Oct DPe To be updated Oct Absence Management Policy

Transcription

1 Oct DPe To be updated Oct 2018 Absence Management Policy

2 EQUALITIES STATEMENT Kingsmeadow School is committed to equal opportunities for all and the policy will be applied equally to all members of the school community regardless of gender, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, age or any disability. We are committed to providing a calm, caring and well-ordered environment where everyone feels safe, happy and understands the expectations of attitudes to learning in order to create an ethos conducive to excellent learning and teaching for all. We promote a culture of praise and encouragement and expect consistency of response to both positive and negative behaviour. We believe that positive relationships based on mutual respect, promote positive attitudes to learning and that as students learn by example, all adults within school should act as positive role models with regard to their own behaviour. Equality Targets Everyone at Kingsmeadow School must strive to accept and meet the differing needs and aspirations of all members of the school community, using the human resources and skills available to us all to:- 1. Safeguard individuals from all forms of abuse and harassment. We must ensure that victims can be confident of support and, where appropriate redress. We must ensure that aggressors can never claim the excuse of acting out of ignorance. Incidents of aggression and bullying are rare and dealt with effectively and outcome of which are recorded on Behaviour Watch. 2. Establish a school ethos built on mutual trust and respect. We should treat others as we would wish to be treated. We should respect other people, their property and school premises. Students regularly receive merits and praise for their positive attitudes to learning, respect to others, their school campus and their local community. Incidents of disrespectful behaviour are rare and dealt with promptly and effectively and the outcome of which are recorded on Behaviour Watch. 3. Safeguard the rights and freedoms of others. We must actively pursue our aim to help pupils develop personal moral values which respect the values and tolerates differing religious and cultures. Racist and homophobic incidents are extremely rare and dealt with promptly and effectively and the outcome of which are recorded on Behaviour Watch. Students display tolerance, support of and celebrate other cultures/religions through their work. 4. Develop an organisation which maximises pupil opportunity and experience. We must ensure that the curriculum and other activities encourages and supports the opportunity for all. We must ensure that pupils are not excluded from activities because of status or income. All student groups are able to access the curriculum fully and discrete intervention results in specific gaps in student achievement narrowing and in line with the whole school population and national figures. Eg boys, girls, students with SEND and students receiving free school meals.

3 Kingsmeadow School recognises that all cases are different and that a single, standardised procedure may not always address the unique issues of each individual case. Nevertheless, the following milestones represent good practice, and must be adhered to unless there is clear justification to do otherwise. The School s Business Manager has been nominated as the named contact for sickness purposes, in her absence all absences should be reported to the Data, Examinations & Assessment Leader (Deputy for Cover). Day 1: Employee must phone the Business Manager to report in sick, within an hour of his/her start time, on first day of absence. The Business Manager must note the absence start date to check against self-cert form upon return and prompt contact with the employee in 4 days if no update is received. Day 4: Day 8: Employee must phone in and update the Business Manager. If no contact is received, the Business Manager must contact the employee. A medical certificate (fit note) should, by now, have been received. The Business Manager must send this to Payroll immediately. At the commencement of Week 4: Head Teacher must now reassess the situation. If a return date - or date of any treatment event likely to facilitate a return to work - is known, then this will become the next deadline for review. If no such date is forthcoming, the case must be formally reviewed and where appropriate be referred to the Occupational Health Unit. Where necessary the Headteacher should consult the Occupational Health Unit or HR to discuss whether a referral to the Occupational Health Unit is appropriate for the case in question. From this point on, the Head Teacher must review the case on an ongoing basis. Consideration should be given to the potential for returning to work in some capacity whether, returning to work on alternative duties as an interim measure, phased return, part time working or working from home. The Head Teacher must also contact the employee every 4 weeks to offer support and get an update on the situation. By the end of Month 2: If, by now (or even before now), it is clear that the absence will continue without a known return date the Headteacher will write to the employee to arrange a Sickness Absence Review meeting with the employee). Advice from Human Resources must now be sought.

4 By the end of Month 3: Return to work: A Sickness Absence Review meeting must have taken place with the employee, to advise them that their employment with the School is at risk if the absence continues and outline the options now available to the School. If the employee has not already done so, they will be required to attend an appointment with the Occupational Health Unit for assessment. This assessment made with full consideration of the individual s work environment and duties will inform the next steps. Although Kingsmeadow follows Gateshead Council Absence Management guidelines, all Sickness Absence Review meeting timescales will be dependent on the nature of the absence, especially if school is being advised by Occupational Health that a longer recovery time for a particular illness might be needed. Business Manager must inform Payroll upon day of return and a selfcertification form should then be complete on the day of return or as soon as reasonably possible. Business Manager must hold a return to work interview with the employee as soon as possible; a standard form exists for this purpose. Start and end dates, and cause of sickness (NB. the use of sick or ill is not acceptable), must be checked and entered onto the form. All documentation associated with the absence will be retained by school. Frequent Sickness Absence Triggers for Intervention Apart from the medium to long term continuous sickness absence situations covered by the procedure outlined above, Head Teachers must also address situations where a pattern of frequent, short to medium term absences has become apparent. Schools should be reviewing sickness history information before carrying out return to work interviews. These reports can then be used to assist in (but not exclusively rely on) the identification of individuals who have reached, or exceeded, the following trigger points:- 3 separate absences during a four month period 7 working days of absence within a three month period Fifteen working days of absence during the course of an academic year For each individual case identified, Head Teachers must review the causes and lengths and frequencies of absence, along with other relevant circumstances, to inform the way in which they proceed. This will normally be in one of two ways:

5 1. Where it is clear that there is a single, serious and indisputable cause, and the employee has taken every option available to them to prevent or minimise the absence: Head Teachers should review the circumstances of the absences with the employee involved during an extended return to work interview. The extent to which the absences are likely to continue should be discussed, along with the options available to the School including the scope and benefits of adapting working patterns, equipment or conditions - to reduce or prevent them altogether. 2. In any other circumstances: Head Teachers must hold a meeting in addition to the return to work interview - with the employee concerned to make clear that their attendance levels are becoming a cause for concern. The employee should be informed that there will need to be a significant and sustained improvement, over a period specified by the Head Teacher, in order to avoid the possibility of disciplinary action. Support, and a referral to Occupational Health Unit, should be offered to facilitate this improvement where appropriate. The extent of the improvement expected, along with the period over which it must be achieved, is at the line manager s discretion and should reflect the individual circumstances of the case. The need to achieve significant and sustained improvement, however, should be the principal consideration at this point. The Head Teacher must monitor the employee s attendance continuously throughout the review period. Where there is no subsequent, significant and sustained improvement, Head Teachers must contact Human Resources to discuss whether disciplinary action is warranted. Circumstances should be monitored continuously and it must not be taken for granted that an employee who has previously been established to have a clear single, serious and undisputable cause will always satisfy this test.