Absence Management Pack

Absence Management procedures are essential for ensuring your employees understand exactly what is required of them regarding their attendance and punctuality to maximise efficiency for the business. They can also help to avoid costly and time-consuming tribunal cases

This pack will provide you with all of the essential tools that you need to ensure that every employee in your business is treated equally and that issues are addressed fairly and reasonably to ensure that your actions comply with current employment law

Why is this important?

Sickness absence causes a significant cost to a business in terms of lost productivity and the wellbeing of other employees having to ‘pick up the slack’. Employees may need time off for a variety of reasons, from short-term sickness to longer-term health issues, and an effective absence management procedure will support the health and wellbeing of employee’s whist providing a clear framework on how to manage excessive absence. In 2021 the Office for National Statistics (ONS) calculated that: 

The sickness absence rate in the UK in 2021 rose to 2.2%, from a record low of 1.8% in 2020; this is the highest it has been since 2010, when it was also 2.2%An estimated 149.3 million working days were lost because of sickness or injury in the UK in 2021, equivalent to 4.6 days per worker

There is also a severe penalty for not dealing with absence relating to a disability (and other ‘protected characteristics’ as defined in the Equality Act 2010 such as pregnancy, age or sex). For example, an employee being given a First Written Warning because their absence level reaches a trigger point for suggested action when the absence is related to depression, but the company has not discussed and implemented reasonable adjustments to the job role (and adjustments to the Absence Management process) could result in a successful claim at an Employment Tribunal for direct disability discrimination. Similarly, an employee being dismissed for excessive absence due to symptoms related to the menopause without reasonable adjustments and support having been exhausted by the company first could lead to a successful claim for sex or age discrimination. The compensatory award for such claims is uncapped and the company may also incur detrimental damage to its reputation

You can read more about why it's important in our Absence Management Case Study