THE SIX ELEMENTS OF ABSENCE MANAGEMENT

Here are the identified six key elements involved in effectively managing sickness absence and return to work:

• Recording sickness absence

• Keeping in contact

• Planning and undertaking workplace adjustments

• Using professional or other advice and treatment advice

• Agreeing and reviewing a return to work plan

• Co-ordinating the return to work process

Element 1: Recording sickness absence

Checkpoint

Are you able to identify which of your employees are off sick and why ?

Key issues

• Knowing who among your employees is off sick and why will help you to:

• Identify patterns and high level causes of short/long-term sickness absence;

• Identify work-related/other causes;

• Plan cover for your absent employees;

• Benchmark your organisation’s performance.

Communication point

Recording sickness absence daily and summing it up on a weekly basis will help keep the information accurate and prompt you to make contact with absent employees at suitable intervals.

Element 2: Keeping in contact

Checkpoint

Have you been in regular contact with your absent employee?

Key issues

• Keeping in contact is a key factor in helping employees to return to work after sickness absence.

• Contact can be a sensitive topic as some employees may feel they will be pressed to come back to work too early.

• Without contact, those who are absent may feel increasingly out of touch and undervalued.

How and when to get in contact

It is normally a key responsibility of line managers to keep in regular contact with any of their staff who are absent. They will know the individual and should be able to handle any sensitive issues. Don’t pass the responsibility to others unless there are sound reasons for doing so. Make sure your conversation with the absent employee is clearly focused on their health and well-being and their return to work. Try to focus as much on what the employee can do as well as things they may need help with.

Minor illness: When employees notify you of a minor illness that is likely to end within seven days further contact is not really necessary. However a Return To Work Interview will be useful to get people up to speed and to discuss any underlying issues if this sort of absence happens often.

Traumatic injury or sudden illness: Extend your sympathies and use discretion until the longer prognosis is known.

Planned treatment: Employees may welcome hospital visits but try to check with relatives first.

Stress: If you are notified that an employee is suffering from a stress-related illness make contact within a week. But it is unlikely they will be ready to discuss returning at this stage. Use discretion until the longer-term prognosis is known.

• Further help on Do’s and Don’ts for keeping in touch

Communication Point

A Return To Work Interview gives you the chance to welcome your employee back to work, confirm that their record of absence is correct, and enables them to raise any remaining health or other issues that need addressing with your support. The main thing is to listen well and be objective. The employee may wish to have a third party present such as a Trade Union representative. A Return To Work Interview can also be a good opportunity to offer help to an employee if you feel they are unwell or behaving differently because of pressure of some kind - domestic or work related. If they become distressed, stay focused, give them time to recover and reassure them that you are listening and want to help.

Element 3: Planning and undertaking workplace adjustments

Checkpoint

Have you worked with your employee to plan for and undertake any workplace adjustments to aid their return to work?

Key issues

The purpose of workplace adjustments is to:

• return your employee to their job with any modifications needed, or to an alternative job if no adjustments are possible;

• retain valuable skills;

• remove any obstacles to return to work.

Becoming disability aware

• If your employee is or becomes disabled you are legally required under the Disability Discrimination Act to make reasonable adjustments to enable the employee to continue working. Not all disabled employees will need permanent adjustments to keep working. But if an individual does need help you need to make sure you reasonably do all that you can to modify their job.

• If you have any doubts about what might be reasonable, take advice from the Disability Rights Commission .

Workplace Adjustments

• Workplace Adjustments need not be difficult. You will often find solutions working with your employee and their Trade Union representatives. At other times you may need to seek professional advice.

• The key steps in planning adjustments are:

• Consider the needs of your employee and what they can do;

• Assess the possible obstacles to your employee’s return;

• Consider the adjustments needed to overcome these obstacles;

• Review health and safety risk assessments in the light of the proposed adjustments;

• Review how well the adjustments work;

• Seek professional advice, where necessary, to help you make informed decisions.

• In many cases a phased or gradual return to normal working hours within a fixed timescale is a key element in getting employees back to work. Other examples of workplace adjustments.

