or you are found to be using drugs or alcohol at work or when this has an impact on your work, this may be dealt with in accordance with our disciplinary policy. 
 
Sickness absence during annual leave  
 
If you are absent due to sickness before or during pre-booked annual leave, the annual leave may be converted to sickness absence providing the usual absence reporting procedures have been followed and you have notified your line manager on the first day you fell ill or are injured and you have been unable to take annual leave and why (for example, you were unable to travel on a pre-booked holiday). 
 
If you wish to use any annual leave during a period of sickness absence, you should contact your manager in advance. 
  
Sickness absence during pregnancy 
 
If your absence is for a reason directly related to your pregnancy, this absence will normally be disregarded for the purposes of the formal stages of the sickness and absence management policy and will not be counted as a spell of absence. However, any absence during pregnancy which is not directly related to the pregnancy will be considered as a “normal” spell of absence. If you have a pregnancy related illness in the 4 weeks before the estimated week of your child’s birth, your maternity leave will normally start automatically. Please see our family leave policy for more details on pregnancy and maternity leave. 
 
Unauthorised absence or sickness absence found not to be genuine. 
 
Absence that has not been notified according to the sickness absence reporting procedure will be treated as unauthorised absence and may be dealt with in accordance with our disciplinary policy. 
 
If there are reasonable grounds to believe that the reasons given for your absence are not genuine, your manager is entitled to put these doubts directly to you in a factual way, to establish the truth, if there is any doubt about whether your absence was genuine, an investigation may be carried out in line with our disciplinary policy. 
   
Sick Pay 
 
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) 
 
You may be entitled to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) if you satisfy the relevant statutory requirements. Qualifying days for SSP are Monday to Friday, or as set out in your employment contract. The rate of SSP is set by the government in April each year. No SSP is payable for the first three consecutive days of absence. It starts on the fourth day of absence and may be payable for up to 28 weeks. If you are not eligible for SSP, or if your SSP entitlement is coming to an end, we will give you a form SSP1 telling you the reasons. 
 
Company sick pay (CSP) 
 
The Company is committed to supporting employees who are unwell or injured and unfit for work and operates a company sick pay scheme. Provided that you have complied with this policy, you will be eligible for the following payments which shall be inclusive of any SSP that may be due for the same period: 
 
Continuous service 
Maximum payment in any 12-month rolling period 
Less than 13 weeks service NIL 
13 weeks to 1 year service – 1 week basic pay 
1 year to 2 years’ service – 2 weeks basic pay 
2 years’ service or more – 4 weeks basic pay
 
All periods of absence will be aggregated, and the above entitlement is the total amount payable in any rolling 12-month period either for one lengthy period of sickness absence or for the accumulated total of short periods of sickness absence. In other words, to determine whether you will be paid company sick pay for an absence, we will look at how much absence you have already been paid in the 12 months up to the current date of absence. Any company sick pay received in the 12-month reference period will be deducted from the amount of company sick pay you are entitled to. In some cases, the reference period will be longer than 12 months. 
 
Company Sick Pay might not be paid in the following circumstances: 
  
if the absence is unauthorised. 
if the absence notification procedures have not been followed. 
if the absence has been self-inflicted or due to participation in a hazardous activity 
if it has been caused by any other employment. 
 
if you can claim against a third party, an insurance policy or any other body (you will receive company sick pay as normal, and on settlement of your compensation claim, you will be asked to repay the amount awarded for loss of earnings, which we are entitled to deduct from your salary). 
 
The Company reserves the right to withdraw or amend Company Sick Pay at any time, and may at its discretion, decline or determine payments in any particular case. 
 
Phased return  
 
Following a period of long term absence or injury, a GP, treating health professional or Occupational Health may recommend that the employee returns to work on a reduced hours pattern and “step-up” to their normal hours. In such cases, where the employee has been in receipt of zero or reduced salary during the absence, they will be paid for the hours worked, until the full hours working pattern is reached. The employee will not return to work and receive less salary than the CSP they received prior to their return to work. The hours not worked will be regarded as sickness and amalgamated into the sickness record during the phased return.  
 
Occupational Health referrals 
 
Occupational Health is responsible for providing professional medical advice, including looking at underlying health conditions, in relation to the working environment, recommending reasonable adjustments that we can consider, where required, and assessing a likely timeframe for your return to work in the case of long term sickness. Your consent to attend an assessment with Occupational Health is required prior to making an appointment. Should you not wish to give consent decisions will need to be made without medical input. 
 
