Sickness absence policy

It’s for all employees. However, it doesn’t apply to sessional workers, agency workers or contractors.

• To qualify for sick pay, employees need to phone their line manager within an hour of their scheduled start time. If the line manager is unavailable, a message may be left with another staff member. The employee should say what’s wrong and how long they expect to be off.
• Line managers should record sickness absence via Dynamics 365 on the day it’s reported. 
• If the absence is going to be for more than 7 days, line managers should agree a contact schedule with the employee.
• If an employee is off for more than 7 calendar days (including weekends), they need to submit a medical certificate.
• Once back at work, line managers should complete the return to work process via Dynamics 365.
• If a trigger point has been reached (see definitions below), line managers should arrange an informal review soon after the employee’s return to work. If the employee's attendance doesn’t improve (or where informal review is not appropriate), line managers should start a formal review process.
• Line managers should give employees advance written notice of formal review meetings, and remind them of their right to ask to be accompanied.
• Line managers should make reasonable adjustments to make sure this policy is fairly applied to employees with a disability, mental or physical health condition. 
   

A trigger point is:

• two absences totalling 10 days in a rolling 6-month period
• a third occasion of absence in a 6-month period, regardless of the duration

• Employees are responsible for understanding and following this policy.
• Line managers are responsible for managing the sickness absence of their direct reports in keeping with this policy.
• Local People Teams are responsible for working with managers to identify and manage cases of sickness absence, and for supporting managers and employees in implementing this policy.