• There will be other occasions when there is no workplace adjustment that will enable an employee to return to their original job. The key issues regarding alternative work include:

• checking the alternative is suitable;

• what the impact will be on the employee’s contractual terms and conditions;

• what training or support will be needed;

• what the employee will do while alternatives are explored.

Risk assessment

Health and safety law requires that you undertake risk assessments of your activities to prevent people being harmed. You will need to review and possibly amend risk assessments if:

• there has been a significant change in your employee through injury, ill health or disability that makes them vulnerable to additional risks;

• you are introducing workplace adjustments that could affect the work and health of others.

Communication Point

Throughout all stages make sure your employee is at the centre of any discussions about what they can do and what adjustments they may need to continue working.

Element 4: Making use of professional or other advice and treatment

Checkpoint

Have you accessed all the advice you need to help your employee to return to work?

Key issues

• There will be some circumstances where you and your employee may need professional advice or access to support and treatment before a return to work is possible. For example, Occupational Therapists will be able to assist you with return to work programmes or workplace adaptations. Useful links contains a list of organisations who can offer help and advice.

• If you are an SME, you may not have routine access to occupational health services but sources such as local hospital may be able to help to you.

• Check with your insurer to see if your Employers Liability Compulsory Insurance includes rehabilitation services as part of your policy.

• Payments, private medical and income protection insurance may be taxable to the employee. Services for work related ill health and general welfare counselling are normally exempt from tax. See tax rules and the purchase of occupational health support for more information.

• If you or your disabled employee needs assistance with reasonable adjustments, your employee can apply to the nearest Jobcentre Plus for help.

Communication point

Sometimes people do not realise that their behaviour causes distress or unexpected circumstances can occur which may cause conflict. One way of tackling this is to use workplace mediators. Communicating with your employees to ensure that everyone understands what is acceptable behaviour at work means that conflict can normally be avoided.

Occupational therapists

Occupational therapists (OTs) have a comprehensive medical training covering both physical and psychological conditions, and are also skilled in analysing the practical consequences of illness or disability. The profession has a central role in resolving any residual issues following a period of illness and medical treatment, and also in advising employers about the needs of sick or disabled workers when they return to the work environment. OTs can also assist employees who are still at work but having difficulties due to illness or disability.

An OT will carry out a detailed assessment of the needs of the workplace and the abilities of the individual, and identify problems and potential solutions. Where appropriate the OT will provide an action plan and oversee its implementation.

An OT have to provide specific advice in the following areas:

Risk assessment and risk monitoring

Once a risk assessment has been carried out, and agreement reached on action required, the OT can monitor progress and review the risks during work retention and rehabilitation programmes, which may involve the presence in the workplace of employees who are not “100 per cent fit”.

Retention programmes and absence management

ccupational therapists can assess problems both inside and outside the workplace and establish a retention or return to work plan with employer and employee.

Return to work programmes

Where an employee has been away from the workplace for a long period, and particularly where he or she has a acquired a long-term disability, the OT can advise on the practicality of a return to work, and the need for any modifications to the job role, the work environment, or the hours worked.

Environmental or worksite modifications

Occupational therapists are experienced in assessing what adaptations or specialist equipment may be required to assist an employee to perform his or her duties. Where necessary the OT will be able to provide a specification for use by architects or builders, and will be able to liaise with relevant staff and contractors to ensure the work is carried out satisfactorily.

Contacting an occupational therapist

Employers or employees wishing to contact an occupational therapist have a number of options. The availability of occupational therapists in the public sector to assist with employment issues is quite limited because of high demand for their services, and referral routes vary. In some cases the Disablement Employment Adviser based at the local Jobcentre Plus will be able to refer directly to an Occupational Therapist, or give practical advice on local contact routes. This may be the best route to follow initially.

and an initial enquiry by telephone should be sufficient to establish whether they would be able to assist with employment issues.

Contacting occupational therapists working in the local hospital is often more difficult, but one of the following routes should be followed:

• The employee may ask his or her GP for a referral to the local Occupational Therapy service - in some cases occupational therapists are based in GP surgeries

• A telephone call can be made to the main switchboard of the local general hospital asking for the Occupational Therapy service

An increasing number of occupational therapists work outside the statutory sector, either independently or employed by private companies.

