management of absence policy - servest uk€¦ · page 4 of 11 7. recording employee absence...

2016

Pip Murfitt

[Company name]

1/1/2016

Management of Absence Policy

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Contents

1. Introduction ................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.

2. Types of Absence ......................................................................................................... 2

3. Statutory Time Off........................................................................................................ 2

4. Special Leave ................................................................................................................ 3

5. Compassionate Leave and Bereavement ..................................................................... 3

6. Annual Holidays ........................................................................................................... 3

7. Recording Employee Absence ...................................................................................... 4

8. Return to Work Interview ............................................................................................ 4

9. Frequent Absence ........................................................................................................ 4

10. Long Term Absence .................................................................................................. 6

11. Termination of Employment on Ill-Health Grounds ................................................. 7

12. Long Term Absence Workflow ................................................................................. 8

13. Unauthorised Absence ........................................................................................... 10

14. Appendix 1 Statutory Time Off .............................................................................. 11

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1. Introduction

It is estimated that about one million employees are absent from work every day in the UK which is costing UK companies approximately £6 billion per year. Whilst it is difficult to estimate accurately the cost of absence to Servest Group Limited, it is likely to be hundreds of thousands of pounds per year. The following procedures will enable the Company to measure the reasons and cost of absence and subsequently manage the problem effectively.

2. Types of Absence The following are the types of absence which may be referred to in this guide:

Statutory time off Jury service Special leave Compassionate leave Annual holidays Sickness absence Unauthorised absence

3. Statutory Time Off The circumstances which may constitute a reason for statutory time off are listed at Appendix 1. Requests for statutory time off should be made by the employee in writing to their line manager. The expected period of absence and full details of the purpose for which time off is required must be specified and any supporting evidence (where available) should be supplied. The line manager must consider the request in conjunction with the HR Team having regard to the individual’s eligibility, the relevance of the request and the needs of the Company. The employee should be informed whether their request has been approved or not approved and a copy of the decision should be kept on the employee’s personal file. Where the employee disputes the decision the Company’s grievance procedure should be used. Jury service Where an employee is called up for jury service they should inform their line manager and produce the summons. The line manager should take a copy of the summons and keep it on the employee’s personnel file. The employee will suffer no loss of earnings provided that:

a) he/she agrees to reimburse to the Company all compensation for loss of earnings

received from the Court b) he/she returns to work on those days that he/she reports for jury service but is not

called upon to serve

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4. Special Leave Time off may be granted at the Company’s discretion for special leave which covers:

Military reservist training and service Study leave Medical appointments Religious holidays

In all of the above situations the employee should contact his/her line manager who will then liaise with the HR Team and make a decision. All leave in such circumstances will be unpaid and any evidence for the leave should be kept on the employee’s personnel file.

5. Compassionate Leave and Bereavement Employees should contact their line manager as soon as possible if they need to take compassionate leave. The employee should endeavour to give as much notice as possible. If, due to emergency circumstances, the employee is unable to seek permission for compassionate leave prior to the start of his/her absence, he or she should verbally inform his or her line manager of the circumstances and the expected duration of his/her absence. All leave in such circumstances should be taken as annual holiday entitlement or will be unpaid. In the case of bereavement involving an employee’s immediate relative, next of kin or dependant, paid leave of absence will be granted to the employee for the day of the funeral. For other funerals employees must obtain permission from their line manager for unpaid leave or holiday.

6. Annual Holidays All employees are to agree annual leave with their immediate line manager by submitting a holiday request form at least two weeks in advance of the holiday being taken. Holiday leave must be taken in the holiday year. Holidays not taken in the current holiday year will not be carried over to the next holiday year, nor will payments in lieu be made. Sickness Absence In order to evaluate the current levels of sickness absence an effective method of monitoring is essential.

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7. Recording Employee Absence Absence should be recorded on the monthly absence sheet. It is the responsibility of the Site Manager to forward a copy of the monthly absence sheet to the payroll department. Close monitoring and recording can also highlight those individuals who are approaching long-term sickness absence (i.e. a period of continuous absence of four weeks or more) and those who take frequent short or mid-length periods of absence. Information on absence can also be recorded on the ‘Return to Work’ interview form. All absences must be reported and a ‘Return to Work’ interview completed. At the ‘Return to Work’ interview it may be necessary to set expectations regarding level of absence.

8. Return to Work Interview The appropriate manager or supervisor should conduct a ‘Return to Work’ interview with every individual following a period of sickness absence. The discussion should cover the following:

The completed company self-certification form Their reasons for absence and any concerns you or the employee might have Whether the employee is fit to return to work

The discussion is an important tool in controlling absence and it demonstrates to staff that they will need to account for their absence and, more importantly, that the company considers absence through sickness a serious issue. The discussion is also a mechanism for identifying and implementing appropriate supportive measures.

