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Unfortunately, your client is not alone with this trend of increasing sickness absence. According to research from the CIPD, in partnership with Simplyhealth, which analysed sickness absence data from 900 organisations, representing 6.5 million employees, staff took on average 7.8 sick days in the past year. This is up from 5.8 pre-pandemic.
Managing sickness absence in any business early is important, to prevent more serious issues developing later on. Below, we set out some tips that can be used by your client to get a handle on sickness absence in their organisation.
1. Have a policy
A well-defined sickness policy should set out how the business will deal with sickness absences, including:
– Sickness absence notification rules,
– Absence triggers that could lead to formal action,
– Absence management processes, such as welfare meetings and requesting a medical report,
– Adjustments for those living with disabilities or long-term health conditions.
This will also act as a guide for line managers for dealing with sickness absences, ensuring consistency across the business.
2. Hold return-to-work meetings
These are a valuable tool in absent management, providing the opportunity to check the employee is fit to come back and investigate any ongoing health issues that might require workplace adjustments.
They also have deterrent effect on employees thinking of ‘pulling a sickie’. Employers can use return-to-work meetings to get to the bottom of the absence, questioning how it arose, what was done to relieve it, and whether or not it might come back. Conducting these for absences will make those going sick for a non-genuine reason think twice, for fearing of being found out and being subject to disciplinary action.
3. Keep records
Keeping records of sickness absence and return to work meetings will help your client to determine if there are any patterns of absence, such as always on a Wednesday, which could suggest misuse of the sickness absence rules. Should this be the case, they may have to consider starting disciplinary proceedings with the individual.
Alternatively, sickness absence records could indicate that an employee is suffering from an underlying medical condition for which they need additional support. For example, it may be a sign of something more serious if an employee is regularly going off sick with stomach pains, and noticing a pattern should prompt your client to speak to them to find out more.
Conclusion
Managing sickness absences is a necessity for any business, as it can mean potentially serious problems become apparent and are dealt with before they have a major impact on the business. As such, we would recommend your client think carefully about how they can apply the above tips in their business.
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