Attendance and Leave
REGULATIONS AND STANDARDS
- As indicated in the written statement of main terms and conditions of employment, the Foundation holiday year runs from 1st April to 31st March. This is the twelve month period during which employees accrue their holidays;
- Unused holiday entitlement may not be carried over from one year to the next except in an extreme circumstance with prior agreement from the Head of Department;
- All holiday dates must be agreed in advance with your manager of the holiday requested. No more than ten days can be taken at any one time during the holiday year unless agreed by the line manager. Employees should familiarise themselves with location rules which may apply concerning holiday management;
- School staff are not permitted to take holiday days during term time except in extreme circumstances and with prior authorisation from the Head of Education;
- Holiday dates will be agreed after taking into account the needs of the business and its clients, and ensuring that the minimum staffing levels needed to provide the best services to our clients are maintained;
- Any holidays taken without prior permission may lead to disciplinary action being taken. The disciplinary procedure could be invoked and the employee could be dismissed in the case where an employee requests a holiday, which is refused, and then the employee subsequently takes that holiday without permission;
- Employees who do not regularly work on the weekday on which a Bank or Public holiday falls, are not entitled to pay for the day in question or to an alternative day of holiday;
- All staff not contracted to work on Bank or Public holidays as part of their normal rota will be paid at the normal daily rate and an additional day of holiday will also be granted if they are required to work;
- Employees who fall sick during a holiday period will not be entitled to take any alternative or additional days of holiday;
- On termination of employment, employees are entitled to receive payment for all unused accrued holidays in the current holiday year only. The Foundation reserves the right to insist employees take accumulated annual leave within their notice period;
- Any payments of holiday pay made to employees in excess of the amount accrued on termination of employment, will be deducted in full from the final monies due on termination. Where the amount of the overpayment exceeds any final payment, employees must reimburse the Foundation accordingly.
The Attendance Management Procedure is non-contractual and can be subject to change or withdrawal at any time. The aim of the procedure is to introduce a fair and transparent system for the purpose of reporting, monitoring and managing attendance and absence.
The procedure is designed to identify individuals with health issues who require assistance and to initiate any support measures that may be required. It is also designed to eradicate regular; in some cases ad hoc absences; which may have a detrimental impact on the employee performance and reliability and the overall performance of the company. Excessive absence levels and unauthorised absences are to be stopped and may in some cases lead to the company disciplinary procedure being invoked.
Employees are required to co-operate with their manager to ensure that informed, timely and fair decisions can be made throughout the process.
In the event that an employee refusing to discuss their absence and/or fails to provide or authorise the information required, the manager will make a decision on the information available at the time. This may result in acceleration of the process to the next stage of the procedure and may affect the employee’s entitlement to company sick pay and/or statutory sick pay.
If employees are absent from work for any reason they (or someone else on their behalf in exceptional cases) must notify their Manager no later than one hour before their start time on their first day of absence. Any unauthorised absence must be properly explained. In the case of absence of uncertain duration, employees should keep the Foundation informed of the reason for continued absence and the progress towards a return to work. You are advised that daily contact regarding your progress is preferred. You are also expected to inform your Manager no later than 4pm whether you are likely to return the following day.
Employees must report their absence personally by telephone. Text messages and e-mails are not considered an acceptable notification of absence. In exceptional circumstances if an employee is unable to make contact in person, he or she should make arrangements for someone else to do so, on their behalf.
These reporting requirements must be followed unless otherwise agreed in writing with the employee’s manager for each period of absence. An employee who fails to provide a medical certificate as required may be considered to be on unauthorised absence.
Any member of staff who is reporting their sickness as relating to stress or depression will require their line manager to make a referral to Occupational Health. Work related injuries resulting in a period of absence may be referred to Occupational Health, if considered appropriate.
On returning to work the employee and manager should meet to discuss the absence in a return to work interview and complete the Return to Work Form.
A return to work interview will normally be held when an employee returns to work following an absence due to sickness or injury. The employee’s line manager will arrange to meet with the individual as soon as reasonably practicable; where possible this will be on the return to work day. The manager will make a record of the return to work interview.
The aim of the Return to Work Interview is as follows:
- To obtain an understanding of the reasons for absence;
- To ensure that the employee is now fit to return to work;
- To identify if there is anything the Company can do to support the employee;
- To consider if it would be appropriate to refer the employee to Occupational Health or to seek a medical report from the employee’s Doctor or Consultant;
- To identify any relationship between different periods of absence;
- To arrange any further discussion/reviews in the light of the past level of attendance where required.