9. Frequent Absence In order to manage levels of absence and to demonstrate to staff that excessive absence levels are not acceptable we need to control absence.

If an employee hits the “trigger points” below, the line manager must review the case and decide whether there is an underlying health reason (in which case the long-term sick guide should be followed), whether there is an acceptable reason for the absence or whether it is appropriate to follow the absence review procedure. The table overleaf shows trigger points, incidents’ processes and actions.

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Frequent absence trigger points

Incident

Process

Action

Trigger Point

Absence RTW Interview

ROC/Counselling – Advise of Trigger Points

Trigger Point

3 separate spells of absence OR 2 spells totalling 6 days or more during a rolling 6 month period

RTW Interview

First Written Caution issued OR Absence Meeting arranged to discuss underlying health issues

Trigger Point

3 separate spells of absence OR 2 spells totalling 6 days or more during a rolling 6 month period

RTW Interview

Final Written Caution issued. Escalate to next stage if necessary. Next stage: dismissal

All documents can be found on the Company intranet, the Hub. Following a First Written Caution or Final Written Caution the next stage of the procedure is invoked where the employee has:

6 or more absences in a rolling 6 month period; or

3 absences totalling 6 days or more in a rolling 6 month period

At each stage the employee’s ‘live’ Caution record must be considered and an improvement plan agreed and implemented in every case following further absence. After a final written warning, the employee’s contract may be terminated on notice.

At all stages the Company’s Absence Procedure must be followed.

NOTE - if at any stage of the process an underlying health reason is identified which is the cause of the majority of all absences you should consult with the HR Team and follow the Long Term Absence procedure. Absences are recorded on the basis of working days.

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10. Long Term Absence Any employee who has been absent from work due to illness for 28 days’ continuous absence or more is defined as being on ‘Long Term Absence’.

The employee should be contacted as regularly as deemed necessary. However, for long term sick cases, good practice is contact at least once a week. The employee must keep in contact with his or her line manager. If necessary, this may be through an appropriate intermediary. An employee who does not maintain this contact may be subject to action under the Company’s disciplinary procedure.

The Company should hold welfare meetings, either inviting the employee to the workplace or agreeing a mutually convenient place.

Once the employee has been absent for 28 days a welfare meeting should be arranged at which the employee will be told that it is Company policy to approach their GP or Occupational Health Therapist for a medical report. They should be given the opportunity to read the ‘Access to Medical Records Act’ information. This explains the rights the individual has in relation to having access to a medical report which could be supplied to the employer. The employee must sign a consent form before their GP is approached.

If the employee has a history or pattern of illness, it may be beneficial to consider requesting medical support at an earlier stage. Please refer to your HR Team in such circumstances.

If a meeting has not been possible with the employee a letter should be sent to ask for consent to access their medical records.

The Company should explain to the employee that they need to request permission to approach their GP for the medical report which will provide professional advice on when/whether they will be fit to return to the job they were doing. If they refuse, any decision subsequently taken regarding their employment can only be made on the information already held and it is therefore in their best interests to give their consent.

Once the consent form has been signed, a letter can then be forwarded to their GP attached to the consent form. The response will be forwarded to the HR Team.

Once the medical report has been returned to the HR Team, the information provided will be discussed with the Line Manager and, where appropriate the Company’s Health and Safety Manager, who will then consider the options available. Where there is reasonable doubt about the nature of the illness or injury, the employee should be written to and asked if he or she would agree to be examined by a doctor appointed by the Company. Please note: if this is the case, please do not take any action unless discussed and agreed with the Line Manager, HR Team, and, where relevant the Company’s Health and Safety Manager first. If an employee refuses to co-operate in providing medical evidence or undergoing an independent medical examination, the employee will be told in writing that a decision will be taken on the basis of the information available and that it could result in the termination of their employment.

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Following receipt of an employee’s medical report you should write to the employee to arrange a welfare meeting to discuss the report’s contents. The meeting should clarify the position. A potential outcome may be that certain changes or adjustments are made to the employee’s role and, if so, a letter should be sent confirming the changes. An alternative outcome may be that the employee’s employment may have to be terminated on ill health grounds (see below). This action should only be taken on the advice of your HR Team.

11. Termination of Employment on Ill-Health Grounds

Where the employee’s job can no longer be kept open and no suitable alternative work is available (if appropriate), and following consideration of reasonable adjustments, the decision may be taken on operational grounds to terminate the employee’s employment for ill-health reasons.