Formal sickness absence management process 
 
The general Company tolerance level is three spells of absence of any duration, in a rolling 12-month period. A tolerance level is the term we give to levels of absence which, if exceeded, may prompt the formal absence management process under this policy. However, factors other than numbers and length of absence will be considered based on individual circumstances.  
 
Absence levels for new employees with less than 12 months of service will be monitored at each occurrence and a shortened formal management process may take place. The absence management process is not a penalty for absence, it is an open and supportive forum to ensure we are managing your attendance most effectively as a business and are working with you to find ways to help you improve or, if your absence is anticipated to be long-term, to make sure we are doing what we can to help you back to full health. It is also an opportunity for us to discuss the impact your absences may be having on the business and to look at ways we can overcome that. Appropriate support will continue to be provided through the formal stages with the aim of finding effective reasonable adjustments to enable you to maintain good physical and mental health, and good attendance levels. 
 
Long-term absence is an absence continuing for 4 weeks or more. The focus will be on supporting you during a period of long-term ill health and trying to achieve a successful return to work, however, we will monitor this under the formal process. 
 
In some circumstances, it may be appropriate for us to agree to adjust tolerance levels appropriate to individual circumstances. This may apply, for example, if you have an underlying medical condition or a disability. Any agreements on reasonable adjustments will be subject to regular review (as a minimum annually) to assess the impact on the business and the employee to ensure they are sustainable. Please refer to the Company Reasonable Adjustments policy and procedure for further details. 
 
The formal process will continue until you have returned from long-term absence or where our joint attempts and supportive actions are not effective in a reasonable timeframe, your employment is terminated. Termination of your employment will only be considered if, after our support, there is no foreseen timely return to work or absence levels are not sustainable to the business. 
 
If you have not completed your probationary period or have less than 12 months service, the Company reserves the right to follow a shortened formal process if your absence level is a cause for concern.  
 
Short Term sickness absence formal process 
 
Formal stage one 
 
You will normally be invited to a formal stage one meeting if you have exceeded the company absence tolerance levels (or any agreed adjusted tolerance levels). You will receive a written invitation at least 48 hours before the meeting. You will be entitled to be accompanied to the meeting by a colleague or trade union representative, 
 
The purpose of the meeting is to review and discuss your absences to establish and help you understand the impact it is having on the business, to understand if there is anything underlying from a personal or health perspective (if this has not previously been established), and to consider what steps you are taking to improve your attendance at work. It is also an opportunity to determine whether there is anything which can be done to support you at work, 
 
A potential outcome of the meeting is a first written warning and to set a 6-month review period, during which your attendance will be monitored. The outcome may also outline detail relating to any additional support and adjustments which have been agreed with you in the meeting. The Company reserves the right in some circumstances to set an increased review period. 
 
You will receive written confirmation of the outcome of the meeting as soon as possible following the conclusion of the meeting. You will have the right to appeal the outcome, in line with the process outlined at “Appeals” below. 
 
You will be expected to maintain your attendance within the company absence tolerance levels or agreed-adjusted tolerance levels for the duration of the review period. If your absence improves to satisfactory levels, you will normally be invited to a meeting with your manager to confirm the improvement. Following the end of a successful 6-month review period, if your attendance does not remain within agreed levels for a rolling 12-month period, the process will normally recommence at the formal stage you had successfully completed, When determining whether to recommence action at the formal stage, attendance data should be reviewed over the most recent 12 month period, or longer where there is an absence within the 12 month period which commenced on a date prior to this.  
 
If no improvement is made, or your absence continues to be a cause for concern within the review period, then we will move to the next stage of the formal process. 
 
Formal stage two 
 
If your absence exceeds the tolerance levels set in formal stage one meeting, you will normally be invited to formal stage two meeting. There is no requirement to wait until the end of the formal stage one review period before inviting you to a formal stage two meeting if your absence is a continuing cause for concern. You will receive a written invitation at least 48 hours before the meeting. You will be entitled to be accompanied to the meeting by a colleague or trade union representative. 
 
The content of the meeting will largely follow the same format as the stage one formal meeting, with the addition of looking at any recent personal or health issues, discuss steps you have taken to try to improve your attendance and looking at the effectiveness of any agreed adjustments or support from us during the review period. It is also an opportunity to determine whether there is anything further which we can do to support you at work and to keep you informed of the impact your absence is having on the business. 
 
