This document outlines an attendance management policy for DMU. It aims to improve employee attendance by providing a framework to manage absence in a fair, consistent, and supportive manner. The policy defines roles and responsibilities, outlines procedures for notifying, recording, and monitoring absence, and provides guidance for return to work discussions and attendance management meetings. It also addresses long-term sickness absence, disability-related absence, and considerations for issuing warnings or dismissing employees due to unsatisfactory attendance.

1. Attendance Management Policy

2. BACKGROUND INFORMATION
PART ONE

3. INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE
Section 1

4. Attendance Management Policy
• PROMPT – headline statistics, facts to make an
initial impact
• Nothing new about this – we are only
implementing what most other large
organisations have been doing for many years
• DMU is unusual in NOT having a policy on
Attendance Management
• Assumes all absence is genuine but even so
this needs to be managed

5. Introduction and Purpose
• Designed to improve employee attendance
• Part of DMU’s commitment to employee
wellbeing
• Applies to all DMU employees
• Policy supported by a toolkit
– Guidance
– Checklists
– Relevant forms

6. Approximately how many
days work are lost at DMU
through absence per year?
We estimate around 14,000
workdays per annum.
It’s an estimate because we
don’t know the true figure.
Part of DMU’s
commitment to
employee wellbeing

7. Guiding Principles
1. Good attendance is valued
2. All sickness absence is assumed to be
genuine but a limit on how much is
acceptable
3. Employee absence dealt with consistently
within the ethos of equality and diversity
4. Some absence is inevitable but there may be
times when absence is a cause for concern

8. Framework
• Policy provides a framework for staff
attendance to be managed:
– in a fair and consistent manner
– Early so appropriate action and support can be
put in place
• System in place to provide accurate
management data to enable managers to act

9. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Section 2

10. Manager
Accountable for managing attendance in their
area of responsibility
Expected to:
– intervene early to secure an improvement
– prioritise management of individual cases
– keep in touch with absent employees
– conduct risk assessments (and manage risk where
necessary)
– ensure absence is accurately recorded

11. Employees
Required to carry out duties unless unable to
Expected to:
– comply with DMU absence reporting and
attendance management procedures
– alert their manager if they feel their job is making
them ill or contributing to illness
– co-operate fully with Occupational Health and
associated support

12. People and Organisation Development
Responsible for working collaboratively with
managers
Expected to:
– provide on-going guidance, support and advice
– ensure policy applied fairly and consistently
across DMU
– provide management data and reports

13. (ii)
• Occupational Health and Wellbeing (OHW)
– Assist managers to take a proactive approach
– Support early intervention – preventing conditions
worsening
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)
– Provides support and resources for staff and
managers

14. MONITORING AND REPORTING
Section 3

15. Monitoring and Reporting
• Essential to consistently follow processes for:
– notifying
– recording
– monitoring
– reporting
• Data will be published periodically
• EB and the Board will scrutinise and make
recommendations for improvements in
attendance levels

16. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN AN EMPLOYEE
IS ABSENT FROM WORK?
Part Two

17. NOTIFICATION
Stage 1

18. Notification
• Employees TELEPHONE within 1 hour of normal
start time
– Not email, text or third party
– Contact should be ASAP if cover needed
• When telephoning, employees must provide:
– Reason
– Expected date of return
• Manager determines when further contact might
be required and discusses this with the employee
• Employee may submit self-certification or fit note
if absence more than 7 days

19. RECORDING
Stage 2

20. Fit Notes
• TEST???
• Slide shows an example of a fit note

21. Recording
• Complete part A of the Absence Record and
Return To Work Discussion Form when
notified of absence
• Complete part B of the form once RTW
discussion has happened
• Manager record on the absence management
system

22. MONITORING
Stage 3

23. Monitoring
• Need to know when and how best to support
staff to manage their attendance
• Informal element for every period of absence
– Return to Work Discussion
• System will monitor and ’trigger’ the need to
escalate
• Formal stage
• Absence Management Meeting

24. ACTIVITY - RTW
• Discuss in your group what you consider would
make an effective informal return to work
discussion following a period of absence
• Consider:
– When it’s done
– What it consists of
– How it’s done
– Where it’s done
– Who is involved
– Why we do them

25. RTW Activity De-brief
1. Informal RTW discussion
– normally within 48 hours after every period of
absence that has not been agreed in advance
– If not able to do so within 48 hours must do so
within 5 working days
– No right to be accompanied
2. Character of the meeting is supporting the
employee upon their return
– Support can be many and varied

26. Return To Work Discussion (RTW)
1. Informal RTW discussion
normally within 48 hours after
every period of absence
that has not been agreed
in advance
If not able to do so within 48
hours must do so within 5
working days
No right to be accompanied

27. RTW Discussion Form Activity
• In small groups discuss Part B and identify any
potential issues you anticipate may come out
of the discussion
• Consider how this might be captured in Part B

28. Trigger points
• Moving from informal to formal
• Attendance Management Meeting triggered by:
1. 4 separate periods of absence in a rolling 12
month period
or
2. 10 days (74 hours) consecutive or non-
consecutive absence in a rolling 12 month
period (pro rata for part time employees)
or
3. Any other recurring, recognisable patterns
– Friday-Monday
– Before/after school/public holidays

