Whether they’re planned or unplanned, absences are something that every organisation has to deal with. There’s no getting around the fact that sometimes people have family emergencies or suddenly become unwell and need to take unplanned time off work.
Every company should have a clear absence management policy to reduce the number of unplanned sick days and increase workplace productivity. This is now more important than ever. The 23rd annual CIPD Health and Wellbeing at Work Report reported the highest sickness absence rate in over a decade. The average employee absence rate is now 7.8 days per employee per year.
The experts at Trusted HR have put together this guide with everything you need to know about developing an effective absence management policy for your organisation.
What is absence management?
Absence management refers to how employers handle and support employee absenteeism through workplace policies and procedures. It involves understanding the reasons behind employee absences, especially those that are persistent or long-term, and developing appropriate solutions for all types of absences.
An effective absence management policy should support employees who are absent due to an illness or injury and consider effective sanctions for employees who are persistently absent for unclear or questionable reasons. The latter is critical to support the wider team who often take on more work to cover for absent employees.
How to develop an absence management process or policy
If your organisation does not have an absence management process or you want to improve an existing policy, follow these steps to ensure it’s as effective and comprehensive as possible.
Create clear absence protocols
You should ensure that your company’s absence policy includes clear protocols for reporting planned and unplanned absences. This should include who they should contact, the most appropriate communication channel, and their holiday entitlement.
It should also include a reasonable time window for notifying the organisation that you’ll be absent. This might be booking time off at least a week in advance for a short amount of planned time off. For unplanned absences due to illnesses, this might be ensuring you notify your line manager at least an hour before the start of your shift.
Track all employee absences
As part of your absence management process, you should actively track all long and short-term absences. Analysing the data will help you identify patterns and trends in the data and monitor the effect absence rates have on productivity and performance. It will also allow you to see if your absence policies are working effectively and make improvements to your existing procedures.
Provide training for line managers
Line managers will likely play an important role in managing absences and identifying persistently absent employees. They must be given training on how to handle absences and spot early warning signs, as well as the correct procedures to follow. They should foster a trusting relationship with employees and encourage them to communicate any concerns they may have, such as if their working schedule has become more challenging due to a change in circumstances.
Conduct return-to-work interviews
Your absence management policy should include when a return to work meeting is required. This might be for an unplanned absence over a certain length of time or when an employee has taken a set number of unplanned days off in a specific time frame. Scheduling a meeting on the first day an employee returns to work is crucial to ensure that any necessary accommodations can be made.
It’s also important to discuss the reasons for the absence or series of absences so the organisation can identify if there are likely to be further periods of absence, for example, if the employee is likely to be off sick for a long time. Discussing the reasons for unplanned absences can also help identify any illegitimate absences.
Manage long-term absences
A long-term sickness is usually defined as one that lasts four weeks or more. Such absences can be difficult to manage, as the longer someone is off work, the more challenging it can be for them to return. Employers should keep in touch with employees off on a long-term absence, where appropriate, and have a formal return to work strategy in place. There should be a case management approach to long-term absences involving line managers and occupational health.
Organisations should be aware of disability discrimination and treat absences that stem from disability as separate from sickness absences.
Provide workplace health services
If an employee’s long-term sickness has started to affect their ability to attend work full time or for a full day, you should look into occupational health services and employee assistance programmes (EAPs). These services aim to support employees with their return to work.
Consider flexible or alternative working arrangements
It’s important to consider all avenues when it comes to getting employees who have been off on long-term sick leave to return to work. This might include making their working hours more flexible or allowing them to work from home all or part of the time.
Take any necessary disciplinary actions
If it’s clear that any employee has breached terms set out in absence policies and support has been provided, then disciplinary action might need to be taken to address the issue. You should ensure you give the employee fair warning of the consequences of their actions, strictly follow procedures and comply with the Equality Act regarding disabled employees.
However, if you’re dealing with a persistently absent employee, you should consider hiring an HR consultant to oversee the process. They’ll be able to offer you advice and recommend how you should best proceed to protect your organisation from claims of unfair dismissal or workplace discrimination.
Absence management services by Trusted HR
If your organisation is struggling with high absenteeism rates, our team of HR consultants are here to help. We can offer email, telephone, video call, or on-site support to assist your line managers in meeting your organisation’s ideal outcome.
Trusted HR can help you develop effective policies and procedures to limit the negative consequences of high levels of absence. Our team members are fully qualified, up to CIPD Level 7, actively keep up to date with all legislation changes, and can help you manage your case to its successful conclusion. We offer ad hoc HR consultancy and three levels of retainer HR support, depending on your organisation’s needs.
We can:
- Create clear and comprehensive absence policies tailored to your organisation.
- Monitor unplanned absences leave to track ‘trigger points’ and advise on potential issues before they occur and assist with all aspects of paid time off and annual leave.
- Offer support and guidance if you have employees on long-term sickness absences, including advice on return-to-work interviews, phased returns and flexible working hours.
- Assist you with taking necessary disciplinary action and following the correct legal process to avoid discrimination or unfair dismissal claims.
Request a consultation to learn more about how creating an absence management process can help your organisation. Trusted HR offers a free, 60-minute, no-obligation consultation on any HR issue, including absence management, to help you take the first step.
