How to Manage Frequent Short Term Absences at Work – Tip 3: Notification Procedure and Evidence of Incapacity

This is the fourth 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.

1. Absence Management Policy

2. Record Keeping

3. Notification and Evidence of Incapacity

4. Returning to Work

5. Reviews

The second post covered your Absence Management Policy, the third covered Record Keeping and this post delves into your Notification of Absence Procedure and Evidence of Incapacity.

Notification Procedure

It’s important to have a notification procedure so everyone understands what to do when they have to notify you about an absence from work.

It’s even more important to consistently implement the notification procedure if it’s serve you and your business.

Its good practice to require employees to telephone within one hour of their start time (and sooner if possible) and to speak directly with their line manager or another manager. Text messages, emails, voice messages and having someone else call for an employee are not acceptable.

When an employee calls, it should be specified in your policy that they must indicate:

1. The nature of the absence

2. The likely duration of the absence

This daily notification procedure should continue until the employee either returns to work or submits a medical certificate. This will help you understand what measures you may have to put in place to cover the absence.

Evidence of Incapacity

When an employee is absent for 3 consecutive days due to illness or injury, they should submit a certificate from a qualified medical practitioner on the third day, specifying the nature of the illness and the expected date of return to work.

Further medical certificates should be furnished on a weekly basis for the duration of the illness. A Fit for Work certificate should be required upon return from an absence that extends beyond one week.

When you consistently implement your Notification Procedure and Evidence of Capacity requirements and capture the data in your record keeping process, you equip yourself with the data to create a very clear picture of the level of absence in the business, the associated costs and what, if anything, needs to change.

We’ll follow on with more detail in our weekly blog over the coming weeks. If you are interested in receiving further information on these tips, please subscribe below and you will receive the other posts in your inbox.

If you need help with managing employee absences, contact us here or at 083-4519335

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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.