A potential outcome of the meeting is a final written warning and a 12 month review period will normally commence, with the same conditions as the formal stage one outcome, with any adjustments to the tolerance levels or other adjustments to be made agreed. The Company reserves the right in some circumstances to set an increased review period. 
 
As at stage one, if your absence improves to satisfactory level, you will normally be invited to a meeting with your manager to confirm the improvement If not, or your absence continues to be a cause for concern within the review period then we will move to the next stage of the formal process. Following the end of a successful review period, if your attendance does not remain within agreed levels for a rolling period, the process will normally recommence at the formal stage you had successfully completed. 
 
You will receive written confirmation of the outcome of the meeting as soon as possible following the conclusion of the meeting. You will have the right to appeal the outcome, in line with the process outlined at “Appeals” below. 
 
Formal Stage three 
 
If your absence exceeds the tolerance levels set in formal stage two meeting, you will normally be invited to formal stage three meeting. There is no requirement to wait until the end of the formal stage two review period before inviting you to formal stage three meeting if your absence is a continuing cause for concern. You will receive a written invitation at least 48 hours before the meeting. You will be entitled to be accompanied to the meeting by a colleague or trade union representative. At this stage, you will be informed that a potential outcome of the meeting may be termination of your employment. 
 
The content of the meeting will follow the same format as stages one and two in that we will review the steps taken by you and us thus far, review your continued absences and any underlying reasons for those. The potential outcomes of a formal stage three meeting will be either: 
an extension of the review period (normally this will only occur where new information or a new adjustment comes to light during the meeting). 
 
options for redeployment (only if appropriate).  
 
termination of employment with notice on the grounds of medical capability recognising your ill health is preventing you from maintaining a level of attendance sustainable to the business. 
 
 
You will receive written confirmation of the outcome of the meeting as soon as possible following the conclusion of the meeting. You will have the right to appeal the outcome, in line with the process outlined at “Appeals” below. 
 
Long Term sickness absence management process 
 
Initial meeting 
 
You will normally be invited to a welfare meeting after 30 calendar days of continuous absence. When and where this takes place is likely to depend on the individual circumstances of your absence. 
 
The purpose of the meeting is for you and your manager to discuss and review the length and reasons for your absence and to consider what, if any, adjustments and support can be offered to help you, e.g Occupational Health referral. There is no set length of absence to determine when it is appropriate to make a referral to occupational health, so in many instances you and the Company can benefit from an early referral, to obtain more information about any underlying conditions and to ensure that appropriate support and reasonable adjustments may be considered and explored. 
 
Where your absence continues beyond the welfare meeting, it is important to ensure that we maintain regular contact to keep in touch, discuss and review the length and reasons for your absence (including any support and adjustments which may be considered), keep you up to date with company news and to establish a likely return to work date. 
 
Formal Stage one 
 
You will normally be invited to a formal stage one meeting after your long-term absence reaches around three months. You will receive a written invitation at least 48 hours before the meeting. You will be entitled to be accompanied to the meeting by a colleague or trade union representative. 
 
At the formal stage one meeting your manager will discuss with you your ongoing absence. You may also be asked to provide any updates on medical advice or treatment you have been receiving and, if appropriate, a likely return to work date. Appropriate support and access to medical information will continue to be provided through the formal stages with the aim of finding effective reasonable adjustments to enable you to maintain good physical and mental health, and good attendance levels. This may include further referrals to Occupational Health. 
If there is no immediate prospect of a return to work, we will write to you confirming you are now in a formal process and potentially issue a first written warning due to prolonged absence. This will set out any adjustments or steps discussed or to be taken to assist your return to work, and advise that if your absence continues you may be invited to a formal stage two meeting. 
 
You will receive written confirmation of the outcome of the meeting as soon as possible following the conclusion of the meeting. You will have the right to appeal the outcome, in line with the process outlined at “Appeals” below. 
 
 
If it is anticipated that you will be fit to return to work, your manager will arrange to meet with you to agree next steps (including any agreed support and adjustments). On your return, your absence will be monitored in a 12-month rolling period, in line with our normal process. If you are absent again, with the same condition, within a rolling 12 month period, the process will normally recommence at the formal stage you successfully completed, unless there are other mitigating circumstances. 
 
