Whole school (or MAT) review of sickness

absence Implications and solutions

Tom Wallace – HR Consultant

Judy Topping – Senior Occupational Health Advisor, APL Health

HR and employment conference for

school leaders 2015

#BJHR15

Purpose of this workshop session

So why is managing absence so important?

Here are a few key reasons:

• impact on teaching and learning

• financial costs

• impact on school – colleagues and students

• duty of care to employees.

Remember the employment contract is two way –

employees are contractually obliged to attend work

regularly and perform.

How to manage absence?

Make sure you:

• follow your policy and regularly review it – is it Fit for

Purpose?

• monitor absence rates

• carry out return to work interviews

• use your triggers points to take action – automatic reminders

• make effective use of occupational health

• keep in contact with employees during absences

• keep a paper trail

• impact of authorised absences.

Absence management policy

Does it clearly detail how and when staff will be

managed? – clearly defined trigger points and reporting

process.

Clear stages for management:

• Stage 1 – first review meeting (possible warning)

• Stage 2 – second review meeting (final written warning)

• Stage 3 – final review (possible dismissal).

How to measure absence?

Individual:

• what are the triggers?

• how will you know that they’ve been met?

• who will take action if they are?

• be consistent and fair.

School wide:

• areas for concern

• areas of good practice

• what information goes to governors?

Tip:

Use working days lost per

employee as your

measure – it shows

greater impact

= no. days sick ÷ average

number of employees

Short term sickness absence

• identify if there is a pattern which needs to be dealt with - have they hit triggers?

• identify whether there is an underlying health condition (is it a disability?)

• hold series of meetings (with warnings) and timescale for review

• remind the employee of their contractual obligations and consequences of continuing poor attendance

• don’t leave it too long before starting the process – as soon as trigger level hit.

Long term sickness absence

• do not allow the situation to drift

• hold review meetings – keep in contact

• determine action based on reason for absence

• consultation in light of medical evidence is important.

• think about:

‐ is the employee capable of performing their full duties safely (that is your decision based on information)?

‐ reasonable adjustments /alternative employment.

How to hold return to work interviews?

• most common absence management tool – they do

make a difference to reducing levels of absence

and reinforcing your Duty of Care

• need not be time consuming

• ensures you are consistent

• creating a culture whereby absences will be

managed.

Return to work interviews

Do you believe these are done well in your school?

Case study – return to work meetings

• large secondary academy – extremely high absence

(costing circa £500,000 per year)

• return to work interviews not being done – poor

absence management process

• principal began doing all return to work meetings for

three months then passed to VP – absence levels

dropped across the academy – after year one absence

cost reduced to £300,000 – still high.

Occupational health

• what is the purpose of occupational health and how can they help?

• a good OH report begins with a good referral

• what can you expect?

• provide independent, impartial advice.

Occupational health

• what if the employee:

‐ refuses to attend occupational health?

‐ does not consent for the release of the OH report.

• management decision to dismiss, not OH.

Referrer good practice

The principle requirement is one of ‘no surprises’

• discuss the intension of requesting an OH report with

the employee

• provide the employee with information as what to

expect from an OH consultation

• obtain informed consent (may be verbal or written)

• consent can be withdrawn anytime.

What to include in the referral

• job requirements – health, safety or welfare risks

• main concerns & reason for referral

‘paint a picture of the individual at work’

• workplace support - helps demonstrate you have acted

reasonably & follow-up on recommendations (can you

action them?)

• willingness to provide reasonable adjustments.

Questions to be answered by OH

• fit for work at present and why

• estimate a likely return to work

• impact on performance/attendance

• employer actions to facilitate early RTW & prevent

further absence

• opinion regarding the relevance of Equality Act 2010

• attend meetings

• receiving appropriate care and treatment.

Duty of reasonable adjustment

Todd v HM Prison Service

• physical education officer

• employed at prison in

Cambridgeshire & commuted to

work from home in West Yorkshire

• the employee had disabling

depression and asked the employer

to move him to a prison nearer to

home, but no post was available

• he was dismissed on grounds of

capability

Beart v HM Prison Service

• administrative officer

• Beart fell out with her line

manager and went off sick with

depression.

• OH professional recommended

redeployment to another prison,

but this was not acted on and Beart

was eventually dismissed.

Case decision?

Case study

Jane is a cleaner, between Sep 2014 - March 2015 has been absent on

a number of occasions due to Diabetes and related conditions (bad

joints, heart problems). Phased return has previously been offered

Jane has now been on long term sick since April 2015. Her latest OH

Report states she could return in November if the school can make

some changes.

• phased return – reduced hours

• regular breaks

• workplace adaptations as she can’t bend or do any activities that

involve a ‘sweeping’ motion.

Case Study

Can you dismiss? Please vote

Dismissal – when is it appropriate?

Where the employee is on long term sick, consider if:

• it looks like the employee will not be able to return to work,

or

• the prognosis is such that it cannot be said when (if at all) the

employee might be fit to return, or

• redeployment/ retirement are not available

May also be appropriate for short term sickness, after a series of

graduated warnings for poor attendance, with no improvement.

Dismissal

• some other substantial reason (SOSR) or capability?

A tribunal will consider whether:

• the employee knew what was required of them?

• the employer took steps to improve the attendance?

• the employee warned of the consequences of the failure to

improve?

• the employee was given an opportunity to improve with a

reasonable timescale?

was it reasonable to dismiss - band of reasonable responses?

Ill health retirement

• may be an option if they are in the pension scheme.

• you should consider whether they meet the criteria as

part of any decision to dismiss

• you still need to consult with them if ill health is

recommended

• LGPS – pension strain may apply.

Case study 2 – dealing with stress

Elliot is an experienced teacher at a school which is currently under an

OFSTED notice of improvement.

One of Elliot’s colleagues reports to the head teacher that he has seen

him crying on several occasions at work.

The head teacher arranges an informal meeting with Elliot to assess

his wellbeing?

At the meeting Elliot appears restless and anxious. He says that he is

unable to sleep and feels very tired all the time. He also said that he

feels feeble and is not able to cope like his colleagues.

What to do next?

Some myths

• you can’t take action if they are signed off

• you have to wait until an employee has exhausted sick pay before

dismissing

• you can’t use triggers if the employee is off with a disability

• you can’t dismiss someone if they have a disability

• you can’t dismiss someone if they are suffering from work related

stress

• you must abide by the phased return recommended by OH or GP

• you can’t hold sickness review meetings until they have returned to

work

• you can’t continue to manage the absence if the employee raises a

grievance

• attendance is not part of the Teachers’ Standards.

Any questions?

www.education-advisors.com

Free resources

www.aplhealth.com

Talk to us…

Tom Wallace| 020 7871 8513

tom.wallace@brownejacobson.com

Please note

The information contained in these notes is based on the position at

October 2015. It does, of course, only represent a summary of the

subject matter covered and is not intended to be a substitute for

detailed advice. If you would like to discuss any of the matters

covered in further detail, our team would be happy to do so.

© Browne Jacobson LLP 2015. Browne Jacobson LLP is a limited

liability partnership.