Sickness Absence Management: Employer's Guide

Sickness absence costs UK businesses billions annually. Effective management balances supporting employees with protecting your business.

The Challenge

Balancing Interests

• Employee welfare and recovery
• Business operational needs
• Legal obligations
• Team impact
• Costs

Key Principles

• Support genuine illness
• Apply policies fairly
• Be consistent
• Document everything
• Know when to escalate

Absence Policy

Why You Need One

Clear policy:

• Sets expectations
• Ensures consistency
• Provides framework
• Protects you legally

What to Include

Notification:

• Who to contact
• When (time and method)
• What information to provide
• Daily updates or agreed intervals

Evidence:

• Self-certification (first 7 days)
• Fit note (from day 8)
• What to submit and when

Sick pay:

• SSP entitlement
• Company sick pay (if any)
• How it's calculated
• Conditions and limits

Return to work:

• Who conducts interviews
• What's discussed
• Phased return options

Monitoring:

• How absence is tracked
• Trigger points
• What happens at triggers

Long-term absence:

• Definition (e.g., 4 weeks+)
• Welfare contact
• Occupational health
• Review process

Notification Procedures

Employee Responsibilities

Should notify:

• Before start time (or as soon as possible)
• By phone (not text, unless agreed)
• To specified person
• Reason and expected duration
• Daily updates (or as agreed)

Fit Notes

From day 8:

• GP provides fit note
• "Fit for work" or "may be fit for work"
• Or "not fit for work"
• With suggested adjustments

Responding to Fit Notes

"May be fit for work":

• Consider suggested adjustments
• Discuss with employee
• Implement if reasonable
• If can't accommodate, treat as "not fit"

Monitoring Absence

Why Monitor

• Identify patterns
• Spot concerns early
• Apply policy fairly
• Plan resources
• Evidence for decisions

What to Track

• Frequency (number of absences)
• Duration (total days)
• Patterns (e.g., Mondays, after holidays)
• Reasons (categories)
• Trends over time

Trigger Points

Common approaches:

• Bradford Factor
• Number of episodes (e.g., 3 in 6 months)
• Total days (e.g., 10 days in 12 months)
• Combination

Bradford Factor: Episodes² × Total days = Score

Weighs frequent short absences higher than single long absence.

At Trigger Point

• Review the absence
• Meet with employee
• Understand reasons
• Consider support
• Warn about ongoing monitoring
• Document

Return to Work Interviews

Purpose

• Welcome employee back
• Confirm fit to work
• Understand absence
• Identify support needs
• Maintain contact

What to Cover

1. Welcome back
2. How are they feeling?
3. What was the reason for absence?
4. Are they fully recovered?
5. Any work-related factors?
6. Any adjustments needed?
7. Update on what they missed
8. Check understanding of policy

Documentation

Record:

• Date and attendees
• Reason for absence
• Fitness to return
• Any adjustments agreed
• Follow-up needed
• Signed by both

Who Conducts

Usually line manager:

• Knows the employee
• Understands the role
• Can arrange adjustments
• HR support if sensitive

Managing Short-Term Absence

Definition

Usually: Individual absences under 4 weeks.

Approach

Stage 1: Informal

• Return to work interviews
• Support offered
• Pattern identified

Stage 2: First formal review

• If triggers hit
• Formal meeting
• Set improvement targets
• Review period

Stage 3: Final review

• If no improvement
• Final warning
• Consider dismissal if no improvement

Common Patterns

Monday/Friday absences:

• May indicate underlying issue
• Or poor engagement
• Discuss sensitively

Post-holiday absence:

• Pattern worth noting
• May have explanation
• Address directly

Repeated short periods:

• Could indicate chronic condition
• May need OH referral
• Consider if disability-related

Managing Long-Term Absence

Definition

Usually: Continuous absence over 4 weeks.

Key Steps

Week 1-4:

• Regular welfare contact
• Establish communication preferences
• Ensure SSP/sick pay processed

Week 4+:

• Consider OH referral
• More detailed welfare contact
• Explore likely duration
• Start planning

Ongoing:

• Regular reviews
• Updated medical evidence
• Consider adjustments
• Explore alternatives
• Document throughout

Welfare Contact

• Regular but not intrusive
• Genuine concern
• Not pressure to return
• Ask about needs
• Document conversations

Occupational Health

Referral when:

• Absence exceeds 4 weeks
• Condition unclear
• Adjustments may help
• Planning return
• Considering dismissal

Ask OH:

• Nature of condition
• Likely duration
• Return prognosis
• Possible adjustments
• Fitness for role/alternatives

Absence and Disability

When to Consider

Long-term or recurring absence may indicate disability:

• Physical or mental impairment
• Substantial adverse effect
• On normal day-to-day activities
• Long-term (12 months+)

Implications

If disabled:

• Can't discriminate because of disability
• Must make reasonable adjustments
• Discounting disability-related absence
• May need to adjust triggers

Adjustments to Absence Management

• Longer review periods
• Higher trigger thresholds
• More support
• Alternative duties
• Phased return

Phased Returns

When to Use

• Recovery from serious illness
• Building stamina gradually
• Testing fitness
• Easing back in

How to Structure

• Agree duration (e.g., 4 weeks)
• Gradually increase hours
• Modified duties if needed
• Regular check-ins
• Clear end point

Pay During Phased Return

Options:

• Full pay (best practice)
• Pay for hours worked
• SSP for "not fit" element
• Depends on your policy

Suspected Abuse

Warning Signs

• Patterns (days of week, around events)
• Social media activity
• Reports from colleagues
• Reluctance to provide evidence
• Working elsewhere

Approach

• Don't accuse without evidence
• Investigate properly
• Could be disciplinary matter
• But ensure genuine illness not dismissed
• Follow procedures

Investigation

• Gather facts
• May need formal investigation
• Employee should be informed
• May need OH input
• Fair process essential

Grievances About Absence Management

Common Complaints

• Unfair treatment
• Disability discrimination
• Harassment about absence
• Unreasonable targets

Handling

• Take seriously
• Investigate properly
• Don't treat as troublemaking
• May pause absence process
• Or proceed in parallel

Documentation

What to Keep

• Absence records
• Fit notes
• Return to work interview notes
• Meeting records
• OH reports
• Correspondence
• Decision rationale

Retention

• Duration of employment plus 6 years
• Or longer if ongoing claim
• GDPR considerations

Checklist

Policy

• Clear absence policy in place
• Notification procedure specified
• Fit note requirements
• Sick pay entitlement explained
• Trigger points defined
• Process documented
• Communicated to all staff

Day-to-Day Management

• Absence tracked consistently
• Return to work interviews conducted
• Patterns identified and addressed
• Support offered
• Documentation maintained

Long-Term Absence

• Regular welfare contact
• OH referral when appropriate
• Medical evidence obtained
• Adjustments considered
• Return planned properly
• Decisions documented