How to manage short-term sickness absence in your school

There is no legal definition for a ‘short-term sickness absence’, but it is typically considered a period of fewer than four weeks. Short-term absence can be harmful to your School or Multi-Academy Trust, both financially and in terms of the disruption to teaching and learning. Besides, short-term absence can be the result of a longer-term health condition, a disability, or other issues that the employee may need your support with. As a result, it is advisable to address short-term absences consistently and early on.

Thankfully, there are steps you can take to proactively manage short-term sickness absences. Below is our four-point plan that you can put into place in your School or Multi-Academy Trust:

1. Have a sickness absence policy

While it is not a statutory requirement to have a sickness absence policy, it is advised that every school or multi-academy trust has one in place.  

A sickness absence policy will clarify roles and expectations and should be readily available to all employees. If an employee’s level of sickness absence becomes a concern, you should ensure that the employee is familiar with the policy and has a copy to refer to.

The policy should clearly outline the procedure that the employee should follow when absent due to sickness. It needs to clearly state who they should contact and by what time. We recommend that you require employees to advise of their sickness themselves, rather than asking a relative or friend to notify you on their behalf. Many schools find it most effective to require employees’ to notify by phone rather than by text message or email.

EPM has a model policy available to you. However, if you are creating your own policy, or updating an older version, you are advised to include:

• An introduction stating the aims and objectives of the policy
• A clear explanation of employees’ responsibilities and procedures to follow
• Details on illness or injury arising from work including reporting requirements
• Return to work arrangements
• The formal process to be followed if attendance is below an acceptable level, including trigger points
• Support offered by the school/MAT (Occupational Health, EAP etc.)
• Reasonable adjustments.

2. Request a self-certification form or fit note

All employees must complete a self-certification form detailing the reason for absences for any period of sickness absence of up to seven days.  

Medical certification must be provided from the eighth day of absence, including Saturdays and Sundays. This should be provided to the line manager, or another appropriate person, as soon as possible. If the absence continues, fit notes should be provided to cover the whole period of absence. Failure to do so may result in non-payment of sick pay where applicable and/or disciplinary action, if appropriate.

Other important points to be aware of include:

• Employees must continue to submit fit notes during school closure periods
• You may take a copy of a fit note for your records and return the original copy to the employee
• If required at any time and nominated by yourself, employees shall attend an Occupational Health or other medical appointment/examination by a registered medical practitioner
• If you require a fit note from the employee and they incur a charge for acquiring this, you should reimburse them if they provide a receipt.

3. Conduct return to work interviews

When an employee returns to work, conduct a return to work interview. Ideally, this should fall on the first day of their return, but if not, as soon as possible thereafter.

This is your opportunity to establish good communication with the employee, identify and offer any support, and let them know that they were missed whilst off. In some cases, an employee may be less likely to take time off if they know that this will be noted and discussed on their return.

A return to work interview will usually be carried out by the employee’s line manager. The purpose of the discussion is to:

• Determine the reason for an absence
• Offer assistance and support, where appropriate
• Identify any difficulties that the employee is experiencing in carrying out the duties of their post.

Use the interview as an opportunity to raise any concerns you might have, e.g. any emerging absence patterns and document in writing everything that is discussed at the meeting.

In most cases, the return to work interview won’t take very long. It is not intended to be onerous for either party.

4. Record and monitor sickness absences

Recording and monitoring sickness absences will allow you to identify reoccurring absences and any potential patterns of absence, for instance, employees being sick every Friday.

Use return to work interviews as an opportunity to informally raise any concerns that you have and discuss these openly. Remember, there could be more to the situation than meets the eye. In the event you see no signs of improvement, you may consider taking formal action under your sickness absence procedure.

When implementing your sickness absence management policy and procedures, our HR experts can guide you smoothly through the process, ensuring you fully understand your legal obligations.

Not only can we give you access to a wealth of model documentation, and letters, but our clients also get unlimited support from their dedicated HR team.

If you’re looking for support managing sickness absence or would like to learn more about our model policies letters, and relevant training, please talk to us.