Element 5: Agreeing and reviewing a return to work plan

Checkpoint

Have you reviewed the return to work plan with your employee, once they have been back at work a while, to make sure they are happy and comfortable with what is happening?

Key issues

• You now need to prepare a return to work plan - discussing it too soon may put pressure on the employee. But leaving it too late may mean the employee loses confidence in being able to return. Usually the best time to prepare a plan is 3 to 4 weeks into an absence. In cases of post-operative convalescence there may be clear physical milestones in the healing process that will influence the plan.

• The plan should be tailored to the individual and might include:

• the goal of the plan;

• the time period of the plan;

• Information about alternative working arrangements

• information about changes to terms and conditions

• what checks will be made to make sure the plan is put into practice

• dates when the plan will be reviewed

• Empowering an individual to influence their return to work can significantly boost their well-being and confidence.

Communication point

Before implementing the plan, make sure the employee is happy with what has been put in place and that advice given by professionals, such as the individual’s GP or Occupational Health Adviser, has been taken into account.

Element 6: Co-ordinating the return to work process

Checkpoint

Have you discussed all the issues with the right people, and put the necessary measures in place to ensure everyone is working towards a common goal?

Key issues

• If you have to get help from a number of advisers it may be useful to appoint a co-ordinator to ensure information is available on time, arrangements are smooth and everybody knows what is expected from them.

• It is important that the co-ordinator is familiar with the employee’s job and work environment, able to communicate and negotiate with staff at all levels and be sensitive to the needs of the employee concerned.

• A more formal approach to co-ordination, known as case management, may be needed in complicated cases or when input is needed from a wide variety of sources. A case manager is typically someone who is professionally qualified in a relevant medical area and may be involved in treating the employee.

• Case managers can also mediate in cases where communications have broken down or help is needed to move things on.

Communication Point

Nominating one person to co-ordinate the return to work process means all parties involved have one point of contact. This is especially important for the employee who may get frustrated if they feel they are being passed around departments.

Do's and don'ts for keeping in touch

Do

• Create a climate of trust by agreeing beforehand your methods, frequency and reasons for keeping in contact with absent employees;

• Consider training for your managers on a sensitive approach to help them get the most out of contact;

• Keep a note of contacts made;

• Be flexible, treat each case individually but on a fair and consistent basis;

• Welcome your employee back after their absence;

• Carry out return to work interviews

• Give your employees the opportunity to discuss, in private, concerns about their health or other matters that are affecting their performance or attendance;

• Remember that medication can have side effects on things like physical stamina, mood, machinery operation and safety critical tasks.

Don't

• Wait until someone is on long-term sick leave before taking action;

• Delay making contact or pass responsibility to others unless there are sound reasons for doing so;

• Make assumptions about your employee’s situation;

• Say that colleagues are under pressure or that work is piling up;

• Forget that recovery times for the same condition can vary significantly from person to person.

Workplace adjustments

Workplace adjustments can be temporary or made on a permanent basis.

Examples of adjustments to working arrangements include:

• allowing a phased return to work;

• changing individual's working hours;

• providing help with transport to and from work;

• arranging home working, providing a safe environment can be maintained;

• allowing an employee to be absent from work for rehabilitation treatment.

Examples of adjustments to premises include:

• moving tasks to more accessible areas;

• making alterations to premises.

Examples of adjustments to a job include:

• providing new or modifying existing equipment and tools;

• modifying work furniture;

• providing additional training;

• modifying instructions or reference manuals;

• modifying work patterns and management systems;

• arranging telephone conferences to reduce travel;

• providing a buddy or mentor;

• providing supervision;

• reallocating work within the employee's team;

• providing alternative work.

Please note that, readers will need to keep in mind the existence of the Fit Note in applying any potential recommendations.

In you want to find out more on this topic and how we can help your organisation ensure compliance with the absence management procedure please get in touch with us on 01163669989.