MAXIMISING ATTENDANCE FRAMEWORK/GUIDANCE
1. Introduction
This guidance applies to all employees and its overall aim is to enable CHS to deliver high quality, cost
effective services by establishing a framework which treats all employees in a fair and consistent way and
provides support and assistance to employees which encourages employee well-being.
This framework places particular emphasis on prevention by requiring managers to identify and address the
causes of absence and by tackling issues at the earliest possible stage. It ensures that managers are aware
of the options open to them when dealing with attendance issues and gives them flexibility to deal with
absence issues in an appropriate way.
CHS is committed to promoting the health, safety and welfare of staff which includes having in place
support mechanisms and procedures to allow staff to come to terms with the consequences of illness,
injury and disease.
2. General
Induction
One of the responsibilities of a manager is to provide an appropriate induction programme for a new
member of their Team. As part of that induction, managers should make their new team member aware of
CHS’:
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Maximising attendance policy and our aim to deliver quality services by maximising and motivating
employee attendance
Procedures for managing sickness absence and the timescales for contact with employees, including,
reporting sickness absence, certification of sickness absence and Occupational Sickness Allowance as
detailed below.
Assistance to improve employee wellbeing and support attendance at work.
Single Equality Act 2010
All sickness absence cases, whether long-term, occasional short-term or frequent short-term may fall under
the Single Equality Act 2010. Accordingly, Managers must ensure that in dealing with particular cases they
comply with the provisions of the Act.
Managers should ensure that they are aware of the details of the legislation. If necessary, specialist advice
on the application of the legislation to particular cases is available from the HR Shared Services.
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Date Approved: 13 February 2012
Date for renewal: 2014
Occupational Sickness Allowance
CHS’ occupational sickness allowance is as follows:
Service at commencement of
absence from work
Full Allowance for:-
Half Allowance for:-
Less than 1 year
1 year but less than 2 years
2 years but less than 3 years
3 years but less than 5 years
5 years or more
5 weeks
9 weeks
18 weeks
22 weeks
26 weeks
5 weeks
9 weeks
18 weeks
22 weeks
26 weeks
Full allowance is a sum equal to full normal pay including any entitlement to statutory sick pay and half
allowance is the sum equal to half normal pay plus any entitlement to statutory sick pay.
Payment of this allowance is subject to an employee not engaging in any activity which will prejudice their
recovery from illness.
Procedure for reporting sickness absence
Employees should personally contact their line manager on the first day of their absence prior to 10.00am
to notify them of their absence with the details and nature of the absence and the possible duration of the
illness.
Further contact should be made on the fourth, seventh and every subsequent 7th day of their absence
(except where the employee and manager agreed a regular contact timescale.
Where an employee is unable to contact their line manager personally due to exceptional circumstances, it
is their responsibility to make arrangements for contact to be made on their behalf.
Certification of sickness absence
Absences of 7 calendar days or less do not require a fit for work note. The employee should complete an
Insert link to form to self-certify their absence.
Absences of more than 7 calendar days require certification by a doctor. The manager should make their
team member aware that they need a certificate if their absence is going to continue beyond 7 days. They
should also complete the statement of sickness [PDF] on the day they return to work.
All sickness, whether self-certified or medically certified, will be accepted as justification for absence. If
exceptionally there are reasonable grounds to suspect that a reported sickness absence is not genuine, the
matter will be dealt with as a disciplinary case.
Employees and managers are encouraged to ensure that all relevant forms and certificates are completed
and submitted timeously. CHS are legally required to ensure that an employee’s absence is appropriately
certificated, medical or self certified, prior to being able to authorise payment of Statutory Sick Pay.
Certificates should be submitted to your Line Manager.
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Date Approved: 13 February 2012
Date for renewal: 2014
2.
Types of Sickness Absence
a)
Long-term Absence
Any period of absence from work because of ill health lasting more than four weeks will be deemed as
long-term sickness. This includes:
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Long-term absence because of a single illness or disability;
Repeated periods of absence arising from a single illness or disability;
Long-term sickness absence will require the submission of Statements of Fitness to Work ('Fit Notes').
Guidance on how to manage long term absence can be found at Appendix 1
b)
Frequent short-term Absences
Frequent short-term absence involves patterns of absence due to minor illnesses that are usually not
connected. Such patterns could vary from a relatively large number of single days of absence, to fewer
occasions of absence involving a loss of up to a week or more, or a mixture of individual days and longer
periods of absence. High levels of this type of absence may indicate problems, which need to be explored
and resolved.
A total of 10 days or more of such absence within a 12-month period will normally lead to discussions
under the terms of the procedures for the management of frequent, short-term absences which are
outlined in Appendix 2.
