Sickness Absence FAQ’s

We’ve created these Sickness Absence FAQ’s to help you with some of the issues that long term sickness absence creates.

Sickness Absence FAQ’s – Measuring Absence

The first of our Sickness absence FAQ’s is around how best to measure sickness absence.

A key element of effective absence management is accurate measurement and monitoring, identifying trends and exploring the underlying causes.

Some employers measure the frequency of time off as a percentage – both as an employer and for individual employees. This is a simple calculation but does not give much information around reasons and length versus number of absences.

Most employers will have some form of trigger points, where their absence management processes will ‘kick in’. These can be simplistic, for example based on number of occasions of absence i.e. 5 occasions in 12 months, or 3 in 6 months. Or, as used by our recommended HR System, Breathe HR, the Bradford Factor Score. The Bradford factor considers the number and length of absences – calculated as follows:

S X S X D

With S = number of occasions of absence in 52 weeks and D = number of days absence in 52 weeks.

This gives a higher score for someone taking 10 x 1 day absences compared to another employee who has taken 1 x 10 days absence – which would be potentially less disruptive to the employer.

For Example:

10 x 1 day absences = 10 x 10 x 10 = 1000

1 x 10 day absence = 1 x 1 x 10 = 10

What trigger points should I set?

Employers can set their own Bradford Factor trigger number. However, care should be taken when using the Bradford factor as it could unfairly penalise employees who fall ill and then come back to work as quickly as possible. Also, the reasons for an employee taking frequent periods of absence should be discussed with the employee before any formal action is taken. There could be potential issues under The Equality Act 2010 which states that processes and procedures related to absence are adjusted for employees with a disability. In this instance a person’s disability may predispose them to regular short-term absences, and therefore a high Bradford Factor score. In this situation the wider picture needs to be reviewed before any action taken.

Sickness Absence FAQ’s – What is unauthorised absence?

this is when someone does not come to work and gives no reason for their absence or does not contact their employer. If this happens the employer should take the following steps:

• try and contact the employee as soon as possible, including using any emergency contact they have.
• Where it isn’t possible to get hold of the employee, and the employee then returns to work, the reasons for the non-contact should be discussed with the employee.
• If there are no good reasons given for the lack of contact then the employer might need to consider investigating this further and possible disciplinary action.
• If the employee does not return, then there are various steps that can be taken but individual situations need to be reviewed and the relevant action taken.

What is the difference between a fit note and a doctor’s note?

Fit notes used to be called doctors / sick notes. This is simply a statement from the persons doctor giving their expert opinion on the employee’s fitness for work. These notes may also contain recommendations for how the employer can support the employee. If the employee is off for 7 days or less, they do not need a fit note and can provide a self-certification of their sickness absence. If they are off for more than 7 days (no matter how many days they work) they should get a fit note to cover their absence.

The fit note will state that the employee is either not fit, or might be fit for work. If they state ‘might be fit’ then they would usually give details of what levels of work they consider the employee able to do i.e. Fit for light duties but no heavy lifting. They may also suggest other options, including a phased return to work, flexible working, different duties or adjustments to their role or working pattern (reasonable adjustments).

Sickness Absence FAQ’s – What is a reasonable adjustment?

ACAS states that “if an employee has a disability, by law their employer must consider making ‘reasonable adjustments’ if needed to help them return to work.” These can include making changes to their workstation or working equipment, working hours or duties or tasks. This can help employees get back to work quicker and prevent any future problems. This can be a difficult area to navigate, and employers should take advice from the employee, the employee’s doctor adviser and/or HR specialist.