The Attendance Management procedure will apply where the employee reached the trigger points as outlined below. In such cases the manager will invite the employee to an attendance review meeting. The trigger points are as follows:
- 6 days sickness absence in a rolling 12 months (either continuous 6 days or separate periods); or
- 2 occasions of sickness absence in the last 3 months.
If an employee is absent for a continuous period of 6 weeks or more or has a series of absences relating to an underlying medical condition, a referral will be made to Occupational Health by the Line Manager Quality Assured by HR.
To calculate the amount of sickness in a rolling 12 month period, the manager should look back 12 months from the date of return to work following the most recent period of absence and count the total number of working days absent, not the total number of calendar days.
1st Attendance Review Meeting
If the employee reaches the trigger points, the manager will invite the employee to an Attendance Review meeting. The purpose of this 1st Review meeting will be to discuss the employee’s level of absence and to establish the position with respect to the employee’s health. The discussion will include the following:
- Reason for the absence;
- Any personal or work-related circumstances that may affect the employee’s attendance;
- Whether the employee has an underlying health problem;
- Whether they are under consultation from their GP or Consultant, and if so with what outcome;
- Consideration of requesting a Medical report from the employee’s Doctor or Consultant and/or a referral to Occupational Health;
- Whether there is any assistance which might be appropriate to offer e.g. a temporary change of work pattern/hours;
- Are there any potential considerations under the Disability Discrimination Act to bear in mind.
An explanation of the Attendance Management Procedure and advice that if the employee’s level of absence continues to give cause for concern further action may be taken in accordance with the procedure.
The outcome of the 1st Review meeting will be confirmed by the manager in writing and will include confirmation that the employee is at Stage 1 of the procedure (or otherwise, as appropriate), the details of the timescales and arrangements for review. The manager will give an indication of what improvement is required and agree with the employee an improvement plan designed to achieve improvement on a sustained basis. The manager will also confirm in writing any assistance and adjustments which have been put in place to support the employee. The manager will confirm a review date with the employee.
If the employee’s attendance improves to a sustained level which is acceptable to the Foundation the manager will advise the employee that they have exited the procedure.
2nd Attendance Review Meeting
Should further absence occur within the time scale for review, the manager will consider whether it is appropriate to meet with the employee within the review period. Alternatively the manager may decide that the absences should be discussed at the next review date.
The manager will advise the employee of the date of the review, giving as much notice as is reasonably practicable. The purpose of the review is to have a thorough discussion of the level of absence with the employee, explain why there remains a cause for concern, to consider all points listed under the 1st Attendance Review meeting, to confirm the employee’s move to Stage 2 of the procedure (or otherwise, as appropriate) and to formulate a plan of action to achieve a significant and sustained improvement in their level of attendance.
The manager will consider further whether it is appropriate to obtain a medical report from the employee’s Doctor or Consultant or to refer the employee for an Occupational Health Assessment. The purpose of this is to:
- Understand the work capability of the employee;
- Understand whether there is any underlying medical reason for the employee’s absence;
- Ensure that the employee understands what they can do to improve their health and is receiving the appropriate care from their GP/Consultant to assist their attendance at or return to work on a sustained basis;
- Obtain advice on any reasonable adjustment to the employee’s working environment or arrangements which may be necessary to assist the employee’s attendance at or return to work on a sustained basis;
- Understand the prognosis for the employee’s medical condition and (if currently absent) the likelihood of a return to work, including whether in the opinion of a medical advisor the employee has a disability for the purposes of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.
The manager will explain the procedure and warn the employee that a failure to improve their attendance to a level that is acceptable to the Foundation, could lead to disciplinary action which may ultimately lead to the termination of employment.
The outcome of the 2nd Review meeting will be confirmed by the manager in writing and will include confirmation that the employee is now at Stage 2 of the procedure, the details of the timescales and arrangements for review. The manager will also confirm in writing any assistance and adjustments which have been put in place to support the employee.
If the employee’s attendance improves to a sustained level that is acceptable to the Foundation within the review period, then the manager will advise the employee of this and confirm that the employee’s attendance will continue to be monitored by the manager. If during the 12 months following the end of the review period the employee’s attendance again falls below an acceptable standard the employee may be reinstated at Stage 2 of the procedure depending on the employee’s past progress through the procedure.
Should further absence occur within the timescale for review the manager will consider whether it is appropriate to meet with the employee within the review period. This meeting may be in the form of a further review meeting as outlined in Stage 2 or the manager may commence to disciplinary procedure.
3rd Stage - Disciplinary Hearing
If the employee’s attendance has not improved to a level that is acceptable to the Foundation in the Stage 2 review period then the manager will consider whether it is appropriate to invite the employee to a 3rd Attendance Review meeting or commence the disciplinary procedure.
