The Northumberland Church of England Academy. Absence from Work Procedure

Transcription

1 The Northumberland Church of England Academy Absence from Work Procedure 1.0 General Staff may be absent from work for a variety of reasons both planned and due to unforeseen circumstances. In order to make the reporting of these absences efficient and trouble free the following procedure has been drawn up. Individual employees have a responsibility to the Academy to attend for work unless unable to do so through genuine sickness. In these circumstances the Academy has a responsibility to make payments to employees in accordance with the appropriate conditions of service and the statutory sick pay regulations. Line managers need to know when a member of staff is unable to attend for work at the earliest opportunity so as to minimise the impact the absence will have on service delivery. Flow charts for teaching and support staff are provided at the end of this policy. 2.0 Planned Absence Members of staff who need to be absent on school business, training, etc, should complete the yellow Absence Request Form and return to HR at the earliest opportunity and preferably at least a week beforehand. Individuals who would like to apply for leave of absence, for personal reasons, should submit a blue Leave of Absence Request Form. The absence first needs to be granted by the line manager and following this, the form should be passed to the HR department. The Executive Director has the delegated responsibility for dealing with such requests on behalf of the Governors. If members of staff need to be absent from work due to exceptional circumstances they should send a written request via letter to the Executive Director. If permission is given, the authorisation will be passed to HR. Leave of absence will be confirmed via a notification slip from HR to the member of staff concerned. If Leave of Absence has already been taken without authorisation you should complete the blue Leave of Absence Form in retrospect and return it, via HR, to the Executive Director who will decide if the Absence can be granted with or without pay. Where authorisation is not granted and a member of staff continues with the absence, this may result in disciplinary action being taken. Members of teaching staff are reminded that they should set work for their teaching groups and that it is their responsibility to speak to the senior cover supervisor who will arrange cover on any duty rotas in which they may be involved. Absence from Work Reporting Page 1 of 7 Version 4.0

2 3.0 Absence due to Sickness If you are unable to attend work because of illness or injury you should make contact with the Academy by telephone as soon as possible on the first day. Line managers need to know when a member of staff is unable to attend work at the earliest opportunity so as to minimise the impact the absence will have on service delivery. Please follow the reporting procedure for either teaching staff or non-teaching staff as outlined below. Stage 1A is for teaching staff and Stage 1B for Non-teaching staff. On contacting the Academy, you will be asked to give details of the reason for your absence and when you expect to return to work. In exceptional circumstances, if you are unable to telephone your manager, in person, you should arrange for someone to call on your behalf before you are due to begin work. E- mailing or sending a text message to your manager to report your absence is not acceptable. If your line manager is not available at the time of your call you must leave your telephone number so that they can call you back when they are able to do so. If your absence is to continue for more than three days you should notify your line manager by a further telephone call on the third day providing whatever further information you have in respect of your condition and the anticipated length of your absence. If your absence lasts, or is expected to last longer than seven days, then you must obtain a Statement of Fitness for Work or fit note from your GP and send it to HR on the eighth calendar day. Your GP will determine on the fit note whether you are either: Not fit for work may be fit for work taking into account of the following advice As soon as your GP determines that you may be fit for work, you must immediately contact your line manager/hr to discuss whether it is possible from the employer s point of view to facilitate a return. Your line manager/hr may need to take further advice from the Occupational Health Unit. If your absence continues over an extended period you should update your line manager and the HR department on your condition at regular intervals. If you become ill during the period of school closure you should notify the HR Manager in writing and if the illness lasts for more than a week submit a Statement of Fitness for Work (fit note). When you are ill immediately preceding a closure of the school the HR Manager should be informed, in writing, of the day you become fit to resume duty. If the absence lasts more than seven days a Statement of Fitness for Work (fit note), should be sent to HR. If you believe that your absence has been caused by an incident at work you should inform your line manager so that they can complete an accident report form. Absence from Work Reporting Page 2 of 7 Version 4.0

3 4.0 Reporting procedure - Teaching Staff When reporting the initial absence from work Primary teaching staff should firstly contact the PA to the Principal Director Primary, Secondary teaching staff should contact the PA to the Principal Director Secondary and The Centre teaching staff should contact the The Centre Admin Manager who will arrange supply cover. Staff should then as appropriate contact either the Head of Campus on the Primary campuses the Head of Faculty on the Secondary Campus or the relevant Centre Leader in The Centre to discuss work to be provided while they are absent. If Heads of Campus are absent they should contact the Deputy Head of Campus. Contact numbers are provided at the end of this procedure. Colleagues unable to attend because of illness or emergency must telephone the Academy office before 8.00 a.m. All members of staff are required to report to their Line Manager when they return to work at the end of a period of illness and to contact HR to ensure that all paper-work is completed. Line Managers should conduct a return to work interview, complete the return to work interview form and return it to the HR Department. 5.0 Reporting procedure - Non-teaching Staff On the first day of absence non-teaching staff should contact their Line Manger as listed below, as soon as possible after 8.00 am. Finance Team Finance Director Primary Administration Staff Head of Campus and PA to PD Primary Secondary Administration Staff Line Manager Catering Staff Catering Operations Manager Caretaking Facilities Manager Cleaning Staff Campus Caretaker Technology Technicians Faculty Head ICT Technicians Network Manager Mainstream Teaching Assistants - SEN Director Primary Teaching Assistants Head of Campus The Centre Teaching Assistants - Relevant Leader (Primary, Secondary or Teaching & Learning) Intervention Team Assistants Line Manager Heads of Year - Line Manager Directors Appropriate Principal Director and HR Members of the ELT Executive Director and HR The line manager is then responsible for completing Part A of Sick Form 1. Line Managers should also conduct a Return to Work interview, complete the interview form and return this to the HR Department. Absence from Work Reporting Page 3 of 7 Version 4.0

4 6.0 Return to Work When you are fit to return to work you must notify HR and your line manager of the date of your return. The flow chart Stage 2 below outlines the process for all staff. Upon returning to work all staff should complete Section B of form (Sick 1) and sign it. You must then have a Return to Work interview with your line manager on your first day back to work. Staff should also bring with them any outstanding doctor s Statement of Fitness for Work form (Med 3) if this has not already been sent to HR. N.B. Providing the above information both by telephone and in writing on form (Sick 1) constitutes a declaration of absence through sickness and if the information given is found to be false, disciplinary action may be taken against you. You should ensure that sections A and B of the form have been completed correctly in respect of your telephone call(s) and any queries discussed with HR before you sign the declaration in Section B. The appropriate rate of Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) to which you are entitled will be paid to you by the Academy and may be dependent upon the information you have supplied on the Form Sick 1. It is therefore essential that it is provided accurately and promptly. If you are excluded from receiving Statutory Sick Pay you will be informed by the Academy and you will be required to submit a claim for State sickness benefit to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). If you are entitled to receive benefit from the DSS you must submit as soon as possible the Notification of Benefit (BS12) received from the DWP in order to avoid the incorrect rate of benefit being deducted. Please note that it is the responsibility of individual employees to submit appropriate claims in respect of sickness absences. If your absence is the result of an accident at or outside work or is due to an industrial injury/disease it is important that you report that fact in the form of a written statement with your form (Sick 1). A copy of your statement will be retained in your personnel file. Allowances may not be paid where the absence is due to: your own misconduct, or active participation in sport as a profession, or injury whilst undertaking other employment. Where absence is as a result of an accident in respect of which third party damages are receivable, the payment of allowances will be subject to you undertaking to refund the Academy the full amount of allowances paid, or the proportion thereof represented in the amount of damages received. In these circumstances you will be requested to sign a declaration to this effect. In certain circumstances, you may be required to submit a fit note in respect of the absences for periods normally subject to self-certification arrangements. The cost of providing such fit notes will be reimbursed by the Academy. If you are unable to perform your duties as a consequence of illness, the Academy may at any time require you to submit to an examination by a medical practitioner, subject to the provisions of the Access to Medical Reports Act and the Data Protection Act. Absence from Work Reporting Page 4 of 7 Version 4.0

5 If, without reasonable cause, you fail to comply with the conditions of the scheme, or are guilty of conduct prejudicial to your recovery, your right to payment of allowances for that period of absence may be forfeit. If you have any queries about the procedure set out above please contact HR as soon as possible. 7.0 Contact List PA to PD Primary Gillian Marley ext 360 PA to PD Secondary Marise Renshaw ext 346 Data Team Manager Derek Bennett ext 335 Catering Operations Manager Jean Blackburn ext 385 Facilities Manager Colin Tweedy mob: SEN Director Rob Fairbairn ext 303 Intervention Team Jeanette Gadsby ext 375 F &L Welfare Team Sandra Brown ext 367 HR Manager Tracey Cook ext 380 HR Administrator Joanne Kilgour ext 388 HR Assistant Natalie Johnson ext 381 Heads of Campus: Pat Jones Thomas Bewick Caroline Mullen James Knott Allison McLean Grace Darling Helen Sample William Leech Clare Marriott Josephine Butler Links to other Academy policies This policy should read in conjunction with the following related policies:- Leave of Absence Flexible Working Ill Health and Sickness Management Pay Policy Absence from Work Reporting Page 5 of 7 Version 4.0

6 Stage 1A Absence from Work Teaching Staff Member of Teaching Staff is absent from work Primary** Secondary Member of staff rings PA to PD Primary who arranges supply cover Member of staff rings PA to PD Secondary who arranges supply cover Member of Staff rings their Head of Campus to provide work to cover absence Member of Staff rings their Faculty Head to provide work to cover absence Primary Head of Campus notifies Admin Manager who arranges completion of Part A of Sick Form 1 PA to PD Secondary inputs information into database HR completes Part A of Sick Form 1 and sends to payroll HR informs Payroll of absences ** Heads of Campus should then inform the Primary Admin Manager who then notifies the HR Department. Absence from Work Reporting Page 6 of 7 Version 4.0

7 Stage 1B Absence from Work Non-teaching Staff Member of Non-Teaching Staff is absent from work Admin Staff ring Admin Team Leader or Campus Manager + Line Manager Catering Staff ring Catering Operations Manager + Campus Unit Manager Caretakers ring Facilities Manager Cleaners ring Campus Caretaker or Campus Office Manager Data Team ring HR and Director Data Finance Staff ring Finance Director + HR Mainstream Teaching Assistants ring Campus Manager or Line Manager The Centre Teaching Assistants ring Centre Admin Manager Pastoral Staff and Technicians ring HR then the following line managers ICT Technicians ring Network Manager Technology Technicians ring Faculty Head Line Managers arrange cover or reassign work as necessary Primary Campus Leaders and Line Managers ensure completion of Part A of Sick Form 1 and send to HR on first day of absence. HR informs Payroll of absences Stage 2 Return to Work Member of Staff returns to work Member of staff completes Part B of Sick 1 Form and Brings fit note if off for more than 5 working days. Office Manager/designated member of staff sends Sick Form 1 and sick note to HR Return to Work interview with Line Manager on first day of return to work Line Manager sends Return to Work form to HR HR updates absence on SIMS HR completes Part C of Sick Form 1 and informs Payroll of return to work Absence from Work Reporting Page 7 of 7 Version 4.0