We are often surprised at
the number of small employers who have no system for recording sickness
absence. Some will ensure that they ask for medical certificates if the
period of absence exceeds 7 calendar days (in accordance with the Statutory
Sick Pay (SSP) rules) but many do not have any sort of recording tool for
short-term absence.
The problem for employers who do
not record absence is that they find themselves in a difficult position if and
when they feel they have a problem with an employee taking too much time off.
If this has not been recorded, all they have is a general feeling and a
problematic lack of evidence.
Sickness recording systems do not
need to be complex. All that is required is a simple form to record the dates
of absence and the nature of the illness/injury. A simple spreadsheet can
then be used to record it for each employee and the form can be filed in their
personnel file (make sure it is kept securely). It is then just a case of
having a look at the spreadsheet on a regular basis (e.g. quarterly) to see if
anyone is taking a lot of time off.
If you feel one of your employees
is taking too much time off sick, you are then able to address this with them
by showing them the record and having a discussion about it. At this
stage you would deal with it informally to try to find out whether there may be
any underlying cause (which could indicate a disability and a need to tread
carefully), or whether they are just the sort of unlucky person who is
frequently sick (or perhaps the sort or person who goes off sick at the
slightest snuffle, or even perhaps someone who "swings the lead").
The outcome of the meeting would normally be an informal warning to explain
that you expect an immediate, substantial and sustained improvement in their
attendance or you will need to consider commencing disciplinary proceedings on
the grounds of capability (or under a separate capability procedure if you have
one). Unless you had clear evidence you would not be questioning whether
the sickness absence is genuine, it would be a case of explaining that the
business is unable to sustain this level of absence which is why you need to
address it.
That is often enough to nip the
problem in the bud. If staff know that you are going to address their
sickness absence, they may well think twice before calling in sick unless
absolutely necessary.
Other tools that can help change
a lax sickness absence culture are:
- return to work
interviews every time someone comes back from a period of sickness absence
no matter how short
- strict rules
about phoning in when they are off sick (e.g. phone calls to the boss,
rather than a message via a colleague, or a text message)
- paying SSP only
(although you would need to ensure you were paying in accordance with any
contractual obligation)
