As BA and the Transport and General Workers Union (T&G) enter another day of talks to avoid this week’s scheduled two-day strike by cabin crew, HR consultants are already keen to work out what can be learned from the dispute.

Along with issues specific to BA, two general problems are apparent: the first is the absence management policy which has been the catalyst for the dispute. The second is effective communication, the lack of which can be surmised from the whopping 96 per cent vote in favour of a strike and the quotes about management needing ‘to listen’ and to ‘address their concerns’.

T&G general secretary Tony Woodley says that BA has allowed the situation to develop over a number of years and believes it has ‘got out of hand’. He insists that cabin crew are not militants.

“They are a sizeable group of professional and responsible women and men who have lost trust in their company’s management and that is abundantly evident from that ballot result,” he says.

The difficulty with communication is that it does not just encompass organisational communication – it also includes the way everyone within the organisation implements decisions.

Earlier this month HR Zone revealed that a Department of Trade and Industry report had highlighted a problem with middle managers enabling reps to undertake consultation duties. How many middle managers – or managers of any description – are given incentives to improve communication?

To return to the issue of absence management, workplace experts Croner advise managers to pinpoint the seasonal illness peaks – for instance, winter coughs and colds and the summer hayfever season.

By forecasting sickness peaks, organisations can prepare contingency plans that look at outsourcing and restructuring to ensure staffing levels remain at a productive level.

Even so, Croner says communication is vital. Jo Pitts, employment advisory consultant at Croner, says: “Communication is the key to ensuring staff buy-in to and are confident in the company’s handling of sickness leave.

“Employers should make staff aware of absence policies and back them up with ‘return to work’ interviews. Employees then know and feel like their personal circumstances are being taken into account, while management can spot any trends or patterns of absence and take appropriate action.

Croner advises employers to employ flexible absence management systems to tackle the unpredictability of sickness and to encourage a relationship of mutual trust with staff.

Ms Pitts continues: “Some companies rely on rigid absence management systems that focus solely on the number of absences. A blended, more flexible approach is much more conducive to creating an environment of mutual trust between staff and management.

“Every case of sickness leave is different and both the personal circumstances of the employee and the work environment need to be considered. For instance, flight crew are much more susceptible to catching and passing on colds because of the small, confined working space and high interaction with other people.

“A case-by-case approach ensures illness is not spread to the rest of the workforce, or customers for that matter, while also ensuring employees feel their health and well-being are considered by their employers.”

A ‘best-practice’ approach to absence management should also promote health awareness in the workplace as a way to lower sickness absence and as another relationship-building technique. Practical steps can take the form of inviting a nutritionist to present to staff, offering discounts on gym memberships or introducing mechanisms for reducing stress in demanding work environments.

Croner’s absence management advice to employers:

• Ensure that senior managers, line managers and supervisors have the ability to conduct interviews and to support staff as appropriate during and following sickness absence by conducting frequent training sessions




• Sickness absence should be conducted in a context of mutual trust and confidence and in the environment of a safe and healthy workplace




• Give primary responsibility for sickness absence to senior managers or HR managers




• Improve employment conditions to reduce workplace stress and accidents, which are often a root cause of sickness absence




• Continue to communicate with the employee to gauge the seriousness of long term absence for the business




• Consider requiring absent employees to phone in by a given time on each day of absence for the business




• Meet with employees in an attempt to resolve short term absentee issues