Supporting Sickness Absence

Our Supporting Attendance Policy provides details about how we support people with sickness absence.

Short Term sickness absence – frequent and separate episodes of absence which last up to 28 calendar days each and may or may not be related.
Long Term sickness absence – a prolonged period of continuous absence due to sickness or injury which lasts for 28 calendar days or more.
Disability - defined by the Equality Act 2010 as a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day to day activities. The Act defines long-term in this context as having lasted or being likely to last for at least 12 months or the rest of the person’s life.
Reasonable adjustment - any adaptation to someone’s role to enable them either to return to work following a period of absence, or to remain at work. If a person has a disability, as defined by the Equality Act, we have an obligation to determine whether any adjustments can be made to support them at work. For further information please refer to the reasonable adjustments policy (ORG111).
Bradford Factor – a method which is usually used to measure the level of recurrent short-term absence, taking into account the number of episodes and number of days of absence over a six-month period.
Planned absence – This could be a period of absence for planned surgery or short-term absence where you’re asked to remain off work for infection control reasons, for example COVID-19, or diarrhoea & vomiting.

All services will have a local procedure which you should follow to let your manager know that you are unwell and will not be at work. It's a good idea to familiarise yourself with this process so you know what to do if you are ever absent. 

Your manager might ask you for some information about your absence, such as the reason, so that they can make sure this is accurately recorded on E-Roster or ESR. If you are likely to be absent for a few days, they will agree regular contact with you to check in on your wellbeing and get an update on your absence. 

If you are off sick for more than 8 days, you will need to provide a medical certificate which will be shared with payroll to make sure you recieve the correct sick pay.

Whilst on sick leave, you will be entitled to receive sick pay in accordance with your length of service: 

• During the first year of service: one month’s full and two months’ half pay
• During the second year of service: two months’ full and two months’ half pay
• During the third year of service: four months’ full and four months’ half pay
• During the fourth and fifth years of service: five months’ full and five months’ half pay
• After five years of service: six months’ full and six months’ half pay

Sickpay entitlement is based on a rolling 12 month period - this means that on the first day of absence, any periods of paid sickness absence taken during the previous 12 months will be deducted. 

When you are ready to return to work, your manager will hold a return to work discussion with you. This conversation will focus on your wellbeing and ensuring that you have the right support in place to welcome you back to work.

It might be that additional advice is sought from Occupational Health prior to your return.

If there are any questions or ongoing adjustments that you might want to talk about, this meeting is a good opportunity to share your thoughts.