Formal stage two 
 
You will normally be invited to a formal stage two meeting after your absence reaches 6-9 months. You will receive a written invitation at least 48 hours days before the meeting. You will be entitled to be accompanied to the meeting by a colleague or trade union representative. The content of the meeting will largely follow the same format as the formal stage one meeting. 
 
If there is no immediate prospect of a return to work, we will write to you confirming the outcome of the meeting which may be to issue a final written warning due to prolonged absence. This will set out any adjustments or steps discussed or to be taken to assist your return to work and advise that if your absence continues you may be invited to a formal stage three meeting. 
 
You will have the right to appeal the outcome, in line with the process outlined at “Appeals” below. 
 
If it is anticipated that you will be fit to return to work, your manager will arrange to meet with you to agree next steps (including any agreed support and adjustments). On your return, your absence will be monitored in a 12-month rolling period, in line with our normal process. If you are absent again, with the same condition, within a rolling 12 month period, the process will normally recommence at the formal stage you successfully completed, unless there are other mitigating circumstances. 
   
Formal Stage three 
 
If your absence reaches around 12 months, you will normally be invited to a formal stage 3 meeting. You will receive a written invitation at least 48 hours before the meeting and this letter will confirm that the outcome of a stage three meeting be termination of employment. 
 
Again, the content of the meeting will largely follow the same format as the previous stages. If medical evidence suggests there is no anticipated return to work, then we will discuss all recent medical information available, actions taken by the employee and the Company and any potential future actions that may support a return to work. The potential outcomes of a formal stage three meeting will be either: 
 
an extension of the review period (normally this will only occur where new information or a new adjustment comes to light during the meeting) 
options for redeployment to another suitable role (only if appropriate);  
termination of employment with notice on the grounds of medical capability recognising your ill health is preventing you from maintaining a level of attendance within levels sustainable to the business. 
 
You will receive written confirmation of the outcome of the meeting as soon as possible following the conclusion of the meeting. You will have the right to appeal the outcome, in line with the process outlined at “Appeals” below. 
 
Appeals  
 
If you wish to appeal against the outcome of any formal absence meeting you should do so within five working days of your receipt of the letter confirming the outcome. The outcome letter will contain the contact details of who an appeal should be submitted to. 
 
An appeal must be made in writing / email and should set out in as much detail as possible why you consider the outcome to be unjust or wrong. You should also include any new evidence you wish to rely on for your appeal.  
If your appeal is against a dismissal decision, the date on which dismissal takes effect will not be delayed pending the outcome of an appeal. However, if your appeal is successful, you will be reinstated with no loss of service continuity or pay. 
 
On receipt of your appeal including your grounds of appeal points you will be invited to an appeal meeting as soon as possible. You have the right to be accompanied by a colleague or a Trade Union representative. 
 
You must make every effort to attend the appeal hearing. If you or your chosen companion cannot attend, you must let the hearing manager know as soon as possible. Failure to attend without good reason or if you are unable to attend in a reasonable timeframe the hearing manager may have to make a decision based on the available evidence and your appeal points alone in your absence. 
 
Any formal review period under a formal meeting will run concurrently with an appeal until the resolution of the appeal. 
  
What happens in an Appeal meeting? 
 
The meeting will be chaired by an independent manager (the “Appeal Hearing manager”). They will be accompanied by a note taker and an HR representative may attend meetings for procedural guidance.  
 
The Appeal hearing manager will introduce everyone at the meeting and summarise the absence concerns and evidence included and will go through your points of appeal and discuss those with you. 
 
The appeal manager will then adjourn the meeting to investigate your points of appeal. If any new information comes to light in the investigation, you will be provided with a summary including, where appropriate copies of additional relevant documents and witness statements. You will have reasonable opportunity to consider this information before the appeal meeting is continued. You or your companion may comment on any new evidence arising during the appeal before any decision is taken. If no new information comes to light following the appeal investigation the outcome decision will be reached and confirmed to you without the need for the appeal meeting to be formally reconvened.  
 
The Decision 
 
Following the appeal meeting the appeal manager may confirm the original decision, revoke the original decision or substitute a different outcome. The decision will be confirmed in writing as soon as possible and usually within 5 working days of the concluded appeal hearing. 
 
This exhausts the internal process meaning there is no further right of appeal.