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One thing in life is certain: your employees will get sick. The economic cost of employee absence is significant. According to the Office for National Statistics, an estimated 148.9 million working days were lost due to sickness or injury in 2024. The knock-on effects include reduced morale, an increase in mistakes and lower productivity. Ignoring sickness or not taking steps to prevent it is a huge risk to your business. Every employee absence must be recorded, monitored and managed in a correct and consistent way.
What causes employee absence?
It’s not always sickness or injury that keeps someone away from work. Caring responsibilities for a child or an elderly relative, anxiety, lack of motivation or even a disagreement with a colleague are all valid reasons. Absence doesn’t always look like a full or half-day off work. Lateness, consistently leaving early or taking long breaks could also suggest underlying issues that need addressing.
Absence management: what managers need to know
When an employee is away from the workplace due to ill-health or injury, they will often need support from their employer. Creating an effective absence management policy and developing a return-to-work programme will help promote good health and wellbeing, build trust, reduce employee absence and prevent sickness and absence issues escalating.
In two thirds of UK workplaces, line managers are responsible for managing their teams’ absence. Given the detrimental effect absence can have on productivity and profitability, it pays to invest in training to enable managers to fulfil this role to the best of their ability.
Take a look at the various ways we can support your team’s learning and development, from accessible online learning to in-house delivery.
Talk to our training team today >>Managers with line management responsibilities have a duty to understand the following:
Employee absence policies
Absence management processes, including disciplinary procedures for unacceptable absence
How to act on the advice given by a GP on a fit note
How to interpret absence data
Occupational Health’s role and when to involve them
HR’s role and when to involve them
How to conduct a successful return-to-work interview
How promote good health and wellbeing in the workplace
What health and wellbeing support services are available to employees
The Employment Rights Act 1996 covering the termination of employment on the grounds of ill health
The Equality Act 2010 which deals with disability and other forms of discrimination.
If you are unsure what this means for your business, please get in touch. We’ll be happy to provide specific advice for your business and situation.
Managing short-term absence
The most common causes of short-term sickness absence are colds, stomach upsets, headaches and migraines. Most short-term absences can be managed by following your internal absence management policy. This usually involves recording the absence on an HR database and checking in with the employee on their return to work. This conversation may be a good time to ask whether the employee would like extra support or to identify any underlying cause of absence. Where short-term absence follows a regular or recurring pattern, you must flag this and ask questions to establish the cause as further intervention may be required.
There is usually no need for a manager to be in touch during a short absence. It is best practice to wait for the employee to recover and return to work.
Fit notes (Statement of Fitness for Work)
If the absence lasts up to, and including 7 days, employees can self-certify, meaning they need no formal evidence of their illness.
If your employee was sick for over 7 days, they should provide a fit note from their doctor which may say that they are unfit to work for a specified amount of time, or may say that they can return to work immediately if adjustments are made.
How to manage long-term sickness
Long-term absence, defined as lasting more than four weeks, is more challenging to manage. Back pain, musculoskeletal injuries, stress, cancer, chronic conditions and mental ill-health are among the main causes.
In such cases, you must allow the individual time to recover from their illness or injury while maintaining regular communication. You should also mitigate any impact on the day-to-day running and productivity of your team or department.
Our advice is to approach the absence sympathetically and delicately while maintaining a connection to the workplace. Throughout the absence and the employee’s return to work, it is crucial that you liaise with HR and/or Occupational Health and follow the relevant policies and procedures.
The longer an employee is away from work, the harder it is to come back. This makes managing long-term sickness more challenging.
When an employee is off work for a long period, as their manager you should:
Agree how often you will communicate with them and by what method, to prevent them from feeling isolated and to allow you to manage the absence effectively
Involve other professionals such as occupational health or a wellbeing consultant, if required
Consider whether you need to perform a risk assessment prior to their return to work
Discuss how the company can support their return, which may include a change in hours or adjustments to the working environment
Be familiar with all people management policies.
In cases of long-term absence, we would advise involving the team in plans to cover the individual’s workload – without sharing the details of their absence, which remain confidential. Ask for suggestions on how to manage the increased workload and whether temporary cover would be beneficial. For the absent employee, knowing their workload is taken care of can reduce the fear of returning to work.
Managing long-term absence due to serious illness
One of the most difficult conversations you can have with a team member is when they reveal a serious illness, such as cancer. No one can fully prepare themselves for this type of conversation. All you can do is make time to listen, understand their concerns, and give assurances of support.
At this stage (and with the employee’s agreement), it’s a good idea to consult an HR expert for guidance on next steps, and to understand the help and support available. Remember, this is the individual’s journey. It’s up to them who they want to know about their illness. You should respect their wishes at all times.
It is wise to arrange a second meeting as soon as possible after your initial talk, when you can both think more clearly. Preparation is important as there are questions you must ask. You should also anticipate your team member may have questions of their own they want answering.
Long-term sickness: questions a manager must ask
Which colleagues would you like to know, or need to know, about your health, and who will let them know?
Are there any adjustments the company can make to your workplace or work practices?
Would flexible working arrangements help?
Are you happy to continue working until you feel unable to?
