Short term sickness absences are normally repetitive, frequent absences of various lengths, attributable to ailments which are usually unconnected, or unpredictable. They can be self-certified or covered by medical certificates. They are less than four working weeks.
This flow chart gives an overview of the procedure to follow for someone on short term absence.
Managers should first ensure that the sickness reporting procedures are observed by all employees and that regular contact is maintained by and with all absent employees.
Safe Families and Home for Good acknowledge that frequent episodes of short-term absence may be indicative of an underlying problem and is committed to offering appropriate support to assist the staff member in overcoming the problem and achieving a good attendance record in the future.
Short term absence monitoring does not seek to challenge whether absences are genuine, but rather, frequent absences may render staff unable to support Safe Families and Home for Good needs and so may result in them being subject to Disciplinary or Performance Management Procedures.
Short term absence is monitored using ‘prompt points’ - these are an indicator and not the only tool. Other factors will be taken into consideration such as historic sickness record and nature of absence (e.g. if it is a one-off event that is unlikely to happen again).
Short Term Sickness Absence Procedure
Criteria (pro-rata’d for part time staff) |
Action
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Outcome
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Informal response | ||
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2 weeks or more sickness absence in any 12-month rolling period, or 3 spells or more in any 4-month rolling period or less
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Conversation with LM with focus on support – to take place within 1 to 1’s. Ensure team member is aware of attendance policy and next prompt point set – typically 3 weeks or more sickness absence in any 12-month rolling period or 5 spells or more in any 12-month period |
Actions agreed |
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Attendance Review Meeting Following an informal discussion above if next prompt point met 3 weeks or more sickness absence in any 12-month rolling period or 5 spells or more in any 12-month period Can move to Attendance review with no informal discussion if above prompt met. |
Initial Target Set- e.g. is made up of two spells or more in a 4-month period or total of one working week Note – if target met then monitoring of attendance can be continued for a further 12 months with targets being set to enable attendance within 12-month period to be below first prompt point.
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Targets agreed / reviewed- resulting in attendance review letter |