Absent Management - Manager manual

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Absent Management

Caption: : A Manager's Guide

Introduction

The following instructions are to take you through step by step on how to manage an employee's absence.Absence is deemed any period of time, including lateness, that the employee is away from the office other than authorised annual leave or authorised 'Other Leave'.The Company uses three types of trigger systems.  The Bradford Factor which is explained in HRP021 is the main trigger to monitor and manage employee sickness absence and is designed for short term absence (less than four weeks).  An employee's Bradford Factor (BF) figure can rise sharply and when conducting a Return to Work interview it is important the employee is dealt with according to the set boundaries.  The other triggers will be discussed later on in this guide.

Short term triggers

Bradford Factor (BF)The BF score is calculated by:Number of spells/incidents (S) x Number of spells/incidents (S) x Total number of days (N)Joe has been away from work twice in the last twelve months for a total of six days.  His BF if 2 x 2 x 6 = 24.The boundaries are: 101 - Verbal warning, 251 - First written warning, 401 - Final written warning, 651+ - dismissalThe BF is based on a rolling twelve month period.

Three StrikesThis is just a quick check to inform the employee their absence is potentially becoming a problem.  It is likely an employee will hit 'three strikes' before setting off any alarms bells on the BF system.  As with BF it is based on a rolling twelve month period.The employee should be called to an Absence Hearing if they have triggered three strikes, this can be immediately after a Return To Work meeting and the employee should be allowed to have a work colleague with them.Lost Time Rate is based on a working year (Jan-Dec) and is calculated by the total number of days absent divided by the total number of working days to date x 100.  We allow 3% per employee.

Reporting Absence

The employee must call James Griffiths by 8am on the morning of the first day of their absence.  If they have not, you as the Manager needs to ascertain the reason why.  There will be few reasons as to why they were unable to do this.They should give you an expected return date and if this date cannot be met, they must call again to up date the Company.  They must update the Company when there are ANY changes in circumstances.

Returning to Work

A Return to Work interview must be done with employee before they start work on the first day of their return.A Return to Work form (HRF005) is on PeopleHR, if the employee has been absent for less than eight calendar days, the employee must also complete a Self Certification form (HRF009).You can complete the details on the form by using the data from PeopleHR.  It is important to know the individual's BF before the sickness and after the sickness, whether the employee has hit three strikes and to check where their LTR % is at.  All these will help your discussion with your team member.  The Return to Work form is self explanatory and you should follow it step by step.  In general HR does not need to get involved.

Important Questions

While conducting the interview it is important to know if the employee is well enough to attend work.  This may seem like a daft thing to say, but often employees return to work when they are clearly still unwell and in this case, they must be sent home until they are fully fit.  You as a Manager has the authorisation and the right to send an employee home, despite their protests.  In severe cases you are within your right to seek advice from a medical professional, but for the purposes of this slide we will assume the individual has been absent for a non serious illness.Be very clear about the reasons for the absence.  It is important to note this in detail as it helps to identify any patterns which may help in building up a picture of an illness becoming progressive or in the case where an employee is dishonest.  Likewise it is important to know if this is a recurring problem, if so, we may need to seek further medical advice and look to invoke deeper more stringent management of the illness.

Important Questions

Noting the Doctors advice in details is very important.  You are not a medical practitioner so clearly writing down their diagnosis / advise is incredibly important.  Is the absence due to an accident at work?  When dealing with accidents at work there are further points we need to consider such as what, if any, involvement does the HSE need to have.  An accident where the employee was negligent is classed as sickness and is managed through the normal procedures, if it is an accident where the Company was negligent please ensure that HR is with you when you do the Return to Work.