Formalising procedures not only makes the process of returning to work fair for all employees, it also means that staff sickness can be documented properly for future reference to avoid future instances of sickness absence. So how can your absence management system improve your everyday working life? It takes a work-focused approach to managing sickness absence. This is an important and highly effective tool for managing absence. We understand that managing sickness absences can be problematic at times for employers. Return to work interviews: to help detect any fundamental health issues and identify any support required and also help deter non . Conducting a Return To Work Interview as part of Managing Absence. Staff feel less respectful towards company policy after seeing it regularly broken without consequence. How to treat effectively. Most guidance documents on managing attendance stress the importance of having a robust attendance/absence management policy that defines clearly, for managers and staff, what sickness absence is, when it can be taken, how and when it should be reported and recorded, and what steps should be taken to manage attendance at an individual level. If you'd like to know more about managing sickness absence . The Importance of Work: . Whether dealing with short intermittent absence or long-term incapacity, this involves a careful balancing act taking into account the needs of the organisation and its duty of care and fairness to the employee. The aim when managing attendance should always be to look for a return to work. In order to cut unnecessary absence costs, causes of absence should be properly identified to enforce future preventative measures. Communication and clerical errors. Maintaining contact with an employee who is on sick leave is key to improving sickness absence levels. Creating your absence management policy Absence management forms an important part of your HR strategy. Lowers morale and increases resentment amongst staff, who will often have to cover for absent colleagues. It might be an informal chat to welcome an employee back to work, and to . Not only does this better support the employee feeling ill, it also helps line managers to reallocate workloads and sustain productivity. No organisation can avoid the inevitable; at one point or another your staff members will fall sick and as a manager you will need to take action to ensure their time off is managed correctly. In order to have an effective impact, these policies and procedures will need to be communicated to both employees and managers, with management/HR taking a proactive role in applying them. It is important for the employer to balance their support and concern for . Given the high costs to business, it's important that you have an effective absence management policy and tools in place. 1. Absence management is the process of managing absences in your workplace. Ignoring sickness and believing that nothing can be done to prevent it, is a huge risk to take. Whilst employers will not be able to control some illnesses, effecting a positive policy that addresses . Maintain good sickness absence records. Using the Bradford Factor. Whether dealing with short intermittent absence or long-term incapacity, this involves a careful balancing act taking into account the needs of the organisation and its duty of care and . Here are three actions to take for managing employee sickness absence effectively: 1. It's important to have a plan for dealing with employees absent from work because it can be disruptive and costly when too many people are out at once. Along with monitoring absence levels and keeping a record for each of . Employee absence results in a significant cost to businesses, even small absences can have a huge impact on productivity and profitability. Ignoring sickness and believing that nothing can be done to prevent it, is a huge risk to take. One of these characteristics is disability and is the specific one where managing absence is concerned. 3. A sickness absence policy sets out how you, as a company, will deal with sickness absence. Formalise absence procedures Employee absence costs UK businesses around 29 billion each year, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. Understanding the multifactorial factors playing an important role in the occurrence of regional and gender-divergent sickness absence may be a good predictor of subsequent morbidity and mortality . We recommend that all employers consider including the following in their policy: The process staff should follow when they call in sick. Here are three actions to take for managing employee sickness absence effectively: 1. Using a HR management system like Breathe can go a long way in ensuring that sickness absence and holidays are documented correctly, which helps to reduce potential exposure to employment tribunal claims. The Importance of Sickness Absence Management Training Sickness absence is a fact of working life, and one of sickness absence management's main purposes is to properly support people who are away from work or who have just returned. Managing sickness absence within a business has always posed a large obstacle for employers. 3. Ensure your sickness absence policy is fit for purpose. Breathe produces a Bradford Factor score which can be useful for managing instances of excessive sickness absence. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 3% of the American workforce was absent from their jobs on any . Having an absence and sickness policy can bring clear business benefits including: lower insurance costs higher rates of staff retention and motivation improved productivity, profitability and morale You may also find that the reputation of your business is improved and that this in turn aids employee recruitment. What Is Sickness Absence Management and Why Is It Important? Having a comprehensive sickness absence policy is important in ensuring that sickness absence is managed effectively across your organisation. Below are some important factors to consider when dealing with sickness absence and returning to work. In any sized business, keeping your workforce in peak condition and effective absence management is essential and supports the needs of your team, whilst providing them with clear and consistent guidance to avoid unauthorised absence. Monitoring short-term absence, targeting those whose absence shows a pattern and ensuring that the correct recording and reporting procedures are followed can help. . Using the Bradford Factor It's important to remember that disability is a broad definition and many conditions - both mental and physical - would be considered to be covered under the legislation. Important data to gather includes the reason or cause for an absence - not only does this inform a line manager about the possible length of absence, but it is vital to reveal any patterns that may be present. 2. This is an important and highly effective tool for managing absence. A work-focused approach: The following pages cover: Guidelines on prevention and management of sickness absence 7 The work-focused approach differs from previous approaches because it focuses on what the employee can do or might be capable of doing with reasonable Below are some important factors to consider when dealing with sickness absence and returning to work. Lost productivity in the workplace and lost revenues. The type of contact may vary according to the nature and size of the organisation and also the nature of illness but may include emails, telephone calls and meetings. It might be an informal chat to welcome an employee back to work, and to . 