Attendance Management

Here are our top 10 tips for Attendance Management – helping you understand the details from trigger points to investigations.

Your absence reporting, certification requirements, and sick pay provisions must be detailed in your contact of employment. 

Absence reporting, certification requirements, and sick pay provisions can, and should be, expanded upon in an attendance management policy. Where your rules and any action triggers are detailed so your people know what your expectations and their obligations are.

Be fair and consistent with everyone regarding absence reporting and sick pay provisions. Just because you like someone, does not mean they should not be required to comply.

Absence reporting should always be through a telephone conversation and with an appropriate company representative. Only in exception circumstances should you accept a report from someone other than the employee.

During the initial reporting conversation, you must establish: the reason for their absence, how long they expect to be absent, whether they are seeking medical assistance, ensure the smooth handover of any work during their absence, and establish how often they are expected to keep in touch with you during their absence.

Conduct a return to work interview after each absence, before they undertake any further work for you. This is, among other things, to ensure they are fit for work. To enable you to make any adjustments that may be required and to update them on any developments in their absence.

Having trigger points, such as the Bradford Factor, can help you to discourage and effectively manage frequent short term absence. This established a framework within which to manage attendance, discounting high risk absences due to disability or pregnancy, and allowing you to set expectations for improvement prior to taking more serious conduct or capability related actions. 

Absence records, and return to work interviews are essential evidence to inform any formal attendance management actions you might take in respect of frequent short time absences. These must be reviewed in any investigation and provided in advance of any formal hearing where potential disciplinary or capability actions many be taken.

You must first investigate their attendance record, usually through an attendance review meeting so you can identify any trends or patterns of absence that might be cause for concern. This is also an opportunity to review any adjustments that might be required in capability cases.

Before taking formal action, establish whether or not your concerns are conduct or capability based. Conduct meaning won’t do, or a factor of will. Capability meaning can’t do, or a factor of genuine health concerns. And use the appropriate procedure to suit the circumstances.

The conversation is essential to understand the situation and establish expectations for contact during absence.

Not sure where to start with HR? Or are you a HR veteran and just need a little support in terms of documents and systems. No matter your situation or employee numbers – we’re here to support you.