Written by Paul Ball, employment partner at Gateley Legal
An estimated 149.3 million working days were lost because of sickness or injury in the UK according to the most recent annual figures from the ONS, equivalent to 4.6 days per worker a year.
Managing ill health and sickness absences can be a challenging issue for employers to deal with which can cause business disruption and have a detrimental impact on team performance and motivation. Here, we explore the issues and common questions we often receive from clients when dealing with the subject of short-term sickness absence.
Do we need a sickness absence policy?
Having a clear and effective policy in the workplace for managing sickness absence, to include the trigger points and the reporting procedures for employees to follow when they are absent, is important. This provides guidance not only for the employees but managers too and their role in dealing with an employee who is sick.
The policy will often set out evidence of incapacity, the reporting procedures (i.e. the timing of when to inform the employer of an absence and who to inform), entitlement to pay and the processes for when matters do not improve and/or turn into either a long term absence or ongoing persistent absences – such as a disciplinary or capability procedure which could result in dismissal.
What to do when an employee calls in sick?
Employees who call in sick should be treated in a sympathetic way. However, it will be important to ensure that you have sufficient information in relation to how long the absence is likely to last. Whoever is speaking to the individual shouldn’t be afraid to ask when the employee is likely to be able to return to work.
What is the employee entitled to during short-term absences?
An employee is entitled to receive at least Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) when they are unfit to work for at least four days in a row (including non-working days) subject to following certain notification requirements.
The weekly rate for SSP changes each April and it is, at present, £99.35 per week for up to a maximum of 28 weeks. SSP is paid for the days an employee normally works – called ‘qualifying days’.
Employees may be entitled to contractual sick pay which is more generous than SSP. The details of this will be in the employee’s contract or the absence policy.
What level of contact is expected during short term absences?
Reporting procedures are often set out in sickness absence policies, but for short-term absences the onus is on the employee to update the employer as to when they will be off sick and their likely date of return.
In exceptional cases, there may be a risk that making contact too often with the employee could amount to disability harassment (if they have a disability) so a balanced approach should be taken to avoid being intrusive. This will also avoid the employee feeling pressurised to return to work before they have fully recovered, while also ensuring that the employer is keeping in contact with the employee to support them and make them feel included even though they aren’t at work.
What action can I take with problematic absences?
As managers monitor persistent absences, they may notice some employees’ absences forming a particular pattern of concern e.g. just before a monthly deadline, the day after a public holiday or consecutive Mondays.
If a pattern becomes apparent it should be addressed at an early stage to make sure that the absences are genuinely due to sickness or whether there are other reasons behind the absences.
It may help to highlight the impact their persistent absences are having on the team and the business.
These points can be addressed by way of an informal return to work meeting which investigates the reasons behind the absences and these meetings should always be documented.
What steps can I take if attendance does not improve?
If there are unacceptable levels of absence an attendance target may be set, and a review period agreed.
If targets are not met, warnings may be issued with additional meetings which may eventually lead to dismissal.
The sickness absence policy may include guidance on the formal procedure. The appropriate level of action will always depend on the specific circumstances and nature of the absences.
What are the potential risks of challenging employee absence?
There should be a reasonable investigation into the reasons for the absence which may include obtaining medical evidence. If the absences are due to a long-term underlying health condition the employee may be able to claim protection as a disabled person under the Equality Act 2010.
Other discrimination claims may also be brought if the absences are linked to pregnancy, age or any other protected characteristic.
The management of the absence should always be proportionate to achieving the aim of improving the employee’s attendance.
It is worth noting when it comes to dismissal due to persistent absences, employees with two years’ service or more can bring a claim for unfair dismissal so it will be important to show a fair process has been followed and the decision to dismiss was reasonable in the particular circumstances.