BMIS Absence Policy : June 2011 Internal Review 25/11/16 1. Purpose and scope 2. Principles 3. Reporting sickness procedure 4. Medical certificates 5. Sick pay 6. Sickness absence and annual leave 6.1 Sickness during annual leave 6.2 Annual leave during sickness absence 6.3 Taking annual leave during sickness absence 7. Returning to work 8. Monitoring sickness absence 9. Obtaining medical information 10. Short term absence management 10.1 Sickness absence meeting 11. Long term absence management 11.1 Long Term Absence Formal procedure 11.2 Appeal against decision to dismiss 12. Reasonable adjustments to ill health/disability 1. Purpose and scope This policy is non contractual and applies to all paid staff. The purpose of the absence and sickness policy is to help and encourage employees to achieve and maintain standards of attendance at work. It aims to balance the service needs of Citizen s Advice East Staffordshire with the needs of employees to take occasional short periods of time off work due to sickness or to recover from long-term illness. The policy provides a fair and consistent framework through which any issues with short-term or long-term absence can be managed. 2. Principles In cases of minor absence, line managers should deal with matters informally by discussing the issues with the employee and encouraging them to achieve the required standards. Where appropriate, and with the employee s permission, a GP and / or an occupational health specialist will be asked to provide a report on any medical condition related to the level of absence. Employees are expected to work if they are well, and sickness absence should not be used for any other purpose e.g. sickness arrangements are not 1
intended for use when dependants are ill, since there are other available options, such as dependant leave. Employees on sick leave have a responsibility to help their own recovery and should not undertake any activity which could hinder their recovery and subsequent return to work. 3. Reporting sickness procedure Correct notification and certification of sick leave is essential. Failure to comply with the correct procedure as outlined in this policy may result in absence being treated as unauthorised, thereby jeopardising payment of contractual sick pay (if applicable) and / or resulting in disciplinary action. In all cases of sickness absence, the employee must telephone the Chief Executive s Mobile Phone (07949 123 645) as soon as possible before 10am on the first day of sickness/injury and on each subsequent working day of sickness/injury, until they have provided a GP s certificate The employee will explain the reason for their absence, and how long their absence is likely to last. The employee should also outline any work that may need to be covered in their absence. The employee should not simply leave a voicemail/ email or text message with a colleague. If an employee is absent without having telephoned the Chief Executive s Mobile Phone as above, the Chief Executive or their line manager will try to contact them. If the employer is unable to make contact with an absent employee, they will attempt to contact the employee s next of kin. If the employee is on sick leave for more than one working week, they must remain in contact with their line manager, normally contacting their manager at least once each working week, unless a different period has been agreed, or circumstances make this impossible. This is to enable appropriate planning to take place and for the service levels to be maintained. If an employee needs to leave part of the way through a day because of sickness, they must notify their manager immediately and record the time of departure on their timesheet. 4. Medical certificates For absence of seven days or less (including weekends and part days) the employee must complete a self-certification form on their return to work. 2
In the case of absence due to sickness or injury for more than seven days (including Saturday / Sunday) the employee must obtain and submit to the Chief Executive a doctor s certificate (a fit note ) covering the period of absence. The employee must ensure that sickness certificates are forwarded to their line manager to cover the entire period of absence. If the employee fails to follow the certification procedure described above, this may mean they are not eligible to receive sick pay and may result in disciplinary action. 5. Sick pay Details of entitlement to sick pay are contained within each employee s statement of terms and conditions of employment. 6. Sickness absence and annual leave 6.1Sickness during annual leave If an employee falls ill during annual leave they have the right to request to have some or all of that period of time to be reinstated as annual leave, subject to the production of a certificate from an appropriate medical practitioner. The employee will be required to meet the costs of obtaining any such medical evidence. 6.2 Annual leave during sickness absence Employees continue to accrue annual leave whilst on sickness absence. On return from long-term sick leave the employee and their manager will need to discuss appropriate arrangements for taking this leave. 6.3 Taking annual leave during sickness absence Employees may use some or all of their accrued annual leave entitlement to receive full pay, although they still remain on sickness absence. 3
7. Returning to work Line managers will not conduct return to work interviews following each period of sickness. However, line managers will conduct interviews with employees if:- There are concerns over an employee s welfare; There are concerns regarding the employee s fitness to work, The employee has had recurring bouts of sickness absence in the past twelve months (see points 8 & 10) The employee is absent for more than four working days. 4
Return to Work Interviews Interviews are conducted to ensure that employees are fit for work. During a return to work interview, the employee will be asked to explain their absence and line managers will evaluate employees welfare and fitness to return to work. The line manager will also update the employee with regards to the status of their work or any changes that have occurred in their absence. If an interview is conducted following recurring sickness absences (see 8 and 10 below), employees should be advised by their line manager that they are concerned about their continued sickness absences before conducting an informal interview. Return to work forms will be kept on the employee s personnel file. 8. Monitoring sickness absence Sickness absence is monitored to identify when intervention might be appropriate. The trigger for formal action in relation to short-term absence is generally reached where an employee has had 12 days or 4 spells of short-term absence during any 12 month period, or where a clear pattern of absence is apparent, such as the same day each week. Continuous absence of four weeks or more is classed as long-term absence. 9. Obtaining medical information In order to effectively manage any absence issues Citizens Advice East Staffordshire may need to obtain medical information on the employee s condition either through requesting a report from the employee s GP / consultant or referring the employee to an occupational health specialist. Both of these options require the employee s consent. In the event that Citizens Advice East Staffordshire wishes to request a report from the employee s GP / consultant the employee will be asked to consent to Citizens Advice East Staffordshire having access to their medical records and will be informed of their rights under the Medical Reports Act 1988. If the employee declines to give consent to medical information being obtained any decisions about the ongoing employment of the employee will have to be taken on the basis of the information available. 5
