Sickness absence is a cost for your organisation. Whilst the national average for 2013 of days lost to sickness is 7.6, in the not-for-profit sector the figure is 0.5 days higher at 8.1 days per employee per year (CIPD/Simplyhealth Absence Management survey 2013). Reducing sickness absence and promoting better health is in the interests of every employer.
Handling sickness absence, whether frequent and short term, or longer term, can be one of the most tricky areas for line managers. Developing a policy on the management of sickness absence and payment for it, then recording and analysing sickness data and ensuring that managers are taking appropriate and timely action is a challenge for organisations and an unnecessary financial burden if managed poorly. A related area is that of capability, where an employee has diminished ability or is unable to fulfil the requirements of their role because of ill health. Managers can often feel uncertain and be reluctant to tackle the problem, especially where medical capability issues are involved and disability may be a factor.
The value we can add in this area includes:
- Development and measurement of wellbeing policies, initiatives and associated communication plans
- Development of Sickness Absence and Capability policies and implementation
- Introduction of recording system
- Sickness absence benchmarking data
- Templates spreadsheets, improvement plans, letters and meeting scripts
- Advice and support
- Training and coaching for managers
- Guidance through the process of obtaining a medical report from a GP or Occupational Health
- Preparation for, and attendance, advice and note taking at, informal and formal meetings with employees upto and including capability dismissal
Please contact us in confidence for more information and to discuss this further.