Is there anyone else within the organisation you would like to talk to, e.g. HR or Occupational Health?
Arrange when, where and how your next conversation will take place.
Long-term sickness: common questions managers need to answer
What is the company policy for long-term sickness?
What are the arrangements for pay during long-term absence?
Are there any other relevant policies or pieces of information I should know about, e.g. medical insurance and impact on my pension?
Is time off permitted for hospital appointments and treatment?
What employee support is available to me, e.g. critical illness cover, counselling or therapy services?
Communicating with the absent employee: the keep-in-touch conversation
It’s paramount, and permissible, to keep in touch with an employee during a period of long-term absence. This is an opportunity to ask how they are recovering and, if appropriate, ask when they believe they will be fit enough to return to work. At no time should the employee feel under pressure to return. Coming back to work early could have a detrimental impact on their health and wellbeing.
Agree a communication plan, appropriate to the employee’s condition. Striking the right balance is key. The employee must be given time to rest and recover, but they also need to know that they are a valued member of your team. Use the time wisely; ask if there is anything you or the company can do to ease their return to work. This may include amended duties, flexible working or workplace adjustments.
These conversations can be difficult, but they must not be avoided. Sensitive and supportive communications will smooth the transition back to work. With an effective return-to-work programme in place, an employee may be able to return sooner than they imagined.
Things to remember about communicating with an employee on long-term sick leave:
Agree how frequently you will be in touch
Agree on the type of communication - this might be a mix of face-to-face, email, phone
Ask how they are feeling, but never rush someone or pressure them into returning to work before they are well enough to do so
When appropriate, discuss their return to work and any reasonable adjustments they may need to ease their return.
How to manage return to work following long-term absence
These are ways you can prepare for the employee’s return to work to make it as smooth as possible:
Establish if a phased return would suit the employee, and what this would look like
Discuss any reasonable adjustments which will make their return easier
Ensure their workload is light and the handover is thorough
Establish if ongoing treatment is needed and how the employee will access this
If necessary, ask whether an alternative role or redeployment would be suitable. This could be a temporary change or lead to a permanent position.
Establish if a risk assessment is required
Remain respectful, understanding and flexible.
If appropriate, you might choose to research the employee’s condition or seek advice from medical professionals on how best to support them at work.
Return-to-work interviews
Return-to-work interviews are important for both short and long-term absence management. They can also be valuable tool in deterring persistent absence.
For short-term absences this is the perfect time to establish the cause. Where there is an underlying health concern, this should be addressed with the support of the employee’s doctor or referred to Occupational Health. Persistent, short-term absence may require disciplinary action.
What’s the best way to monitor employee absence?
To handle employee sickness with sensitivity, businesses must take steps to understand the causes of absence. An effective absence monitoring system allows a business to keep a record of the nature and length of each absence. With robust monitoring, you can identify patterns of absence, which may indicate bigger problems or wider issues within your team.
Absence Management Systems & HR Databases
To manage sickness and absence effectively, businesses need to invest in secure, reliable HR systems and databases. Access to real-time data allows managers to make better-informed decisions and take swift action.
With access to reliable data, employers can:
Monitor instances of sickness and make informed decisions to meet employees’ individual needs
Identify trends and resolve them before it goes into a downward spiral
Create consistent processes and robust policies on how to use absence data and standardise absence management procedures.
As an outsourced HR Service for SMEs, P3 People Management offers a choice of HR data management systems to help businesses record absence and make more informed decisions around workplace absence management.
Talk to us about the best HR system for your business >>What should you include in an absence management policy?
Under UK law, companies must include in their contracts of employment information on the terms and conditions related to sick pay during absence through sickness or injury. To support a positive workplace culture, you should also have clear policies explaining employee rights and obligations.
An absence management policy should include:
Information concerning sick pay entitlement
Who and when an employee should contact to notify about their absence
Details of when the individual needs to complete a self-certification form or obtain a fit note from their GP
Depending on the company and the role of the employee, state whether there may be a need to be seen by a company doctor or occupational health
Timeline for when to expect a return-to-work interview
How the company will support and make reasonable adjustments on return to work
How the company will approach situations where the employee is unable to return to work.
You may also choose to include expectations around large events such as sporting tournaments and national events, and whether employee absence will be tolerated. To prevent unauthorised absence during such events, it may be wise to consider flexible working or even airing events at your workplace.
If you need a helping hand creating robust employment policies and processes, our HR Consultants can help with this on a retained or pay-as-you-go basis.
Talk to a HR Consultant todayHow workplace culture can help reduce absenteeism
Strong, clear people management policies contribute to creating a supportive and engaged workplace culture. Research by Gallup found engaged employees are more likely to show up to work and do more work. Highly engaged business units experience 78% less absenteeism and 14% higher productivity.
The following are features of organisations with low sickness/absence rates:
Regular 1-2-1 meetings between manager and employee
A well-defined job role and responsibilities
Realistic, challenging yet achievable targets
Training and development opportunities to provide individuals with the knowledge and skills needed to fulfil their responsibilities
Health and wellbeing support
An effective return-to-work programme
Focus on building a positive working environment
Provision and knowledge of Employee Assistance Programmes.
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