10. Short-term absence management In cases of frequent short-term sickness absence, the line manager will try to advise the employee of their concern (see point 7) during Return to Work Interviews, prior to arranging an informal meeting with the employee in order to try to ascertain the underlying reason for the absences. Following this informal meeting, a review date will be set. If, by the review date, the required improvement is achieved, no further action will be taken although monitoring of work attendance/sickness absences will continue. However, if by the review date attendance levels continue to be a cause for concern, a sickness absence meeting will be convened. 10.1 Sickness absence meeting Stage 1: The manager will write to the employee specifying concerns with the high level of sickness absence and inviting them to attend an absence review meeting. The employee will be provided with any relevant information and a copy of the absence management policy. At the meeting, the employee will be given the opportunity to offer any additional explanation for their attendance record. At this stage it may be appropriate for Citizens Advice East Staffordshire to obtain medical information if appropriate, for example if the employee believes there is an underlying health condition which is leading to the high level of absence. If medical evidence confirms that the employee has a disability, Citizens Advice East Staffordshire must consider making reasonable adjustments in line with the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 (see section 12 for more details). If, following the meeting, no disability or underlying medical condition is established, a letter will be sent to the employee detailing the improvement in attendance required and specifying the review period. The letter will also state that if the required improvement is not sustained consideration may be given to commencing the disciplinary process. Stage 2: If attendance does not improve and meet acceptable standards, within the specified review period the manager will take the following factors into consideration before deciding on appropriate action: 6
the likelihood of a change in attendance the employee's length of service the employee s performance and the effect of past and future absences on the organisation. A possible outcome at this stage may be that the manager decides to treat the matter as a conduct issue and deal with it using the disciplinary process. 11. Long-term absence management procedure In cases of long-term absence (continuing absence of four or more weeks), the employee s line manager will maintain regular contact with the employee, with the aim of remaining informed about the employee s health and also exploring how Citizens Advice East Staffordshire can support the employee. It will usually be appropriate to obtain a report from the employee s GP or refer the employee to an occupational health specialist at some point during the period of long-term absence (see section 9 for more details). If the medical information obtained suggests that there is no sign of an imminent return to work and it is no longer possible to hold the position open, discussions will need to move on to a formal level (see 11.1 below) to consider the alternatives available. At every stage in the formal procedure, the employee will be consulted and will be given the opportunity to state their case and offer additional information before any decision is made. Other than in exceptional circumstances, Citizens Advice East Staffordshire will not consider terminating the employment of an employee who is absent from work due to long-term ill-health whilst the employee is still in receipt of contractual sick pay. 11.1 Long Term Absence Formal procedure This procedure will only be invoked when there is no sign of an employee s imminent return to work and it is no longer possible to hold a position open. If a formal sickness absence review meeting is to be held, the line manager will write to the employee at least 10 working days in advance, stating the proposed date, time and location, together with the reason for the meeting. The employee has the right to be 7
accompanied by a work colleague or trade union representative.the meeting will normally consist of the employee (and their representative, if they wish), the line manager and the Chief Executive or a member of the trustee board. At this meeting, consideration will be given to: the nature of the illness the extent of previous absences recommendations received from the employee s GP and / or the occupational health specialist i the likely date of return to work the views of the employee the effect of the employee s absence on Citizens Advice East Staffordshire reasonable adjustments the possibility of redeployment. It may be appropriate to discuss any additional support that may be required and / or to arrange to obtain further medical advice, and to set a further review period. Citizens Advice East Staffordshire will endeavour, where possible, to make reasonable adjustments, whether temporarily or on a permanent basis, to allow staff with long-term illness or a disability to return to work (see section 12 for more details). If, following the sickness absence review meeting, the outcome is a decision to dismiss, the employee will be given notice of dismissal in writing and advised of their right to appeal. 11.2 Appeal against decision to dismiss If the employee wishes to appeal against the decision to dismiss they must do so in writing within five working days of the decision being taken, to the next level of management in Citizens Advice East Staffordshire. The employee should set out the full grounds for appeal. Where practicable the appeal meeting will be convened within 15 working days. The employee has the right to be accompanied at the appeal meeting by a workplace colleague or trade union official. 8
The appeal will be heard by a more senior manager or a member of the trustee board as long as they have had no prior involvement with the case. The decision taken after the appeal meeting will be final and, where practicable, the employee will be informed of the decision in writing within five working days. 12. Reasonable adjustments to ill health/disability In accordance with relevant legislation, Citizens Advice East Staffordshire will try to accommodate the employee in their current role if they are suffering from ill health or are disabled, and will explore a range of reasonable adjustments. Reasonable adjustments could include: the provision of specialist equipment and training job redesign (e.g. re-allocating duties) retraining flexible hours allowing absence for treatment / rehabilitation providing additional supervision remote working redeployment to a suitable alternative vacancy. In some circumstances, if the employee has been away from work for some considerable time, a phased return to work may be beneficial. In these circumstances remuneration will be reduced pro rata according to the number of hours worked. Where possible, and in consultation with the employee and their doctor, a date will be set for a return to working normal contractual hours. i No decision to dismiss the employee on the ground of capability will be made without obtaining up-to-date medical information. 9