The question
What do I need to include in our absence management policies and procedures and what do I need to be wary of?
I am particularly interested in the Bradford Factor as I am looking into the possibility of introducing it as a way of triggering return-to-work meetings – can you provide any advice here?
The legal verdict
Esther Smith, partner at Thomas Eggar
You are pretty much free to include any rules or provisions that you like in an absence management procedure so long as you don’t step on any statutory provisions, which in the case of sickness absence are pretty much restricted to statutory sick pay provisions.
In general terms, a sickness absence policy should include:
- Rules about how and when employees should report their absences
- An outline of self-certification and fit note procedures and requirements
- What payment staff members will receive, including SSP and any company sick pay, whether contractual or discretionary
- Any procedures for seeking occupational health or medical advice about employees
- How to deal with situations where employees go AWOL, which includes indicating what procedures the company will adopt
- An outline of any return-to-work processes, including interviews
- An indication of the company’s approach to addressing attendance issues.
In relation to this last point, using the Bradford Factor matrix as a trigger for addressing sickness absence matters can be useful, but it should only be used in that capacity – a trigger for discussion/investigation – rather than as an automatic trigger for disciplinary sanction.
Esther Smith is a partner in Thomas Eggar‘s Employment Law Unit.
Adam Partington, a solicitor at Speechly Bircham
Because there are different types of absence, you need to consider how you would like to deal with each. For example, employers often deal with straightforward unauthorised absence (ie where an employee simply does not turn up for work) under a disciplinary procedure.
Other types of absence include persistent short-term sickness absence ie a staff member frequently taking the odd day off. In addition, you may be faced with someone on long-term sickness absence, for example, if they have been absent from work for a prolonged period because of an underlying medical condition.
A well-drafted sickness absence policy could help you to tackle these types of absence, while ensuring that you follow a fair and consistent procedure when dealing with them. Such a policy should be tailored to the specific circumstances of your business.
The following list is not exhaustive, but sets out some points that you might want to cover. Think about including:
- A clear procedure on how employees should report to their managers when ill
- Details on when it is permissible for a staff member to self-certify their sickness and when a medical certificate is required from their doctor
- The purpose of a return-to-work interview – eg to enable you to confirm the details of the absence and the individual to bring any pertinent issues to your attention
- A sickness absence meetings procedure – ie a process to address a situation in which an employee has taken a number of short-term sickness absences, or is on long-term sickness absence (this includes obtaining medical evidence or occupational health input where appropriate)
- How to deal with the consequences of a staff member being found to have taken unauthorised absence or not to have followed the absence reporting procedure (for example, by following the company’s disciplinary procedure).
The purpose of the Bradford Factor is to differentiate longer and infrequent staff absences from shorter and more frequent ones, the assumption being that short duration absences are more problematic and can have a more disruptive impact on the business.
Using this system may provide a useful tool for pinpointing staff with absence issues, but it would be sensible to use the Bradford Factor’s points system alongside other absence policies in order to avoid staff feeling that they have been unfairly treated and to help prevent discrimination issues arising.
Where absences are, for instance, pregnancy- or disability-related, it is important to ensure that you do not discriminate against your employees.
The policy should reflect this stance by explaining, for example, that you will provide reasonable adjustments to assist disabled personnel at work or on their return to work, and that pregnancy-related sickness absence will be disregarded.
Furthermore, as with all policies, it would be worth considering whether you want the flexibility to be able to amend it – something that is easier if it is expressed as a non-contractual arrangement. It would also be advisable to review your policy to ensure that it sets out adequate procedures.
Adam Partington is a solicitor at Speechly Bircham LLP.
