ABSENCE MANAGEMENT

15 August 2018

• Employment solicitors Liverpool
• employment law
• Solicitors Liverpool
• employer
• employee
• maternity leave
• paternity leave
• employment and HR liverpool
• absence management
• absence
• long term illness
• short term illness
• authorised absence
• unauthorised absence
• return to work
• quality absence management

Maintaining absence management in the workplace is vital, in order to establish guidelines for staff, whether they are absent for short or long-term illness, maternity or paternity leave, or a staff member takes a few days off work of their own accord, without providing a reason why, or may not even inform their employer.

These absences must be regulated by the employer, in order to maintain order in the workplace.

 The following steps should be taken to achieve quality absence management:

Understand the reason for an absence.

An employer must understand why a staff member is absent, in order to establish whether an absence is authorised or unauthorised. This can be difficult to distinguish as a staff member may contact the employer to inform them of their illness, however they are then seen posting pictures of a night out on Facebook.

However, employers should be careful about making assumptions, as they may have a staff member who is off work for illness or stress and they are pictured at the beach, which although may seem unauthorised, it cannot be fully determined, as this may be part of their recovery.

It is important to establish whether an absence is unauthorised, as an employer must consider disciplinary proceedings if necessary.

Communication is key

 It is vital that the employer and employee remain in contact, especially during a long-term illness or any ongoing family issues, as communication will provide reassurance that the employee will be returning, and the employee may even give the employer a specific time period regarding their absence.

Although some employers do feel as though they are harassing their employees through regular contact, therefore it is important that the employer and the employee come to an agreement regarding time frame, if possible, to avoid pressuring staff.

The return to work

It is important that employers implicate a return to work process, as in some cases, especially when it is a long-term absence, the staff dynamic may have changed, for example when a female staff member is on maternity leave, an organisation might employ somebody to cover her job in the absence period. Therefore, it is important that a reintegration process takes place, and that the absentee fits back in to the work dynamic, as smooth as possible.

It is also important to consult with the employee regarding absence and their return to work, usually in a meeting or if it was short absence, maybe just a quick chat would suffice. The discussion should involve the process of reintegration, as well as informing the employee of any changes that have occurred during their absence, including new developments in the workplace, as well as the possibility of a change in work schedule and hours.

In some cases, it may be essential to implement adjustments, for example if the employee returns to work and is now protected under the disability equality law, the correct adjustments must be made to accommodate this.

Review Progress

In order to ensure that an organisation maintains quality absence management, a regular review process should be implemented. This should involve regular chats with all employees regarding progress, following up on previous discussions, and flagging up any issues. Enabling both the employee and the employer to establish where they stand, and what improvements need to be implemented.