Frequent short-term absences may be self-certified or covered by a Fit Note.
c)
Occasional short-term Absence
Occasional short-term absences are typically of 3 or fewer occasions totaling no more than 10 days of
sickness absence within a 12 month period. Occasional short-term absences may be self-certified or
covered by a Fit Note.
For somebody who is only away from work on an occasional short-term basis all that will usually be
required is a brief Return to Work Discussion with the line manager. However, it may be that such a
discussion will identify issues, such as those of a newly acquired disability or changed personal
circumstances, which will necessitate action on the part of the CHS and/or the individual. Such action will
be initiated as appropriate.
Guidance on conducting a return to work discussion can be seen at Appendix 3
3.
Maximising Attendance: Roles and Responsibilities
3.1
Managers Responsibilities
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Deal immediately, fairly and sensitively with staff when they are ill as well as provide support and
encourage attendance.
Be fair and consistent in the implementation and application of this policy
Ensure that all staff are given details of how they should report absence and what certification is
required
Complete all absence recording paperwork to ensure an accurate record of an employees
attendance and get details of all employees’ absences and the reasons as well as the anticipated
length of absence
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Date Approved: 13 February 2012
Date for renewal: 2014
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Maintain regular contact with absence employees
Keep all absences under review and monitor trends and patterns, taking appropriate action when
trigger points have been reached
Conduct return to work discussions and attendance review meetings in accordance with the
Maximising Attendance Procedure and Guidance Notes
Consider options to maximise employee attendance and/or facilitate a quicker return to work e.g.
retraining, re-allocation of duties, referral to occupational health or employee assistance
programme.
3.2
Employees’ Responsibilities
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Make all reasonable efforts to attend work
Contact their line manager on their first, fourth, seventh and every subsequent seventh day of
absence (except where the employee and manager agreed a regular contact timescale).
Personally contact their manager to advise of any absence unless exceptional circumstances
prevent this. In this case an employee should make arrangements for contact to be made on their
behalf.
Comply with reporting requirements and, if absent, make sure that their manager is aware of any
outstanding work to ensure minimum disruption to the service.
During periods of absence, take every reasonable opportunity to rehabilitate in as short a time as
possible.
Discuss any factors that may inhibit their attendance to the attention of their manager at the
earliest opportunity.
Be open, where possible, with their manager about the reason for their absence.
Report any potential health risks or incidents in accordance with CHS procedures.
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3.3 Human Resources (HR) Staff
HR staff have a key role in supporting CHS Managers in implementing policies and procedures at
departmental level. HR staff will support managers to:
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3.4
Ensure that the Policy is being fully and correctly implemented and applied;
Provide advice and support to Managers in dealing with individual staff attendance;
Work with Occupational Health, and other appropriate personnel on case management;
Provide guidance and advice to individual staff on managing sickness absence;
Provide training workshops on maximising attendance and the management of sickness absence
for all managers;
Ensure the effectiveness of the procedures by regularly reviewing their impact, and develop them
in line with the review findings, new legislation and examples of best practice.
Provide Managers, management team, Partnership Forums with high-level management
information on the cost and consequences of sickness absence
Specialist Advisory Services
In certain cases specialist advice will be necessary to ensure that CHS is appropriately informed. Specialist
advice will be sought in the following area:
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Health implications of work place issues;
The likely duration or pattern of sickness absence in specific cases;
Advice on the steps to facilitate a return to work;
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Date Approved: 13 February 2012
Date for renewal: 2014
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The ability of the individual to carry out the work in question and reasonable adjustments to work
procedures and practices that might assist the individual;
Ill-health redeployments, early retirements and ill-health terminations.
4.
The Return to Work Discussion
The Return to work Discussion is a key meeting in CHS’ strategy of early intervention in the management of
absence
All staff who have been away from work because of sickness absence must have a Return to Work
Discussion. Ideally the discussion should be held on the first day the person returns to work or as soon as
possible thereafter.
Further guidance on conducting a return to work discussion can be found at Appendix 3.
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Date Approved: 13 February 2012
Date for renewal: 2014
Appendix 1
Managing Long-Term Absence
A key part of the process in managing a person on long-term absence is to ensure that regular contact with
the employee is maintained. The timing and nature of that contact will be appropriate to the situation of
the member of staff and their medical condition. However, it is expected that at no point in the absence
will more than 4 weeks elapse without telephone or personal contact being made with the member of
staff.
The purpose of these contacts is to reassure the member of staff about their job and to enquire about their
welfare. Managers may wish also to provide information (for example on sick pay entitlements), discuss the
likely length of absence and/or enquire as to whether any support can be provided that would assist the
recovery of the individual and facilitate a return to work.
Where the nature of the illness, as well as the duration and outcome of the treatment is fully known, both
parties can plan the return to work as well as focusing on the member of staff's welfare while away from
work. Where the diagnosis is unknown and/or the period of long-term illness uncertain advice can be
sought from Occupational Health Services and other specialists will enable Managers to best manage the
situation and any difficult decisions that may be involved.
The outcome of a long-term sickness absence will be determined on the basis of medical and other
specialist advice and in consultation with the member of staff. The member of staff will have the right to be
accompanied by a staff representative or a work colleague at any meeting he/she attends within this part
of the procedure. If the member of staff is unable to act on her or his own behalf, the CHS will consult with
the person(s) authorised to act for them. Guidance and advice on dealing with long-term illness cases will
be sought from the CHS' legal advisers as necessary.
The outcomes of a long-term sickness absence may include:
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A phased return which can include temporary reduction in responsibility and/or working hours to
allow the person to complete their recovery and/or to enable an assessment to be made of whether
or when the person is able to return to "normal working". Advice will be sought from OH regarding
the appropriateness of a phased return as well as it nature and timescale;
A return to "normal working", in which case the person will undertake the same range of duties and
responsibilities they had before they went on long-term sickness absence;
A return to their previous role but with permanent adjustments in working hours and procedures and
practices to accommodate changes in ability levels. Such adjustments will be made in order to ensure
compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act (1995) as well as the CHS' wider commitments to
equal opportunities and dignity at work;
Redeployment to alternative employment which may involve a change in terms and conditions of
employment;
Termination on the grounds of incapacity because of ill health. In such cases the member of staff may
seek an ill-health retirement pension. However, the decision on whether to award an ill-health
retirement pension rests entirely with the Trustees of the relevant pension fund and the CHS has no
role in deciding the outcome of such applications. A termination on the grounds of incapacity
because of ill health is not dependent upon the award of an ill-health pension.
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Date Approved: 13 February 2012
Date for renewal: 2014
Appendix 2
Managing Frequent Short-Term Absences
All sickness, whether self-certified or covered by a Fit Note, will be accepted as justification for absence. If
exceptionally there are reasonable grounds to suspect that a reported sickness absence is not genuine, the
matter will be dealt with as a disciplinary case.
However, the fact that somebody who is frequently absent with short-term illness is genuinely unwell does
not mean the CHS can allow the situation to continue indefinitely. Frequent, short-term absences are a
particular problem as it is difficult to plan for their impact. The impact may therefore be substantial and can
frequently disrupt the normal operation of a department, having a negative effect on work colleagues,
students and other service users. The following procedures should therefore be followed in the case of
frequent, short-term absence.
Early concerns about the level of an individual's absence should be raised at an appropriate Return to Work
Discussion. Members of staff are frequently unaware of how much absence they have had, and bringing
that to their attention, along with a discussion about factors that may be affecting their health, can lead to
an early and informal resolution of the problem.
Where problems continue the line manager should discuss the matter informally with the member of staff,
and inform them that their level of absence is causing concern. They should again enquire whether there
are any factors affecting the health of the individual that can be addressed by CHS. It is important to let the
member of staff know that if the level of absence continues unchanged a more formal approach to the
management of the issue is likely to be adopted.
Managers should make a note of dates on which informal discussion of this sort have occurred.
Absence Review
Where levels of frequent, short-term absence have failed to reduce following informal management of the
case the appropriate manager, together with the relevant member of the HR Team, will meet with the
member of staff to consider how the problem should be addressed.
The individual may be accompanied by a staff representative or work colleague. The individual will be given
advanced, written notification of the concerns about the level and pattern of absences and wishes to
discuss them at a meeting. Details of the absences will be included in the letter, along with a record of
dates on which the matter has been discussed informally.
The meeting should be supportive and aim to resolve the situation. It will seek to identify the reasons for
the frequent absence, and measures that can be taken by the individual and the CHS to help to overcome
the health or other problem and improve attendance. The CHS may seek advice and guidance from
specialists such as Occupational Health. CHS may also consider variations to working arrangements to
ensure the member of staff's sickness absence record improves.
The member of staff will be sent a written summary of the meeting, an action plan detailing the steps to be
taken by all parties to help improve attendance, and the timescales within which it is it happen. The matter
will be kept under review for a maximum of twelve months.
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Date Approved: 13 February 2012
Date for renewal: 2014
If during the twelve month period there has been a sufficient reduction in the level of frequent short-term
absences to deem the member of staff as having a normal level of attendance, the matter will be closed
and no further action taken.
However, should the level of short-term absence continue at the same level or become more frequent, the
formal stage of the process may be repeated on one occasion (according to the circumstances of the case)
to try and identify and overcome the reasons for the persistence of the problem.
If the level of absence fails to improve CHS may conclude that the member of staff's lack of capability
means that they cannot fulfill their contract of employment and the matter will be addressed through CHS
Capability procedure.
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Date Approved: 13 February 2012
Date for renewal: 2014
Appendix 3
Return to Work Discussions
A Return to Work Discussion must be held for all employees who have been absent due to sickness. Ideally
the discussion should be held on the first day the person returns to work or as soon as possible thereafter.
