This webinar will look at how to deal with absent or malingering employees, using Occupational Health effectively and making the most of information available to the employer, including what sort of monitoring is allowed.

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Swinging the Lead – Top Tips on Absence Management

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Connect with James
james.tait@brownejacobson.com
+44 (0)121 237 3999
Connect with Ian
ian.deakin@brownejacobson.com
+44 (0)330 045 2265
Swinging the Lead
Top Tips on Absence Management

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What we will
cover
• absence management – the
basics
• top tip 1 – use your policy
• top tip 2 – Occupational Health
(OH) Reports
• top yip 3 – the end game?

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Absence
management
the basics
• expensive and time consuming
• difficult but should be
addressed

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Absence
management
the basics
• ‘end game’ is either
– employee is fit to return to
work and does so
– employee is NOT fit to return
to work = exit
• law allows you to do either

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Top tip 1 – use
your policy
• have a policy which deals with
absence management
• a good policy will:
– have clear defined steps
– escalate as period of absence
does
– have an end point in mind
• any short term absence can
turn into long term one

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Top tip 1 – use
your policy
• helps consistent approach
• important to use policy straight
away
• move through the steps
• difficult to pick up mid way
through long term process
• wasted time?

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Top tip 1 – use
your policy
• If we dismiss, and end up in
ET, question will be:
– do you have a policy?
– did you follow it?
– if not, why not?

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Top tip 2 – OH
reports
• when short term absence gets
more long term – may need OH
report
• what is an OH report?

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Top tip 2 – OH
reports
• generally come across OH
reports in relation to:
– malingerers
– people trying to avoid or delay
internal processes
– genuinely unwell people

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Top tip 2 – OH
reports
• OH report is seen as a way of
clearing that by:
– removing a barrier to return to
work
– removing a barrier to a fair
dismissal!

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Top tip 2 – OH
reports
• OH reports are crucial during
absence management
– underlying medical condition re
short term absences
– timescales of return to work
– whether an employee is
suffering from a disability
– reasonable adjustments
– right to benefits under a health
insurance (PHI) policy.

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Top tip 2 – OH
reports
• employees may find it intrusive
• employment tribunals do not
• questions will often be asked if
an employer ignores advice
• disability?
– run to the hills?
– reasonable adjustments?

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Top tip 2 – OH
reports
• behave reasonably regardless
of status!
• always follow
recommendations

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Top tips 3 – the
end game
• starting point should be:
– ‘this employee is unwell’
– ‘what can we do to help?’
• end game is either:
– return to work
– dismissal
• ultimately, law allows us to
dismiss

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Top tips 3 – the
end game
• capability
• disability discrimination?
• questions to ask:
– have we done all we
reasonably can?
– how would this look to an ET
• some cases, employee off for
years

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Top tips 3 – the
end game
• unhelpful to:
– employee
– business
– colleagues

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Summary
• absence management is not
easy
• unpleasant
• consistent approach will:
– help those genuinely ill
– catch malingerers
– support managers
– support staff

20. Have your say @brownejacobson
Connect with James
james.tait@brownejacobson.com
+44 (0)121 237 3999
Connect with Ian
ian.deakin@brownejacobson.com
+44 (0)330 045 2265
Keep your questions coming
get in touch if you have any questions