A key element in a strategy for maximising attendance is shifting your company from a passive response in cases of long-term absence to a culture of proactively managing each case, on its own facts, and with a strong focus on rehabilitation.
In many companies, it is still the case that an employee can be off sick for quite some time before any action is taken to review their status and often the main focus is whether the company should start a procedure for dismissing on the grounds of ill-health.
Typically these reviews occur when:
- the length of the employee’s absence triggers a review under an absence control policy;
- the employee’s entitlement to sick pay is exhausted (this is particularly the case in companies with generous sick pay schemes); and
- there are personnel changes, such as a new manager or a change in HR personnel – it is often then that an employee absent on long-term sick leave comes to notice – or organisational change is in the air, be it redundancy or other restructuring, or a possible merger/acquisition, which prompts management to look at staffing levels.
In contrast, where rehabilitation is central to managing long-term absence, management is actively involved in appropriate cases and at a much earlier stage than is often the case presently. This is quite a cultural shift for many businesses, as many employees and employers perceive employees under a medical certificate to be ‘untouchable’.
Remember: an employer that focuses on rehabilitation is not challenging or questioning the validity of the medical certificate but, rather, shows willingness to look at temporary modifications to an employee’s job to allow a return to some work or facilitate a return to work earlier than otherwise.
However, when temporary modifications are made, it is important to monitor the employee’s progress, document changes and keep the arrangements under review.