In all cases the Return to Work Discussion is designed to:
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Ensure that the person is fit to return to work;
Enquire about a member of staff's welfare and discuss related issues;
Ensure that the line manager is aware of any ongoing health issues that need to be taken into
account;
Explain how CHS has defined the employees ill-health absence as either long-term, frequent shortterm or occasional short-term;
Where the issue is one of frequent, short-term absence inform the member of staff of their total
amount of absence in the last 12 months,
Provide an opportunity for the member of staff to raise other, wider issues of concern in a
confidential manner;
Provide an opportunity to brief the member of staff on any changes that have taken place in their
team and CHS while they have been absent.
The time required for the Return to Work Discussion will vary according to the nature of the absence. With
a case of occasional short-term sickness absence the return to work discussion is likely to take only a few
minutes. When a member of staff is returning to work after several months' absence the Return to Work
Discussion may be spread over several days, as there may be a need to discuss, for example, the use of
newly-introduced equipment or work methods. The Return to Work Discussion will normally be held
without the member of staff being accompanied.
However before any return to work discussion, the manager should gather all relevant information
regarding the employee’s absence record and decide under what category of absence you wish to deal with
the case.
Preparing for the discussion
In preparing for a return to work discussion, you should consider:
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Is the member of staff’s absences part of a regular or erratic pattern?
Does the absence precede or follow annual leave?
In which part of the week do their absences occur?
What is the average length of their absences?
What is the reason given for the absence?
Are the reasons varied or is there a pattern?
How does their absence record compare with other staff in the department/section?
This will then help you in deciding how to undertake the meeting and
Conducting the discussion
The structure for the return to work and the matters to be covered are:
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Date Approved: 13 February 2012
Date for renewal: 2014
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Welcome back
Discuss the reason for the absence
Any effects of absence
If relevant any further action including changes to working arrangements
Completion of formalities
Due to the nature of the illness, the time taken for the process will vary from case to case. However, during
the discussion, you should ensure that you give the member of staff every opportunity to discuss any
concerns that they may have with regard to their absence. Do not be judgmental, become over-involved,
make assumptions about their absence, or attempt to give any advice that you are not qualified to give. Be
open-minded and stick to the facts.
a)
Welcome back
Begin the discussion by welcoming back the member of staff. In many cases the primary purpose of the
return to work discussion will be to acknowledge the employees return to work.
In all cases the manager should explain the purpose of the discussion and make it clear that it is routine to
conduct one with all members of staff who are absent due to sickness absence.
b)
Discuss the absence
Having regard to the nature and length of the sickness absence the manager will need to gain information
on the following:
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Whether the member of staff is fit enough to resume their duties
Whether the absence was work related
What steps the member of staff has taken towards their recovery
What preventative measures they are taking to reduce the likelihood of such absence occurring in
the future
Place the absence in the context of any previous absences and, where appropriate, seek an
explanation for any apparent patterns or trends.
These areas should be explored in a caring and concerned manner. The best way to do this is by active
listening i.e. listening carefully to what the person has to say.
c)
Any effects of absence
In cases of persistent absence, managers should take this opportunity to remind the member of staff of the
importance of full attendance whenever possible. Managers should point out the actions the Team had to
take as a result of their absence e.g. working extra hours, employing extra help etc. Discuss any
observations made regarding the employee’s absence e.g. if their absence seems to form a pattern, and
explore ways in which the manager can help the member of staff attend as required.
Remind the employee that they have an obligation to be present at work. Then state that CHS understands
that people are afflicted by events and illness that sometimes prevent them from attending work. Both CHS
and the member of staff need to co-operate to ensure that this contractual obligation is maintained but the
responsibility for absence rests with the member of staff.
d)
Future action
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Date Approved: 13 February 2012
Date for renewal: 2014
The manager should summarise any action that has been agreed should take place e.g. referral to the
Occupational Health Advisor, referral to counseling, changes to working arrangements etc. Managers
should ensure that it is clear who will be taking this action and whether anyone else needs to be involved.
In most cases of occasional short-term absence no further action will need to be taken and accordingly
there will be no need to take notes.
In the case of staff who have been absent for some time managers should brief them on the events that
occurred during their absence and discuss any work that they need to do to catch up.
In a minority of cases further action may be needed which could affect the member of staff’s contractual
relationship with CHS. This could involve taking formal action under the CHS’ procedures for managing
sickness absence and capability. If that is being proposed the member of staff will be notified of the reasons
for taking that course of action.
e)
Completion of formalities
Managers should now complete the Return to Work form and note any future actions agreed.
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Date Approved: 13 February 2012
Date for renewal: 2014
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Date Approved: 13 February 2012
Date for renewal: 2014