If the manager feels it is appropriate to review the absence levels; Stage 2 of the procedure will be followed.
Where the manager feels it is appropriate to commence the disciplinary procedure the manager will advise the employee in writing of the date of the disciplinary hearing; giving at least 2 working days’ notice.
The purpose of the Disciplinary Hearing is to carry out a thorough review of the employee’s attendance record and to make a decision about what appropriate action may be taken concerning the employee’s continuous employment with the Foundation.
In preparation for the Disciplinary Hearing all supporting evidence concerning the absences and the review meetings as outlined in the procedure will be sent to the employee in advance of the hearing.
At the hearing the manager will consider any additional evidence presented to them by the employee or their representative and the evidence gathered by the manager throughout the process. Where applicable the manager will consider the scope to make reasonable adjustments in accordance with the Disability Discrimination Act. If applicable; alternatives to disciplinary action or the termination of employment, for example; the offer of an alternative role or a reduction in hours and so on.
There are a number of possible outcomes to the Disciplinary Hearing including:
- Setting another timescale for improvement and review;
- Reasonable adjustments to the employee’s existing role in accordance with the Disability Discrimination Act, if applicable;
- An offer of alternative employment (with adjustments in accordance with the Disability Discrimination Act if applicable);
- Disciplinary action to be issued with further timescales for improvement and a review date set or the termination of employment on the grounds of unacceptable levels of attendance or capability with contractual notice or pay in lieu of notice, as appropriate;
- The right to company sick pay may be withdrawn and statutory sick pay implemented.
Where disciplinary action is issued at the Disciplinary Hearing; the outcome will be confirmed in writing to the employee together with notification of their right to appeal against the decision.
In the event that a further timescale for improvement and review is set or the employee moves to an alternative role, the employee’s level of attendance will continue to be monitored by the manager. If the employee’s level of attendance does not meet an acceptable standard during a further review period and/or during the 12 months following the Disciplinary Hearing further disciplinary action may be taken; this may ultimately lead to the termination of their employment.
It is understood that not all attendance issues are in line with disciplinary requirements. Some attendance issues will require analysis and support indicators advised by independent Occupational Health services. This may also result in termination of contract due to capability but the process is designed to support a return to work.
The Appeal process is as outlined within the Disciplinary Procedure.
See Section 3, Emergency Time Off for Dependents and Compassionate Leave.
- The Foundation operates a policy to allow you to take reasonable time off work to deal with an emergency situation concerning a dependent;
- A dependent can be any of the following:
- Your spouse, child or parent;
- Someone who lives with you (but who is not your employee, lodger or boarder);
- Anyone who relies on you, when he or she is ill or injured, either to assist them or to make arrangements for their care.
- You may take a reasonable amount of unpaid time off work in the following circumstances:
- To help when a dependent gives birth, is ill, injured or assaulted;
- To make arrangements for the care of a sick or injured dependent;
- To deal with the death of a dependent;
- To cope when care arrangements for a dependent are unexpectedly disrupted;
- To deal with an unexpected incident involving a dependent child at school.
- Time off must be agreed by your manager. You will need to explain why you need time off and how long you expect to be away from work. When you return to work you should fill in a leave request form retrospectively;
- You may take a reasonable amount of time off work (to be discussed and determined by the manager). What is reasonable will depend on the circumstances of each incident. You should, as far as possible, agree with your manager how long you will be away from work;
- You should note that, unless stated otherwise in your Contract of Employment any time off taken under this policy will be unpaid;
- Requests for compassionate leave, in the event of death in an employee’s immediate family or any other family emergency can be discussed with the line manager. The maximum period paid during compassionate leave is five days. Payments for any time off granted in these circumstances are at the discretion of the Foundation and form no part of the contract of employment.
- The purpose of the Sickness Absence Scheme is to enable the Foundation to effectively manage the attendance of its staff. The Foundation desires that its staff should maintain good health during their working career and the Foundation will do all it can to assist in this respect. The absence scheme is designed to provide essential support above and beyond the standard Statutory Sick Pay scheme;
- The Foundation recognises the importance of ensuring that staff are supported during periods of sickness and this is achieved in the Scheme through providing payment as well as access to Occupational Health facilities.