29. Attendance Management Meetings
(AMM)
7 considerations:
1. When to hold an AMM
2. How to prepare for an AMM
3. What to consider at the AMM
4. Issuing a warning for unsatisfactory attendance
5. Issuing a warning for disability-related absence
6. Confirming the outcome of the AMM
7. Appeals against a warning

30. When to hold an AMM
• System triggers to managers a need to initiate an
AMM
• Usually carried out within 2 weeks of their return
to work
• Right to be accompanied (TU or DMU colleague)
– Employee’s choice should not usually delay by more
than 5 working days
• Give reasonable notice (min 3 working days)
• AMM only to take place once employee returns
to work

31. How to prepare for an AMM
• Consider absence record over past 12 months
• Identify discernable patterns
– Monday/Fridays
– School holidays
• Ensure you have completed a RTW discussion form for
EACH absence period under consideration
• Check any live warnings on file (e.g. misconduct or
poor performance)
• Review a blank AMM form and guidance notes to get
you ready for the meeting

32. What to consider at the AMM
• Investigate and discuss underlying reasons for absences
• Exploring any external causes
– Personal or family problems
• You should be supportive and show empathy whilst explaining
frequent absences from work are unacceptable
– “It may not be your fault but it is your problem”
• Explore if absences are work-related
– Take action if necessary
• Seek medical advice
– E.g. Consider involving Occupational Health
• If employee has a further absence between the trigger and the
AMM, wait until they return to work and have had the RTW
discussion for that absence and include that absence in the AMM

33. Activity 40 mins
1. Familiarise yourself with the AMM form
template (5mins)
2. Working individually, think of an example within
your area of responsibility of someone
triggering the need for an AMM and use that
example to think through the process and write
down key activities, considerations and issues at
each stage. (Focus on what might arise at the
meeting) (15 mins)
3. Compare your thoughts with your colleagues
and make a list of learning points

34. Issuing a warning for unsatisfactory attendance
• Default is to issue
– Unless there is a compelling reason why this
would be inappropriate
• Purpose of warning to flag that:
– their absence is of concern
– will lead to further action if improvements not
made
– May lead to dismissal while a stage three written
warning is live
• Right to withdraw right to self-certificate

35. Warnings
Three stages:
1. Formal oral warning
– Will remain live for six months
2. Formal written warning
– Will remain live for 12 months
3. Final written warning
– Will remain live for 18 months
– If employee triggers this policy whilst stage 3 warning is
live the manager may consider moving to dismissal stage.
Consult with HR
University’s right to extend periods where abuse of the
policy is suspected

36. Consideration of Dismissal
• Dismissal will be considered under this policy
where:
1. Unacceptable levels of absence where there is an
underlying health condition (Ill health capability)
2. Long term sickness absence – no foreseeable return
to work date (ill health capability)
3. Employee is at work but not performing full range of
duties because of an underlying health condition (Ill
health capability)
4. Unacceptable levels of absence where there is no
underlying health condition (a dismissal may be for
some other substantial reason)

37. When it is not appropriate to issue a warning
• Pregnancy
• Bereavement
• Serious isolated event or health condition
– Not part of an overall pattern of poor attendance
– Recovery is expected and a return to pre-
condition absence record is likely to return
following a period of convalescence

38. AMM - Confirming the outcome
• Write to employee normally within 5 days of
the AMM
– Use AMM outcome letter template
– Include agreed actions
• Employee should be advised of any delay
caused by either seeking a view from HR or
OH
• Employee should be notified as soon as
reasonably possible and without undue delay

39. AMM – Appeals against a warning
• Employee may appeal against a warning
– In writing to their manager within 5 working days
of receipt of written decision
• Manager will arrange

40. LONG TERM SICKNESS ABSENCE

41. What is ‘Long-term sick’
• Trigger = 4 weeks continuous absence or more
• Discuss with HR
• ‘Case management’ approach
• Contact with employee
– When you should have it
– How you should have it
– Where you should have it
• Seek medical advice
• Transfer to incapability on grounds of ill-health
policy

42. DISABILITY-RELATED ABSENCE

43. Disability-Related Absence (1)
• Equality Act 2010 requirement to eliminate
discrimination against disabled people at all
levels
“A person is disabled for the purposes of the Act if
they have a “physical or mental impairment that
has a substantial and long-term effect on their
ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities”
– “Long term” lasts or likely to last for at least 12
months
– “Substantial and adverse” means more than minor
and trivial and takes into account the time taken to
carry out the activities

44. Disability-related absence (2)
• AMM triggered as per policy
• Conduct AMM
– Level and reasons for absence
– Whether some or all of the absence is due to a
disability
– Consider the impact on the relevant work area
(specific examples)
– If due to disability, what reasonable adjustments
• Discuss with HR before any decision on whether
to issue a warning

45. AMM – CONSIDERATION OF
DISMISSAL

46. Data protection and confidentiality
• DMU adhere/consider to DP Act 1998
– Requesting
– Recording
– Monitoring
• Fraser Marshall to advise and provide appropriate example
• All staff with access to confidential and sensitive data about
and employee’s health are required to treat information
confidentially
– DPA 1998
– Access to Medical Records Act 1988
• Failure to adhere to our standards of DP fall within the
DMU code of conduct may result in disciplinary action up to
and including dismissal

47. REPORTING
Stage 4

48. Reporting
• Updates relating to employee absence
published and communicated periodically
• Statistical data only and monitored by EB and
BOG with recommendations for
improvements