Tips for managing long-term sickness absence

The Office for National Statistics latest figures showed a record high of more than 2.5 million people being economically inactive due long-term sickness.

According to Darren Morgan, Director of Economic Statistics at the Office for National Statistics, the main causes were mental health and increased symptoms of long Covid such as post viral fatigue.

Wake Smith’s employment team looks at some practical tips for employers when managing long term sickness absence.

This article covers:

• What does the data show?
• Tip 1 - Up to date T&Cs and policies
• Tip 2 – Monitor sickness absence
• Tip 3 – Be careful of harassment
• Tip 4 – Gain a medical opinion
• Tip 5 – Conduct and record return to work interviews
• Tip 6 – Be mindful of discrimination
• Your next move?

What does the data show?

The data revealed a decline in the number of employees on UK Firms Payroll for the first time since February 2021.

The figures also revealed that there were 556,000 working days lost because of labour disputes in March 2023, up from 332,000 in February 2023.

It is therefore important that businesses manage long term sick issues properly in order to place themselves in the best defence position possible should a labour dispute arise.

Tip 1 - Ensure your terms and conditions and policies relevant to sickness are up to date and are exercised consistently.

Legally you are required to implement any terms and conditions relating to incapacity for work due to sickness or injury, including any provision for sick pay into an employee’s terms and conditions.

This can either be in the contract or as a separate policy, such as a staff handbook, which should be issued to employees on the first day of employment.

 

Ensuring you have an effective policy in place will ensure consistency within the workplace, and also ensures an employee understands what is expected of them. In turn, this should help reduce a legal risk of employment claims arising.

Our employment team can help with drafting or updating your terms and conditions if needed.

Tip 2 – Monitor sickness absence

Monitoring absence in the workplace also helps businesses form an accurate picture of the level of sickness absence, in order to identify any potential problems and underlying issues.

It also helps you act early. All too often an employee who is absent due to sickness is left and the necessary welfare meetings aren’t done, which can often create problems further down the line.

Starting any process early means things are dealt with efficiently and employees aren’t left feeling abandoned.

When an employee calls in sick, employers should deal with the matter in a sympathetic way and ask appropriate questions to ascertain sufficient information regarding the reason for the employee’s absence and their likely date of return.

This will help you to recognise the likely impact of the absence and put in place supportive measures to cover that impact.

 

Making sure that the reason for the absence is recorded is very important to spot re-occurrences, and potential underlying conditions, which may require further investigation in the future.

As an employer, it is important that you acquire relevant evidence of incapacity. Where the absence has lasted seven days or less, a signed statement from the employee giving the dates and a brief description of their incapacity should be provided to the Company.

For any period longer than seven days, a doctor’s certificate should be provided.

Tip 3 – Be careful of harassment

During an employee’s period of absence, it is advisable to maintain appropriate contact with the employee to offer support and concern, as well as to communicate updates on their health. It is important that these calls are limited in order to avoid harassment claims being brought by the employee.

You could even consider implementing policies for creating an action plan to deal with contact with employees on sick leave. Again, this ensures consistency and ensures that the employee knows what to expect and what is custom within the company during their absence. This policy can also provide an onus on the employee to update the business should there be any change in their medical condition.

It is often a balancing act between maintaining contact with an employee and not harassing them.

We would usually recommend contact at least once a month, however what is appropriate is very much dependent upon the facts.

Our employment team can help with implementing policies and corresponding management guidance so that employees are left feeling harassed or isolated and managers are given the tools they need to manage absence.

 

Tip 4 – gain a medical opinion

Employers should ensure business policy allows you to send an employee for a medical assessment. This will allow you to gain a medical opinion on an employee’s condition in the event of long-term absence or sporadic short-term absences.

A medical option can be sought from a medical expert of the employers’ choosing (provided the policy allows for that, or, with the employee’s consent, obtaining a GP report on the employee’s current state of health and likely return date, as well as exploring what adjustments if any are needed. The legislation around gaining an employee’s consent to obtain a GP report can be complex and our employment team can help with this. 

Employers should remember that medical data can be classed as special category data from a data protection perspective, it is therefore advisable that any such data is kept and stored securely and is also encrypted. Access to medical data should be limited to those people in the business that need to access it for business reasons only, and it should only be kept for as long as is absolutely necessary. 

Tip 5 – conduct and record return to work interviews

When the employee is ready to return to work, employers should consider holding and recording a return to work interview for every absence. It is important that employers ensure consistency with these meetings to avoid making employees feel singled out or risking allegations of discrimination arising.

When an employee has been deemed ‘may fit to work’ by their doctor, it is important that an employer uses their return to work meeting to implement changes to help the employee settle back in efficiently. For example, offering a phased return to work, varied start and finish times, alteration or reallocation of duties, returning to in supernumerary capacity, relocating an employee’s workstation or purchasing equipment or software.

A return to work interview can also be used as a useful tool for monitoring absence and showing that as an employer you have supported your employee when returning to work.

Tip 6 – Be mindful of discrimination

Any employee that is off long-term sick, may be classed legally as disabled. The Equality Act 2010 defines a disability as a physical or mental condition that has a long term and substantial effect on a person’s ability to carry out their day to day activities. This is another reason why a medical opinion is important as it can provide guidance as to whether an employee is likely to be considered disabled.

If an employee is classed as disabled then reasonable adjustments should be made to alleviate any disadvantages experienced by that employee due to their condition.

It is often a misconception that employees who are disabled can not be dismissed. This is not necessary the case. Our employment team are on hand to advise on any long term sick and disability issues.

 

Your next move?

If you require any advice on the matters discussed here, please give our friendly employment team a call on 0114 266 6660.

Find out more about our Employment law services

Published 04/09/23