2. The presence and implementation of a good sickness absence policy is an important first step to managing absence well. It's important for managing absences and making sure everyone is treated fairly. Have a written POLICY in place. From impacting productivity to negatively affecting the rest of the team. There are many reasons. In order to cut unnecessary absence costs, causes of absence should be properly identified to enforce future preventative measures. Employee absence is the biggest non-recoverable cost to your organisation, making absence management an essential skill for managers. The different measurement methods include: 'Lost time' rate - expresses the percentage of total time lost due to absence. The importance of managing employee absence. For many short-term absence cases having the right procedures in place will help to reduce absence. Having effective sickness absence management policies and procedures in place will support the health and well-being of employees without compromising your business objectives. The Importance of Work: . A lack of absence tracking and management can lead to detrimental errors for your company, like: Wasted time in administrative rather than company forward projects. Maintaining an open dialogue with each of your employees and working to make sure they feel comfortable coming to you with the reason they've been absent will not only encourage motivation within your workplace but will ensure you have a record to refer back to if the absenteeism becomes more of a serious problem. Introduce a standard process across your organisation for when staff return to work after a period . And while most workplace absences are probably . The importance of absence management: costs and benefits for business. When you're putting together an absence management plan, you should think about how often people are taking off . Managing Sickness Absence. Absence from work can cost a company, especially one that is in its infancy. Our Managing Sickness Absence course helps managers to handle sickness absence in a fair manner, identifying when it is causing performance issues and knowing what . Sickness absence affects most employees and teams at one time or another. An . Employee absence is the biggest non-recoverable cost to your organisation, making absence management an essential skill for managers. sick. This is significant and in 2011 Dame Carol Black and David Frosts' report 'Health at Work - an independent review Here are a few of them. The statistics speak for themselves: 80% of sickness related absences are short-term sickness and it costs the UK economy 10-12 billion annually. Breakdown of team collaboration and project work. This figure highlights the importance of maintaining a healthy and productive workforce at all times. All absences must be monitored and managed. Knowledge gaps, leading to poor customer service. Working out what defines an absence from work, the causes behind a staff member who misses their day job on more than one occasion and understanding ways to limit it within the framework of employment law is important for business owners and managers alike. Why is managing sickness absence important? Ideally, a policy should be clearly understandable and take into account different causes of absence and develop appropriate ways of dealing with these. But absent employees can also have another cost for employers. Lack of foresight for scheduling and seasonal rushes. Conducting a Return To Work Interview as part of Managing Absence. Effective absence management tools that will benefit employers and enhance staff well-being can include: Monitoring: to help an organisation to gain a clear understanding of any situation that it needs to address. Instead, it is important to adopt the most effective approach towards managing it. Managing attendance. FIS Associate Member Citation has received a surge in sickness absence concerns from employers over the last few weeks, ranging from employees testing positive with COVID-19 and employees being reluctant to return to work due to health concerns surrounding the pandemic, to more typical start-of-the . The goal of an absence management system is to help increase employee engagement by ensuring workers take advantage of leave for illnesses, vacations, and other valid reasons while minimizing the operational disruptions and productivity losses that can result when team members are unavailable to work. To assist employers we have put together our top 10 tips on managing sickness absence: 1. How can absences be managed? 20 Jun 2017. In your policy, triggers can be set for a review of a person's absence. Communicating a consistent absence management process has multiple benefits for your team, from creating clear guidelines, to reducing sick days in the future. The Importance of Managing Absence Posted On: 27/11/2019 Employee absence results in a significant cost to businesses, even small absences can have a huge impact on productivity and profitability. Formalise absence procedures. Use absence monitoring tools. Showing your team you care Most guidance documents on managing attendance stress the importance of having a robust attendance/absence management policy that defines clearly, for managers and staff, what sickness absence is, when it can be taken, how and when it should be reported and recorded, and what steps should be taken to . Using a HR management system like Breathe can go a long way in ensuring that sickness absence and holidays are documented correctly, which helps to reduce potential exposure to employment tribunal claims. Separately calculations for different departments can identify areas of concern. Absence management is about reducing employee absenteeism (usually due to illness or injury) through policies and procedures. The impact on individual employers and the economy as a whole is often misunderstood and underestimated. Lower productivity. Sickness Absence Policy. This can be particularly important if employees are in a safety critical role, but there are risks and impacts from every absence. Your absence management policy should be in writing and should be given to staff members - or . The Cost of Sickness Absence This should include absence reporting and recording procedures, the requirement to provide fit notes, and when to hold sickness absence meetings to discuss the individual's progress and their return-to-work plans. HR tools such as the Bradford Factor can identify when sickness absences may not be genuine. Employers should have a robust sickness absence policy in place. Involvement of occupational health professionals is a particularly effective tool in the management of long-term sickness absence and, as one of their functions is to examine sick employees, it is important to allow for this in employee contracts. (See Using occupational doctors and Referring employees for medical examination and report) The Importance of Managing Absence Posted On: 27/11/2019. Be proactive. And it's not just about the costs - there are numerous reasons why absence management plays an essential role in your HR strategy. Sickness absence at any workplace is inevitable; the key is making sure that it is properly managed. No company can be effectively managing sickness absence unless they maintain good records. It is important, however, to manage absences pro-actively, reasonably and fairly. With flu season underway employers will want to take the most appropriate and cost-effective approach to managing short-term sickness absence. All absences must be monitored and managed. For many public and private sector organisations sickness absence is monitored and managed due to its financial impact. Maintain good sickness absence records It is also a way to ensure the absence does not damage business. Accurate measurement, monitoring, identifying trends and exploring the underlying causes are key in effective absence management. Employers must deal with, and be seen to deal with, employees on . Managing attendance at work is always a line management responsibility. Managers need to be able to manage it effectively, especially when absence is prolonged or very regular. Absence management is a critical issue for businesses.