If you have a member of staff who is returning from being off work (for any reason) a return to work interview should take place ideally within their first day back. This enables us to listen to the member of staff and ensure any support that is needed can be offered. If you, as the line manager, are not able to have this conversation (e.g. not a working day or on annual leave) then this should be completed by the senior manager or the People and Culture Team.
Some things to remember as you plan for the return to work interview:
- Environment: we want to ensure the staff member is comfortable to be able to say what they feel needs to be said so please ensure this conversation takes place within an appropriate private space and that enough time is allowed for the conversation and write up
- We, as the staff members employers, do not need to know everything but only that which the staff member wishes to share and is related to supporting them in work. If a staff member does not want to share details regarding their time away from work (but has correct FIT notes, if needed) then we do not need to ‘press’ for this.
- It can be helpful, to share with the staff member why we are asking a particular question in order to put it into context. E.g. we need to know if illness will pose danger to others, as we can then appropriately risk assess and care for all staff / families.
If the staff members Bradford Factor Score is now over 50, then an attendance review meeting needs to be scheduled.
These meetings are to first and foremost offer support and understanding to staff as individuals to hopefully reduce the levels of absence. We also need to highlight that absence does have an impact on the wider organisation. It is the first step of a wider process, which can result in performance management however we strive to have conversations early, and put in support early, in order for it to not escalate. This can be an uncomfortable conversation to have, please contact the People and Culture Team for support and guidance if needed. More Guidance can be found here.
After updating the return to work interview, press the Update button to save them.
Once all have been completed, there will be a Complete button. Press this to complete the absence record.
Notification will be sent to the employee who was absent as they will now need to accept the absence conclusions.