Sickness absence procedure

• As a member of staff it is essential that you notify your manager that you’re going to be absent from work as soon as practicable possible
  
  
• As a manager/supervisor, the way you respond can have an impact on the length of the absence, future absences and the individual’s wellbeing

Staff member procedure

You must notify your manager/supervisor as soon as possible in accordance with the notification requirements of your Department, Board or Office.

You are expected to:

• make contact personally – only in exceptional circumstances, for example when the medical condition prevents normal communication, should someone else make contact for you
• give details of your sickness and some indication if possible of when you are likely to return to work
• advise of any potential problems/work commitments which might arise during your absence

If your manager/supervisor is unavailable, you must speak to the most appropriate person.

If you fail to report sickness absence within the agreed timescale this will result in it being treated as unauthorised absence and may lead to sick pay being withheld and/or disciplinary action.

Management procedure

A simple step-by-step guide to reporting sickness absence:

1. Team member off sick
   Manager logs into PiP for My Team and creates a new sickness absence.
   
   Details of how to create this absence can be found here: How to create a sickness absence.
   
   
2. Team member is absent
   During this time there will be support and regular contact – our toolkit has resources to assist you in supporting your staff.
   
   It is the key responsibility of the manager/supervisor to ensure regular contact is maintained.
   
   
3. Doctor's notes
   Any doctor's notes which are issued during the absence should be sent to the manager, the manager should take a copy for their records and return the original to the employee. The doctors note should be recorded on PiP, details on how to add this information is detailed here: Add Doctors Certificate
   
   
• Day 15 of absence – if you are absent for 15 or more consecutive days (including weekends) you must obtain a Doctor's Note
• As soon as you go onto half sick pay or no pay, you must submit a completed Incapacity Benefit Claim Form (SC1) directly to Social Security
  
  
4. Return to work/close an absence
   Manager logs into PiP for My Team to view the open sickness absence.
   
   Details of how to then close this absence can be found here: How to close an absence.
   
   In addition you should have a return to work discussion as per your current processes and retain for your records. 

Accident – Third Party Claim

If a Third Party Claim may be made, the individual or manager/supervisor should contact their HR Advisory team for further information as soon as possible as this could affect the claim.