Attendance Management
About sickness absence and attendance management
Absence from work is a fact of life. People will always get sick and need time off work to get well again.
The management of absences – Attendance Management – is therefore crucial in keeping business costs to a minimum and well-run attendance management programmes improve the health of organisations as well as individual employees.
Sickness absence can be defined as “non attendance at work by an employee when attendance is expected by an employer” (Rob B. Briner, British Medical Journal 1996; 313:874-877)
Sickness absence varies in length but can be described as:
- short-term – absences of less than five days
- medium-term – absences of one to four weeks
- long-term – absences greater than four weeks.
The costs of sickness absence
Sickness absence costs UK employers an average of £659 per employee per year. Meanwhile, each employee has an average of 8.4 days absence per year (figures from The Chartered Institute of Professional and Development, 2007).
Measuring the true cost of sickness absence should include occupational sick pay, statutory sick pay, replacement labour, overtime, reduced performance and administration.
Organisations most affected by sickness absence are those that have no attendance management policy. In the main, these are small to medium sized employers.
Common reasons for sickness absence
Reasons for short-term absence include headaches, colds, flu and gastric upsets. Reasons for long-term sickness absence include musculoskeletal disorders (e.g. back, neck and shoulder pain) and mental health problems such as stress, anxiety and depression.
What does the law say about attendance management?
There is no law covering attendance management.
However, recording and reporting accidents and ill health at work is a legal requirement under The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR).
→ Read more on Recording and Reporting Accidents, Ill Health and Near Misses
As well as the moral duty of employers to protect employees and members of the public, General Health and Safety Legislation covers all employers and workplaces.
Managers should review their health and safety arrangements whenever an employee is absent due to a work-related condition. This should include reviewing work practices and Risk Assessments.
Managing attendance and absence
As there is no law covering attendance management, organisations manage sickness absence in a variety of different ways. All employees should be made aware of the sickness absence policy if available. Procedures should be documented in the company handbook to ensure employees are aware of what procedure they should follow in the event of any sickness absence episodes.
Effective attendance management should be a joint responsibility involving a team of professionals. Such teams can consist of representatives from some, or all, of the following disciplines and roles: Occupational Health, Human Resource or Personnel, Line Managers, Trade Unions, Training Departments, Counsellors, Physiotherapists.
It is recognised that many organisations will not have access to this level and range of expertise in-house. However, these services can be outsourced through from the NHS and other recognised bodies.
Good practices for attendance management
Good practices considered helpful in assisting employees back to work include:
Regular contact from managers
This can be done by telephone and the employee should be expected to keep in touch with progress.
Return to work interviews
This is usually carried out by a line manager on first day back at work and consists of a face to face interview.
Temporary or permanent reduction in working hours
Reducing the regular work pattern usually assists the employee back to work from a long absence.
Temporary or permanent change in work tasks or workload
This is usually carried out in line with occupational health proposals when an employee would not be fit to carry out their own duties but could carry out other duties.
Referral to an Occupational Health department
Occupational Health practitioners can assist employees to return to work and can help make sure employees are not made ill by their workplace.
Occupational Health services are usually made available as an out sourced service to assist with specific activities, including pre-employment assessment, health surveillance, and attendance management. Occupational Health services for individuals are also available through local NHS departments.
Stress counselling/employee assistance programmes
Counselling services can assist employees to return to work when a mental health problem, such as depression or anxiety, has been the reason for absence.
Additional training on return
Additional training can assist employees back to work if they have had an accident in the workplace and require updated training on carrying out their duties safely.
Formal return to work programme
Return to work programmes assist employees return to work whilst being monitored by either a line manager or occupational health or both.
Change in work equipment
Changing the work equipment may assist an employee back to work if they have sustained an injury at work and the investigation process indicated that the equipment they were using was unsafe or unsuitable.
Working from home
This option (usually temporary) can be useful if the employee cannot physically be at work and they would like to work from home.
Access to physiotherapy
Some organisations use physiotherapy to quicken the return to work for muscular skeletal absences, i.e. in cases of backache, fractures, etc.
Fast referral to private medical care
If the employer is prepared to pay for it, referral to private medical care can speed up the process of accessing appointments with specialists and receiving treatment.
Further information on attendance management
- Email your query now
- Call our Adviceline on 0800 019 2211
Managing sickness absence and return to work (external site)
These pages from the Health and Safety Executive give much useful information on attendance management issues, including downloadable resources.
Absence Management (external site)
Download options for The Chartered Institute of Professional and Development's 2007 survey of absence management in the UK.
Free guidance from the Health and Safety Executive
Note – all links are to external pages on the HSE website giving options to download or order these resources:
