Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 41 views

    Absence Management

    Uploaded by

    King Hiram
    This document discusses managing employee absence. It addresses ethics in absence management, collecting absence data, common causes of absence, reviewing trends, and strategies for managing both short-term and long-term absence. Short-term absence is addressed through return-to-work interviews and occupational health involvement. For long-term absence, maintaining contact, seeking medical advice, and exploring alternative duties or accommodations can help facilitate an employee's return to work. Communication, training, and discussing barriers and supports for returning are also emphasized.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Absence Management

    Uploaded by

    King Hiram
    41 views22 pages
    This document discusses managing employee absence. It addresses ethics in absence management, collecting absence data, common causes of absence, reviewing trends, and strategies for managing both short-term and long-term absence. Short-term absence is addressed through return-to-work interviews and occupational health involvement. For long-term absence, maintaining contact, seeking medical advice, and exploring alternative duties or accommodations can help facilitate an employee's return to work. Communication, training, and discussing barriers and supports for returning are also emphasized.

    Original Title

    Absence_Management

    Copyright

    © Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)

    Available Formats

    DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    This document discusses managing employee absence. It addresses ethics in absence management, collecting absence data, common causes of absence, reviewing trends, and strategies for managing both short-term and long-term absence. Short-term absence is addressed through return-to-work interviews and occupational health involvement. For long-term absence, maintaining contact, seeking medical advice, and exploring alternative duties or accommodations can help facilitate an employee's return to work. Communication, training, and discussing barriers and supports for returning are also emphasized.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as doc, pdf, or txt
    41 views22 pages

    Absence Management

    Uploaded by

    King Hiram
    This document discusses managing employee absence. It addresses ethics in absence management, collecting absence data, common causes of absence, reviewing trends, and strategies for managing both short-term and long-term absence. Short-term absence is addressed through return-to-work interviews and occupational health involvement. For long-term absence, maintaining contact, seeking medical advice, and exploring alternative duties or accommodations can help facilitate an employee's return to work. Communication, training, and discussing barriers and supports for returning are also emphasized.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as doc, pdf, or txt
    You are on page 1of 22

    Absence Management

    Richard Hughes
    11th March 2009
    Contents

    • Absence Management Ethics


    • 2008 Data on Absence management
    • Causes of employee absence
    • Reviewing, Analysing and addressing Trends
    • Managing Short Term Absence
    • Managing Long term absence

    2
    Absence management Ethics

    Competing expectations within organisation

    • Fair and consistent Approach – clear statement on standards


    • Explicit management commitment
    • Procedure of managing absence that demonstrates rigor
    • Employee confidentiality
    • Clarity on management of problem absence

    3
    Absence management data 2008

    • “Significant” cost to 90% businesses


    • Annual cost £666 per employee or 8 days or 3.5%
    of working time
    • Employers with less than 100 employees have
    lowest average absence 6.1
    • Average levels of absence 9.8 public sector
    compared with 7.4
    • 64% absence < 7 days; 16% 7 days to 4 weeks;
    20% 4 weeks or more

    4
    Causes of absence

    Manual Non Manual


    Minor Illnesses* Minor Illnesses*
    Back Pain Stress**
    Muscular Skeletal injuries Muscular Skeletal injuries

    Home/Family Responsibilities Back pain

    Stress Home/Family responsibilities

    Reoccurring Medical injuries Reoccurring medical other not


    /accidents not related to work related to ill health
    *Colds, Flu, Stomach upsets and headaches
    **Stress related absence continues to rise with 32% of those surveyed
    reporting increase in stress related absence

    5
    Stress

    • 1/3 of Employers report that of stress is increasing


    • Likely causes – workload management style
    relationships at work
    • 2/3 of employers are looking into why?
    • 50% of Employers looking to manage stress are
    using flexible working as part of strategy
    • 27% employers use HSE stress management
    standards

    6
    Reviewing absence management

    • Do we have a problem ?
    – Review
    – Analyse Trends
    – Interpret and respond

    7
    Recording of Data – Monthly

    • Identify employee
    • Where can they be contacted
    • Date of first absence
    • Cause of absence
    • Is the absence work related
    • Working days spent absent
    • Expected length of absence
    • Return to work date

    8
    Testing the quality of your Data

    • Collation of data on individual basis


    • If not you who has this responsibility and where are
    they within the organisation
    • Ensure the circulation and presentation if the data
    is made regularly

    9
    Analysing Trends

    • Lost time rate


    • Frequency rate
    • Individual frequency rate
    • Bradford factor
    • Sector and geographical variance
    • Benchmarking
    • Absence patterns – e.g. Short and long term
    analysis, individuals, departments, locations and
    Fridays and Mondays

    10
    Trends – and strategy for addressing

    • Retention problem underlying absence


    • Young female absence
    • Past absence patterns
    • Negative employee attitude
    • Stress
    • Family responsabilities
    • Travel difficulties

    11
    Setting a strategy

    • Standards
    – Attendance is the norm
    – Impact efficiency cover quality customer
    – Support the genuine to facilitate return
    • Clear procedures
    – Notification and updating of managers
    – Certification required
    – What will happen on return to work
    – Consequences of not following procedure

    12
    Embedding your strategy

    • Communication
    • Recruitment, induction and selection
    • Performance Management, Reward and incentive
    • Work organisation and job design
    • Flexible working policies
    • Occupational Health initiatives

    13
    Managing short term absence

    • When does this become problematic


    • Is the absence justified on medical grounds
    • What underlying causes can be addressed
    • What steps to take to improve attendance

    14
    Addressing Short term absence

    • Return to work interviews


    • Investigations
    • Review meetings
    • Occupational Health advisors
    • Contact with GP’s and use of medical information

    15
    Procedure for managing Short term absence

    • Full and proper investigation – fact based


    • Explore underlying medical
    • Prompt management action
    • Expectation setting
    • Where no improvement consequences that could
    follow
    • DDA and pregnancy

    16
    Managing long term absence

    • Do you know when they are likely to return to work


    • What steps can you take to obtain a clearer prognosis of
    return
    • What practical steps can you take to help individuals return to
    work
    • What support and contact is appropriate while they are
    absent
    • What action should you take as an employer to prepare for
    the return to work at the appropriate time
    • What support may they require when they do return to work

    17
    Addressing Long term absence

    • Consult fully at all stages and maintain regular


    contact
    • Seek appropriate medical advice
    • Review reasonable options of alternative
    employment or other means of facilitating return to
    work

    18
    Communication

    Do’s Don’ts
    • Create climate of trust • Wait till LTS happen to
    create strategy
    • Consider training for those
    who make contact • Put off making contact or
    passing responsibility
    • Encourage discussion
    about overcoming barriers • Make assumptions about
    to return situation
    • Carry out return to work • Put pressure on employee
    interviews to discuss return
    • Keep records of contact • Mention the pressure on
    made colleagues

    19
    Medical advice

    • Detail the request for medical report


    • Consent
    • Refusal

    20
    Alternative employment and work adjustments

    • Consideration of part time basis


    • Day work for a role that is shift based
    • Consideration of heavy lifting
    • Whether possible to move other staff to different
    tasks
    Reasonableness – size of employer, complexity of
    work, cost, deadline pressures and customer
    contact

    21
    ….Absence Management

    Any Questions???

    www.clickhr.biz

    22

    You might also like