Basingstoke & North Hampshire NHS Foundation Trust Initial Equality Impact Assessment Screening Template

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1 PART 1 WORK DESCRIPTION: TO BE COMPLETED BY LEAD PERSON What is the name of this Function/Policy, Procedure/Facility? Who is the owner of this Function/Policy/Procedure/ Facility? Tell us about this area of work. What this aims to do, who is intended to benefit from it, who will deliver it, how it will be delivered and what are the outputs and likely outcomes Sickness Absence Management Policy Julia White, HR Policy and Projects Officer This policy: Sets out the rights and responsibilities of line managers and employees for the management of sickness. Outlines the procedure to be followed in order to support employees when they are unable to work as a result of sickness Ensures managers provide an effective, consistent and fair procedure to enable them to manage employees sickness and to support and facilitate their return to work. This policy is applicable to all employees of the Trust who have periods of sickness absence or require support for underlying illnesses. The responsibility for monitoring and reviewing this policy, including provision of training and guidance material to support line managers in the management of sickness, rests with the Head of Human Resources. The delivery of the policy depends on line managers supporting employee attendance and wellbeing by meeting with them and, when necessary, referring them to the Health 4 Work department for assessment and support. Delivery also depends on Human Resources to provide detailed reports to divisions incorporating both divisional and departmental sickness absence Page 1 of 7

2 Does this piece of work result in any of the following? (Tick all that apply). spreadsheets, to highlight levels of sickness within their departments, provided on a monthly basis. Written information being provided to staff, patients or public either in paper or electronic format. People contacting the Trust by telephone. People visiting or staying at Trust premises, or other premises arranged by the Trust (e.g. for conferences). A service being delivered to staff/patients/public at set days/times each week. Staff being required to wear a uniform or adhere to a dress code. Trust staff holding face to face meetings with people. The Trust or its contracting organisations providing food for internal or external meetings. Do contractors carry out this piece of work either partly or wholly? Do other public bodies or other agencies carry out this work either partly or wholly? Have you already consulted with Consultation with various Trust groups including the HR Policies Group, the Page 2 of 7

3 people about this work? If yes, briefly describe in the adjacent column what you did, with whom, when and where, a summary of the responses gained and any actions already taken as a result. (Please state here if you are appending any material). Does this area of work depend on the outputs of any other Trust activities? Human Resources Department, the Staff Side unions, Trust Consultative Committee, Divisional Boards, the Local Counter Fraud Officer and the BMA through the Local Negotiating committee. As a result of these meetings the policy is more robust and will ensure employees and line managers are made aware of their responsibilities with regard to sickness absence. The policy was consulted on during the Divisional Boards in April 2011 prior to the policy being presented to the Trust s Executive Committee in June This policy does not depend on the formal outputs of other trust activities. However, it is recognised that a percentage of staff sickness can be caused by being at work, whether caused by infection, physical injury or work-related stress. If yes, describe in the adjacent column. Page 3 of 7

4 PART 2 IMPACT IDENTIFICATION AND EVIDENCE: TO BE COMPLETED BY LEAD PERSON. Have you already identified any areas of this work where there is an impact. What evidence do you have for this? (Staff/Patients/Public). Please complete the following: GROUND RACE PEOPLE/ISSUES TO CONSIDER IMPACT ON People from the various racial groups e.g. as contained within the census IMPACT FOUND AND EVIDENCE SOURCE. This policy aims to ensure that all employees treated fairly and consistently. Clause 4.1 of this policy states: This policy and procedure will be applied fairly and consistently to all employees regardless of their protected characteristics as defined by the Equality Act 2010 namely, age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, length of service, whether full or part-time or employed under a permanent or a fixed-term contract. AGE Young, old and middle aged people. Clause 6.4 of the policy states that a responsibility of Page 4 of 7

5 GENDER Men, Women, Married People, Transsexual / Transgender people, parenting, caring, flexible working and equal pay concerns. SEXUAL ORIENTATION DISABILITY Heterosexual and Bisexual Men and Women, Gay men and lesbians. People who have a disability, which may be physical, mental, or sensory, visible or non visible. the Trust s Health 4 Work Department is to consider and where appropriate, to make recommendations for reasonable adjustments to duties, medical redeployment and ill health retirement. However, the policy does not consider any possible future impacts from the end of the default retirement age in April Clause bullet point 15 states: To ensure that any issues relating to an employee s disability and/or pregnancy are taken into account in the management of their sickness absence Clause bullet point 15 states: To ensure that any issues relating to an employee s disability and/or pregnancy are taken into account in the management of their sickness absence Page 5 of 7

6 RELIGION OR BELIEF HUMAN RIGHTS People who have religious belief, people who are atheist or agnostic, people who have a philosophical belief which affects their view of the world. All areas (Articles) of the Human Rights Act. (Please refer to Human Rights guidance) Clause 6.4 of the policy also applies.(see Age, above) In respect of the management of long-term sickness, managers are required to discuss with the employee whether the sickness is the result of a disability as defined under the Equality Act and if so what adjustments need to be considered (7.3.4 and 7.3.6). They are also required to seek advice from the Health 4 Work Department. It is not considered that this policy breaches any of the Articles of the Human Rights Act PART 3 - LEAD PERSON DECLARATION FULL IMPACT ASSESSMENT REQUIRED? No SIGNED BY LEAD PERSON:.. NAME: Julia White, HR Policy and Projects Officer DATE: 21 April 2011 ANY OTHER COMMENTS: No Page 6 of 7

7 EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY LEAD S DECLARATION Medium impact. Any policy on the management of sickness absence has the potential to have an adverse impact on employees based on one or more of their protected characteristics. This risk is considered to be greatest in terms of the management of shortterm sickness by reason of the protected characteristic of pregnancy and maternity and in terms of long-term sickness by reason of the protected characteristic of disability. It is considered that this policy has made suitable adjustments to minimise the possibility of such disadvantage occurring. There is not evidence to suggest that older workers have an inferior sickness record to younger workers. However, the abolition of the default retirement age in April 2011 is noted. It is not known whether this will have a long-term effect of more employees working beyond age 65 and whether this will, in turn, result in sickness issues emerging by reason of employees age. This is an area to watch. In the interim it is recommended that the Trust monitor sickness by age on at least an annual basis, FULL IMPACT ASSESSMENT REQUIRED? No NAME: Nigel Evison, General Manager, HR Policy and Projects DATE: 26 April 2011 Page 7 of 7