Employees have a responsibility to report sickness absence. Please read the below procedure, and then complete the acceptance form:

Confirm that you have read and accepted this procedure 

Day 1 of absence

An employee must notify their line manager within 1 hour of their start time on the first day of absence due to sickness (or industrial injury).

However, on occasions there may be extenuating or unusual circumstances which may mean that this is impossible to achieve – managers should take this into account.  The employee must state the reason and the estimated duration of time they expect to be away from work.

In extenuating circumstances, the employee may not be able to contact their line manager yourself – on these occasions, the employee must ask a relative or friend to do this on their behalf. 

If the nature of the illness is such that the employee does not feel able to discuss it with their line manager, they should speak confidentially to their manager’s manager, Head of Service, HR Support or their HR Business Partner.

Continuing absence

If the employee is unable to return to work by the date expected, they must speak to their line manager again and provide an update on their health.  It is imperative that managers are quickly able to establish the nature of the illness, and the likely period of absence, from the information provided. This is required to assess the impact of the absence and what cover is required.

If you are unable to return to work by the date expected, you must contact your line manager again.

Day 8 of absence

If the absence continues or is likely to continue into 8 calendar days, the employee must obtain a fit note from their GP by the eighth calendar day and submit it to their line manager as soon as possible.

The employee and line manager should agree contact arrangements for the duration of the absence.

Continuing absence

The employee must submit further GP’s fit notes as soon as the previous ones have expired. 

• Where an employee fails to comply with these timescales, managers should contact the employee to discuss the absence.
• Failure to supply a doctors' certificate could result in sick pay being stopped  

Return to work discussion

• Return to work discussions will be carried out by the manager or a nominated representative, normally within 2 working days of an employee returning to work regardless of the length of absence.
• The discussion will be “face to face” wherever possible. Where this is not practicable, the discussion may take place via telephone.
• After the meeting, the return-to-work documentation will be completed.
• Consideration should be given as to whether a review meeting is appropriate, as detailed below.

Sickness trigger points

Short-term absence trigger

• 5 or more occasions in any rolling 12-month period or
• 10 or more days in any rolling 12 months.
• Managers will make a record of all discussions, meetings, and actions taken, ensure they are placed on the personal file and give a copy to the employee. 
• Employees who have reached the above triggers will be invited to an informal meeting. 

Managing attendance

Should an employee reach the trigger points above, the following stages will come into effect.  A high-level summary is shown below.

Informal stage	Timescale / Objective	Action	Outcome
Informal attendance monitoring, such as Return to Work Meetings / Informal long term absence reviews	Up to a 6-month period	Meeting with employee. Set triggers for short term: Less than 2 periods in 6 months, or any absence exceeding 5 days	Discussions to understand underlying reasons for absences and what help can be given for improving attendance and the well-being of the employee.  Where trigger points have been reached, a formal Stage 1 meeting will be arranged.
Stage 1 meeting	Start of formal process (Process will be applied in line with the Disciplinary policy)	Formal meeting arranged to review overall attendance.	Subject to circumstances, a first written warning in conjunction with the disciplinary process will be issued. The plan must include individual trigger points and actions that both the employee and the Council can undertake to improve attendance. The employee is notified of the right of appeal against the issuing of the first written warning.
Stage 1 review period	Up to 6 months	Attendance is monitored and return to work interviews carried out over the review period	During and at the end of the 6 months or when trigger points have been reached, a formal evaluation meeting may be held.  When attendance has achieved an acceptable level, the procedure ends. If it has exceeded targets set at the Stage 1 a formal Stage 2 meeting will be arranged.
Stage 2 meeting	Process will be applied in line with the disciplinary policy	Formal meeting held to review attendance at Stage 1 review period.	Subject to circumstances, a final written warning in conjunction with the disciplinary process will be issued. The plan must include individual trigger points and actions that both the employee and the Council can undertake to improve attendance. The employee is notified of the right of appeal against the issuing of the final written warning.
Stage 2 review period	Up to a further 6 months	Attendance is monitored and return to work interviews carried out over the review period.	At the end of 6 months or when trigger points have been reached, a second formal evaluation meeting may be held. When attendance has achieved an acceptable level, the procedure ends. If it has exceeded targets set at the stage 2 meeting, a stage 3 formal attendance management hearing will be arranged.
Stage 3	Process will be applied in line with the disciplinary policy	Formal attendance management hearing	Formal meeting arranged to review overall attendance record. Full consideration given to attendance history.  Outcomes will include, 1. Consideration of further support and/or a further option to extend a 6-month review period. Or 2. Dismissal in conjunction with the Disciplinary process.  The employee is notified of the right of appeal against the dismissal.
Stage 4		Appeal	Appeal heard. Possible outcomes include upholding original decision or moving back to Stage 1 and a 6-month review period set.

Appeal 

The employee has a right of appeal in accordance with the Council's appeals policy.

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