Sickness Absence Policy - June 2025

If you have 3 occasions of absence or 10 working days absence (pro rata) in a rolling 12-month period, your line manager should convene an ‘Employee Support Meeting’. Your line manager should also hold the ESM if they consider you are moving towards another formal trigger or to provide interim informal support during the formal stags of this procedure. This should mean that additional support will be offered to you at an early stage to help you back to work and maintain more regular attendance. It is important that this meeting takes place even if you are absent from work so that early support can be put in place to assist you back to work.

The meeting is for you and your line manager to explore any concerns, the type of support that can be offered or to explore what you believe may help you to achieve better attendance at work in the future. This meeting can be an extension of the ‘return to work’ meeting or a separate meeting if you have not yet returned to work.

The ESM is normally conducted on a 121 basis with your manager irrespective of your prognosis as this is an early opportunity to explore and offer you appropriate and timely support. However, telephone or skype meetings may be appropriate if you are still unwell and unable to come into the workplace or you have returned to work, but you work in a different location to your line manager.

If you hit a formal trigger your line manager will start the formal stage of the sickness absence procedure. The formal triggers are:

• 4 occasions in a 12-month rolling period (The trigger point starts from the first day of a 4th occasion of absence);

• The equivalent of 3 normal working weeks absence or 15 working days (pro rata part time) continuous or otherwise, in a 12-month rolling period;

• Or any other unacceptable pattern of absence e.g. frequent occasions of absence abutting annual leave or bank holidays.

In all cases, seven calendar days’ written notice will be given of a formal meeting under the Sickness Absence Policy.

Your line manager will meet with you when you have hit a formal trigger and you may choose to be accompanied by a companion, i.e. A recognised trade union representative or official or an appropriate work colleague. (Please see guidance on the role of a companion.). Seven calendar days’ notice in writing will be given of a formal meeting under the Sickness Absence Policy

This meeting may formalise some of the strategies that were discussed in the ESM. In order to facilitate a return to work, or achieve satisfactory attendance, a number of actions may be considered, including reasonable adjustments), redeployment into a different role suited to your health capabilities and / or changes to working patterns (please see Disability: reasonable Adjustments guide, Redeployment Policy and Flexible Working Policy). Although the outcome of this meeting will be to emphasise the support available to you and to consider all strategies that would assist you in returning or remaining in work, you will be reminded that if there is little or no significant improvement in attendance then ultimately this may result in the termination of your employment on ill health capability.

A formal review period will be set starting from the date of 1st AMM. The length of the review date will be dependent on the facts of the case but should be no less than 2 months and no more than 3 months. This meeting should therefore be held without undue delay.

If satisfactory attendance is not achieved and you hit a formal trigger during the review period, you will move to the 2nd formal absence management stage of this procedure.

If satisfactory attendance is achieved during this review period, i.e. your attendance improves and you have not hit a formal trigger, you will be removed from the formal absence management stage, and this will be confirmed in writing by your manager. This is with the proviso that if your level of sickness absence hits a formal trigger within the following 4-month monitoring period you will re-enter the formal sickness absence management procedure at stage 1.

Where a pattern of sickness absence develops following removal from the formal AMM process the manager has the discretion to increase the monitoring period to 6 months at the end of the next 3-month review period with HR advice.

The outcome of this meeting will be confirmed in writing.

If after the ‘review period’ your sickness absence does not improve, and you hit a formal trigger, your line manager will invite you to a 2nd stage AMM. Your line manager may be accompanied by another manager or HR Business Partner and you may be accompanied by a companion. (Please see guidance on the role of a companion). Seven calendar days’ notice in writing will be given of a formal meeting under the Sickness Absence Policy.

To facilitate a return to work or achieve more regular attendance a number of supportive actions may be considered by your manager in discussion with you including reasonable adjustments, redeployment into a different role suited to your health capabilities and / or changes to working patterns. It is likely that one of the outcomes of this meeting will be for your line manager to request a medical report from the Occupational Health Service if one has not already been requested, to seek an opinion on your ability to maintain regular attendance in the foreseeable future and advice on any additional supportive health and wellbeing interventions that may assist you in doing so.

You will be formally advised at this meeting that if satisfactory attendance is not achieved and you do hit a formal trigger during the review period, you will progress to the 3rd formal absence management stage of this procedure, at which a decision may be taken to dismiss on the grounds of ill-health capability.

A further review period will be set to follow on from the initial review period set at the 1st AMM. The length of the review date will be dependent on the facts of the case but should be no less than 2 months and no more than 3 months. This meeting should therefore be held without undue delay.

If satisfactory attendance is not achieved and you hit a further formal trigger during the review period, you will move to the 3rd formal AMM stage of this procedure.

If satisfactory attendance is achieved during this review period, i.e. your attendance improves and you have not hit a formal trigger, you will be removed from the formal absence management stage, and this will be confirmed in writing by your manager. This is with the provision that if your level of sickness absence hits a formal trigger within the following 4-month monitoring period you will re-enter the formal sickness absence management procedure at stage 2.

Where a pattern of sickness absence develops following removal from the formal AMM process the manager has the discretion to increase the monitoring period to 6 months at the end of the next review period with HR advice.

You have the right to request that the decision of the 2nd Stage AMM be reviewed by your director or nominated representative with advice from the Assistant Chief Executive (People, Digital & Policy) or nominated representative.

The request to review the decision must be made by writing to the Assistant Chief Executive (People, Digital & Policy) within 7 calendar days of the date of receipt of the outcome letter and you must set out the reasons for the request to review. Your director or nominated representative will review the decision with advice from the Assistant Chief Executive (People, Digital & Policy) or nominated representative and confirm the outcome to you in writing without undue delay.

If following the review period, the level of sickness does not improve, a 3rd stage AMM will take place. Your line manager may be accompanied by another manager or HR Business Partner. You will be informed in advance that one of the outcomes of this meeting may be dismissal on the grounds of ill health capability and you will be offered the right to be accompanied by a companion. (Please see guidance on the role of a companion). Seven calendar days’ notice in writing will be given of a formal meeting under the Sickness Absence Policy.

Your line manager will consider all relevant information in your current review period including an up-to-date medical report and any submission by you and your companion. In addition, the previous three years attendance record will be taken into consideration (if you have less than three years’ service your overall attendance record will be considered).

In all cases when dismissal on ill health capability is being considered your director or nominated representative will be informed and advice sought from a HR Business Partner in advance of the 3rd stage AMM. If at the third stage meeting the decision is not to dismiss then the same principle will be in place as at other stages i.e. that a further review will be put in place, and this will be confirmed in writing. The length of this final review will be dependent on the facts of the case but will be no longer than 3 months.

To exercise your right to appeal following a health capability dismissal you should write to the Assistant Chief Executive (People, Digital & Policy) within 14 calendar days of the date of receipt of the outcome letter stating your grounds for appeal.

Your appeal will be considered by an appeal panel. The panel will consist of a director or nominated representative and the Assistant Chief Executive (People, Digital & Policy) or nominated representative and their decision is final.