Before termination action is taken, the employee should be invited by letter to attend a formal meeting. At the meeting full reasons should be provided for the action which is to be taken. No termination should occur before this meeting has taken place. The employee will be entitled to receive:

Relevant period of notice at full pay A letter giving full reasons for the termination of employment The right to appeal, in writing, within seven days of receipt of the letter

Before a decision to dismiss on ill-health grounds is taken, always ensure that you have the authorisation of the relevant Manager, HR Team and, where appropriate, the Company’s Health and Safety Manager. Prior to any dismissal, consideration should be given to making reasonable adjustments for individuals covered by the Disability Discrimination Act 1998. This must be done in conjunction with the HR Team.

Consideration should also be given to the possibility of the employee taking retirement on the grounds of ill-health for those employees who meet the criteria. You should refer to your HR Team in such circumstances. A letter must be sent to the employee confirming the termination of their employment on grounds of ill health.

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12. Long Term Absence Workflow

This table explains the process which will normally be followed to manage long term absences.

Timing Action By Whom Details

1-4 weeks Short term absence

notification process

needs to be followed

Employee/Line

Manager

The first 7 days the employee is required to

follow the short term absence procedure.

After this time, a GP Fit Note is required.

At 4 weeks Phone call or

meeting on site with

Line Manager

Line Manager During this meeting a return to work

strategy/absence management strategy

should be agreed. If no immediate return

planned, permission will be requested from

the employee to obtain a GP report and

further ongoing medical reports as

required. Reasonable

adjustments/alternative employment will be

considered.

At 6 weeks Phone call from Line

Manager

Line Manager Telephone discussion regarding current

capability to attend work and ongoing

prognosis.

At 8 weeks

Phone call from Line

Manager. If relevant

following GP report,

employee will be

invited to an

Occupational Health

appointment

Line Manager/

Occupational

Health

Same as 6 weeks plus Occupational Health

referral (if appropriate)

At 10 weeks Phone call from Line

Manager

Line Manager Same as 6 weeks

At 12 weeks

Invited to a formal

meeting on site

Line Manager A formal meeting will be held to discuss

current ability to attend work. At this

meeting a back to work strategy will be

discussed, the meeting may result in a First

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Written Caution. A further GP report will be

requested.

At 14, 16, 18

weeks


Manager


At 20 weeks

Invited to a formal

meeting on site


current ability to attend work. At this

meeting a back to work strategy will be

discussed if relevant. The meeting may result

in a Final Written Caution. Refer to

Occupational Health regarding prognosis for

return to work

At 22, 24

weeks


Manager


26 weeks

mention

possible

termination

of

employment

based on

fresh medical

evidence

Invited to a formal

meeting


ability to attend work. At this point the

decision needs to be made whether the

employee will return to work. If the

employee remains unable to return to work,

based on OH information, the line manager

may decide to terminate the employee’s

contract on the grounds of ill-health

In extenuating circumstances a home visit will be arranged.

All documents can be found on The Hub, the Company intranet.

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13. Unauthorised Absence AWOL

All documents can be found on The Hub, the Company’s intranet.

Manager notifies HR of absence without leave

AWOL letter sent to employees with 2 years’

service and over

HR checks employee start date and length of service

9 days to complete process

No contact within 4 days AWOL letter being sent,

termination letter (under 1 year) to be sent

No contact within 4 days of the AWOL letter being sent, chase letter to be

sent

AWOL letter (under 2yrs) sent to employees with under a year’s service

5 days to complete process

No contact within 4 days of the chase letter being sent,

termination letter to be sent

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14. Appendix 1 Statutory Time Off

1. Servest does not have any agreements with Trade unions. However duties or training officials of independent trade unions recognised at a specific site by Servest have the right to take reasonable time off to attend to appropriate industrial relations duties and to undergo training for those duties. Always consult your HR Team as to whether a union is recognised for these purposes.

2. Trade union activities – members of independent trade unions recognised by Servest are

entitled to take reasonable unpaid time off work to take part in the activities of their union. Again seek advice from your HR Team.

3. Safety representatives – accredited safety representatives have the right to take paid time

off as necessary to carry out their duties and to undergo training, as have other elected representatives where there is no trade union representation.

4. Elected employee representatives – employees who are elected by their colleagues to take

part in the consultation process in a collective redundancy or TUPE transfer situation are entitled to paid time off to carry out their duties and to undergo training.

5. Public duties – employees who hold certain public offices are entitled to reasonable unpaid

time off for these purposes.

6. Disciplinary or grievance hearings – a worker, who may be a colleague, a full-time or lay trade union officer or a workplace representative, is entitled to take reasonable paid time off work to accompany a colleague at a disciplinary or grievance hearing and to confer with the worker before and after the hearing.

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