Attendance Management Meetings This guidance should be read in conjunction with the Attendance Management Policy – see section on ‘Attendance management meetings’. It should also be considered alongside other relevant university policies, processes and guidance eg • Notification of sickness absence procedure • Disability-related absence • Procedures for Handling Incapability on the Grounds of Ill-health • Stress at Work • Alcohol and Substance Misuse Policy This guidance covers the following: 1. When to hold an Attendance Management Meeting (AMM) .............................................. 1 2. Preparing for an AMM .......................................................................................................... 1 3. What to consider at the AMM .............................................................................................. 2 4. Issuing a warning for unsatisfactory attendance .............................................................. 2 5. Issuing a warning for disability-related absence .............................................................. 3 6. Confirming the outcome of the AMM ................................................................................. 3 7. Appealing against a warning ............................................................................................... 4 1. When to hold an Attendance Management Meeting (AMM)

1.1 Employees who have returned to work following a period of absence and have reached a

trigger point under the university’s Attendance Management Policy will be invited to an Attendance Management Meeting (AMM) with their manager within two weeks of their return to work in accordance with the Attendance Management Policy. They have a right to be accompanied at this meeting if they wish by a trade union representative or a work colleague.

1.2 The employee should receive reasonable notice of the AMM, usually a minimum of three working days’ notice. Employees should be invited to the AMM using the template letter: Invite to an AMM available on the intranet.

1.3 An AMM should only take place once an employee has returned to work following absence. 2. Preparing for an AMM 2.1 The manager should prepare for the AMM by considering the employee’s absence record

over the preceding 12 months, the stated reasons for absence, any discernible patterns of absence eg persistent absenteeism on Mondays or Fridays; during school holidays, etc. If a pattern is identified, the manager should put their observations to the employee directly at the AMM so that the employee has the opportunity to provide an explanation. The manager

November 2016 Revised June 2016

should, however, remain open-minded and not jump to any hasty conclusions about the employee's absences.

2.2 The manager should ensure they have the completed return to work discussion forms for each employee absence under consideration at the AMM, and a blank copy of the AMM form for completion at the meeting.

2.3 The manager should check the employee’s employment record to see if there are any live

warnings on file eg for misconduct or poor performance.

3. What to consider at the AMM 3.1 The manager should try to establish, through investigation and discussion with the employee,

the underlying reasons for frequent absences. Until the underlying cause is identified, an appropriate and effective remedy will be impossible to identify.

3.2 Check whether or not absences are in part because of personal or family problems. If this is the case, tolerance and sympathy should be shown towards the employee, as the problems may be unavoidable. The manager should be supportive, while at the same time explaining clearly to the employee that continuing frequent absences from work are unacceptable.

3.3 Check whether the employee's absences are work related, for example as a result of

workplace stress. If the problem is work related, the manager should take prompt steps to remove or reduce the factor that is causing the employee's problem.

3.4 Seek medical advice, if appropriate, to determine whether there is any underlying medical

cause for the employee's frequent absences.

3.5 A checklist of what to discuss and points to consider at the AMM is contained in the AMM form.

3.6 If an employee has been invited to an AMM and before the meeting takes place the employee has a further absence, this absence will also be considered at the AMM. They should be advised about this as part of the return to work discussion following that further absence.

4. Issuing a warning for unsatisfactory attendance 4.1 In accordance with the Attendance Management Policy, a formal warning will normally be

issued unless there is a compelling reason why this would be inappropriate. The purpose of the warning is to notify the employee that their absence is a cause for concern and that a failure to improve their attendance may lead to a further warning or further formal action.

4.2 Exceptionally, if the manager is concerned at the frequency of an employee’s absence, or

their account of their reasons for absence, the manager may withdraw the employee’s ability to self-certify their absence alongside a formal warning. It is expected that such cases will be rare. See the Notification of sickness absence procedure for more information.

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When is it not appropriate to issue a warning?

4.3 If the employee’s absence is pregnancy-related a warning must not be issued.

4.4 If the reason for an employee’s absence is because of a bereavement, eg following a period of compassionate leave the employee has taken a period of certified sickness absence linked to the bereavement, it will not normally be appropriate to issue a warning in these circumstances. This is because the reason for the absence is clearly as a result of an unavoidable and distressing life event and it is unlikely to be part of a repeated pattern of absence, particularly where the employee’s attendance is generally satisfactory.

4.5 There may also be cases where an employee has triggered because of absence (eg long

term absence) following a serious but isolated event or health condition where the absence is not part of an overall pattern of poor attendance or likely to recur in the future. An example might be where an employee who otherwise has an excellent attendance record has suffered a heart attack or been diagnosed with cancer for which time off for medical treatment and convalescence was necessary. In these cases, the manager might decide that issuing a warning is inappropriate because the employee is in recovery and, with appropriate support and adjustments in place where needed, there is no expectation that their attendance will continue to be impacted by the health condition that caused their absence.

4.6 If managers are unsure, they should discuss the facts of the case with HR before

communicating a decision to the employee.

4.7 For the avoidance of doubt, where a manager decides it is inappropriate to issue a warning in respect of a period of absence, this does not mean that the particular absence is discounted for future purposes, including for future trigger accrual purposes (with the exception of pregnancy-related absence which must be discounted) and this should be clearly communicated to the employee eg during the meeting and/or when confirming the outcome of the meeting.

5. Issuing a warning for disability-related absence

If an employee’s absence is because of a disability, the manager must refer to the separate guidance on Disability-related absence and must discuss the circumstances with HR before any decision on whether to issue a warning is taken.

6. Confirming the outcome of the AMM 6.1 Managers should write to the employee to advise them of the outcome of the AMM, including

any agreed actions, normally within five working days of the AMM. Template outcome letters are available from HR.

6.2 If the manager is unable to make a decision at the time of the AMM eg because the manager

wishes to discuss the matter with HR and/or seek a view from occupational health, the employee should be advised of the reasons for the delay. The employee should be notified of the outcome as soon as reasonably possible and without undue delay.

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7. Appealing against a warning

An employee may appeal against the issuing of a formal warning in accordance with the Attendance Management Policy.

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