Managing intermittent and long-term absences

What is considered a long-term absence from work?

Usually 4 weeks or longer.

What are the steps in managing a long-term absence?

Step 1: Hold a formal stage 1 absence meeting with the employee in order to better understand the reasons for continued absence and identify what if any support can be put in place to accommodate a return.

Step 2: Take notes during the meeting.

Step 3: Follow up in writing.

Step 4: Document the business impact of the employee’s absence and reasons for any action plan. It is usual for an employer to take steps to better understand the nature and extent of the employee’s ill health by obtaining medical evidence from the employee’s GP, Consultant or Occupational Health.

Step 5: Obtain the employee’s consent to make a referral for a medical report from a medical professional.

Step 6: Hold a stage 2 absence meeting. This meeting will provide the employee the opportunity to provide their own feelings on the medical report and discuss any recommendations that have been made.

Step 7: Hold a final meeting to confirm the outcome. The outcome might be that the employee requires some reasonable adjustments in terms of a phased return or equipment to accommodate that return. In some cases where the medical evidence suggests that the employee is unable to return to work within the foreseeable future the employer may dismiss on grounds of capability.

Long term sick pay and employment rights

Long term sick pay is the money that a company choose to pay to an employee when they have been sick for an extended length of time. It must meet the minimum statutory sick pay requirements (see more about SSP below), but companies can choose to pay employees more for long-term sick pay and pay it out for longer than the mandated maximum of 28 weeks that the government states is necessary for SSP.

Dismissing an employee on long-term sick leave

By law, dismissal for sickness absence should be seen as a measure of last resort. If an employee is on long-term sick leave, for a dismissal to be fair, you must prove you have taken all reasonable steps to support the employee in their return to work.

The steps outlined above will assist you with this.

Long-term sickness Dos and Don’ts for employers

Do communicate but don’t pressurise.

Do invite the employee to meetings but don’t demand that be face to face. Employees on long terms sick leave can often find attending face to face meetings daunting and feel more comfortable with virtual or telephone meetings.

Do obtain medical evidence where possible. Don’t try and self-diagnose or take the employee’s word for it. You have a duty of care to them, their colleagues and any visitors to your premises and so understanding the true nature of any underlined medical issue, how that affects them and what processes might need to be put in place is vital. Dismissal without medical evidence in support can also lead to decisions being challenged at tribunal.

Frequently Asked Questions

How should employers manage short-term sickness absence on a day-to-day basis?

Having a sickness policy in place so employees know what is required of them is a good place to start.

Where an employee is absent intermittently then similarly with a long-term absence, that must be explored further and the employee should be invited to attend a meeting to enable you to better understand the reasons for their absence.

Do you need to conduct a return-to-work interview every time an employee has a day off?

Return-to-work interviews are not a legal requirement but they are beneficial to both the company and the individual if they are performed correctly.  A back to work interview provides an opportunity for you to discuss the reasons for the absence and from that meeting you may gain a better understand of any ongoing issues or patterns and this could open up further dialogue for support and signposting where necessary.

When might an employer need to obtain a medical report on an employee?

during recruitment to make sure the individual is physically able to do the work where physicality is a particular requirement for the role;
as a prerequisite for signing the employee up for certain benefits, such as permanent health insurance;
to determine if the employee has a disability; or
to get advice as to whether any reasonable adjustments could be made to assist in the employees return to work or improve an employee’s attendance at work

If there are genuine reasons for absence can an employee still issue a warning for poor attendance?

The nature and length of the absence very much determines the outcome of any disciplinary proceedings related to absence but ultimately the employer will still require the employee to work to a particular standard and where, procedures have been followed and even with support and/or adjustments absence continues then the employee can be disciplined and received warnings for their poor attendance and in some circumstances that could lead to dismissal.

Employment Law Support

Our packages of support offer you are flexible and cost effective way of obtaining employment law and HR advice and support from our lawyers.

Having a package of support in place for a fixed price over a fixed term enables you to manage business costs and you can be assured that if an issue arises we’ve got you covered so there won’t be any unanticipated costs.

We are here to help and support no matter what the issue and sometimes that entails a quick call or email just to make sure you are on the right track with something but sometimes you need a face to face or Teams call to go through documentation/investigations notes, discuss business restructure or even a sale of your business and the employment law obligations upon you. No matter how big or small the query we are here to provide that support and guidance.

We tailor our packages around you and your business needs. Our packages of support can be put in place on a 3-month trial basis and thereafter for no longer than 12 months. We review with you your package and expenditure at the end of each period to ensure that the package is right for you both in terms of the support your business needs but also in terms of price. We will reduce the price if you are paying for more than what you are using.

We can tailor make packages that suite your business need too for example if the support required is to deal with a particular matter e.g. a restructure or large scale grievance. In some circumstances where an employee conflict arises, mediation may be a more suitable way of resolving the matter and we can offer workplace mediation from our TCM Accredited Workplace Mediator (link)

To find out more contact Melissa Bramwell – [email protected] or telephone on 01978 291000