How to Managing Frequent Short Term Absences at Work – Tip 5: Reviewing Absences from Work with Employees.
This is the sixth and final post in a six part series on How to Manage Frequent, Short Term Employee Absence at Work.
In the first post we covered my Top 5 Tips for Managing Frequent Short Term absences.
- Absence Management Policy
- Record Keeping:
- Notification and Evidence of Incapacity
- Returning to Work
- Reviews
The other posts covered your Absence Management Policy, Record Keeping, Notification of Absence Procedure and Evidence of Incapacity and Returning to Work. This final post talks about the importance of Reviewing Absences from Work with Employees.
Reviewing Absences from Work with Employees
Last but not least is the really important step of regularly reviewing absences with employees.
You can do this as part of your performance management conversations, and if there is a potential problem emerging make sure you cover the following points:
- Review and agree dates of absence to ensure your records are accurate.
- Ask for an explanation and listen to the response provided.
- Find out if there are any aspects of the job or working environment that may be contributing to the absences.
- Offer the Employee the assistance of your Employee Assistance Program if you have one or any other assistance you can offer.
- If you think there is cause for concern or that there are issues, you will need to clearly outline the required improvement and time frame, any additional reasonable supports.
- Advise the employee that at the end of the period a review meeting will be held to assess if the employee has achieved the required improvement.
- Advise the employee of the consequences of not meeting the required improvements
- After the meeting write to the employee within five working days, confirming the outcome of the meeting and the agreed attendance standards.
Bringing this kind of information into an employee’s awareness lets them know you are recording, trending, monitoring and addressing any patterns of absence.
Regular reviews also give the employee clear feedback and if there is a problem, a fair opportunity to make the necessary improvements
So these are my Top 5 Tips to manage frequent, short-term, employee absences. I hope you can now see how integrating and following these simple steps can have a significant impact on managing absenteeism in the workplace.
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If you need support with managing employee absences, contact us here or call us on 083-4519335.
Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information and material contained in this checklist, Jan Harte & Associates does not accept any liability whatsoever arising from any errors or omissions. This checklist is not a substitute for professional advice and should not be viewed as such.
