Employees who are off sick can have a significant impact on productivity, the ability to run services and/or the business in general. Prolonged periods of sickness absence can also negatively impact staff motivation and morale.
While it may be difficult to plan for unexpected absences, as an employer there are steps you can take to help you deal with the problem and minimise the potential disruption.
Step 1: Clear Policies and Procedures
You should have a clear policy on sickness absence reporting and pay arrangements. These should be clearly communicated to all a staff so that policy and procedure can be followed consistently. Your sickness absence policy should include:
- Details of how an employee should notify you if they will be late for work, they will be absent from work due to illness, or absent for any other reason.
- When they should submit a self-certification form or a medical certificate.
- Statutory and contractual sick pay arrangements – this should be covered in the written statement of terms and conditions of employment(employment contract).
- When time off might be permitted, e.g time off for emergencies involving dependents, jury service etc
- The consequences of not complying with company policy
Many organisations as a standard management activity conduct a return to work interview. This should be completed upon their return to work and can range from a discussion on what has happened during their time off, even if only a day, to questions that might establish whether there is an underlying problem that is contributing to their absence. This approach can also deter employees from faking illness.
Step 2: Monitor and Measure Absence
The national average for the number of sick days of absence per employee is approximately 5 days per year. This is a good standard to benchmark your employees against. Tracking the particular days of the week, the amount of days and the reason can help identify patterns in not just individual employees but also departments. Trends to look for are particular days of the week, or patterns linked to time of year , management style, possible bullying or poor working conditions.
Step 3: Support Sick Employees
Maintaining regular contact with an absent employee will help prevent them from feeling isolated, whilst providing you with a clearer idea of their current situation. Gaining an employee’s permission to access their medical reports and working with an occupational health specialist can provide an indication of how prolonged the illness is likely to be. This method can be used for both employees who are on long term sickness absence, and also those who have accumulated a number of days of absence over a period of time. This method can identify whether their illness could be considered a disability and if so whether there are any reasonable adjustments that can be made to support them returning to work.
It is important to ensure that all cases of sickness absence are handled sensitively, even if the genuineness of the absence is in question.
Step 4: Focus on Morale
Creating a friendly environment where staff feel valued as part of a team, are clear on their job role, goals and targets; and where flexible, family friendly policies are in place is likely to prove effective in keeping absenteeism to a minimum. Unhappy staff are more likely to take time off.
This article was written by Judi Badenoch, an HR Consultant and Panel member of the Association.
For further advice please contact:
Ms Judi Badenoch
Cranbrook Consulting
Room 346, 5 High Street, Maidenhead, Berkshire,SL6 1JN
Tel: 01628 857771, Mob: 07979 421325
judi@cranbrookconsulting.co.uk
www.cranbrookconsulting.co.uk
Reviewed February 2018