Qualification of Payment
- If you are absent from work due to illness or injury the Foundation provides for Employees to be paid a sickness benefit that enhances the normal Statutory Sickness Scheme in accordance with the following provisions;
- All payments are at the discretion of the Foundation and employees are required to comply with the rules set out in this scheme. Any failure will result in the withdrawal of the benefit;
- The Foundation reserves the right to make payments in exceptional circumstances. Consideration will be given to paying an employee with less than a year’s employment if they are off work due to an accident at work. This payment will be solely at the Foundation’s discretion and will be for a maximum period of 2 weeks;
- During the first year of service Statutory Sick Pay;
- During 2nd year of service 1 month’s full pay and month’s half pay;
- During 3rd to 5th year of service 2 months’ full pay and 2 months’ half pay;
- After 5 years service 3 months’ full pay and 3 months’ half pay.
In order to be eligible staff must ensure that:
Staff employed prior 1 August 2010 please see previous sickness absence policy held within HR.
- They follow the notification and certification requirements that are set out in individual contracts of employment;
- Ensure that all information given in relation to absence is accurate. The provision of any misleading or untrue documentation or statements may result in the withdrawal of benefit as well as disciplinary action that could lead to dismissal and the recovery of any benefits paid as a result of misleading or untrue information;
- The Foundation reserves the right to suspend or withdraw any benefit where your absence or injury is as a result of your own actions or participation in sports/actions that are, in the opinion of the Foundation, dangerous or inappropriate. This may not affect the payment of the SSP proportion of the sickness benefit;
- To calculate the amount of sickness in a rolling 12 months period, the manager will look back 12 months from the date of return to work following the most recent period of absence and count the total number of working days absent, not the total number of calendar days;
- Where a member of staff moves into another year of service length they will not receive any additional benefit as set out above unless there is a new period of absence, for this purpose the same rules in relation to linking of periods of absence as exist in relation to payment of Statutory Sick Pay will apply so that there will need to be a clear return to work and break in any absence before an additional amount of benefit may be paid. This is because the scheme is an enhancement of the SSP payable;
- In calculating periods of service this will mean unbroken service.
Calculation of Pay
- In the case of the full pay period the enhanced sickness benefit will be an amount which, when added to Statutory Sick Pay, will secure the equivalent of normal pay;
- In the case of the half pay period the enhanced sickness benefit will be an amount equal to half normal earnings inclusive of Statutory Sick receivable so long as the total sum does not exceed normal pay.
Sickness occurring during Annual Leave
- A member of staff who is sick during the period of annual leave will not be eligible to take this leave at another time within the current leave year.
Attendance Management
- The Foundation will carefully monitor and record levels of absence and reasons for absence to identify trends and potential abuse of the benefit scheme as well as to identify any health issues within the Foundation;
- All information gathered through the attendance management procedure will be held and treated in complete confidence under the provisions of the Data Protection legislation.
Payment of Company Sick Pay
- If employees are sick during a disciplinary, grievance or performance management investigation, any Company Sickness Pay will not be paid;
- If employees gain any Company Sickness Pay as a result of being in an insured accident, the Company reserve the right to claim any monies pay as part of the Insurance Claim.
- Employees are responsible for attending punctually for work in accordance with the hours defined in their contract of employment;
- Employees may not leave work prior to their normal finishing time without permission. In the event of any employee requiring time away from work during normal working hours, he/she must discuss the request with their manager and on receiving permission contact their manager before leaving and on returning to work;
- Lateness for work may result in pay being reduced accordingly;
- Persistent lateness may lead to disciplinary action being taken.
It is recognised that there may be times when it is problematic for staff to travel to work. This may be when the normal mode of transport is not possible due to inclement weather, public transport strikes or other circumstances occur which are beyond staff member’s control. Although such problems will be rare the following policy outlines guidelines should such circumstances arise.
Generally employees choose where they live and how they travel to work. If you travel to work by car and are unable to get to work because of the weather or another reason e.g. national fuel shortage or some other circumstance out of your control, it is expected that you will make every effort to attend work by making alternative arrangements; for example the use of public transport. Likewise, if your preferred mode of transport is by bus or train and there is a public transport strike you are expected to arrange, where possible, alternative travelling arrangements e.g., car-sharing, taxi etc.
- It is expected that every member of staff will make every reasonable effort to get to work;
- During inclement weather, buses may be running but unable to reach some areas. It is not unreasonable to expect someone to use an alternative nearby bus stop on an open route;
- It is essential to phone your Line Manager or the HR Representative to let them know if you are going to be late or unable to attend work as soon as reasonably possible and no later than one hour after your expected starting time. Clearly there may be times when this is not possible and allowances will be given in circumstances when then is no access to a phone. However, contact should be made as soon as reasonably practicable in such instances;
- Failure to notify that you are unable to attend work without a reasonable explanation would count as unauthorised absence and therefore be unpaid. Furthermore, it could constitute a disciplinary offence which may result in formal disciplinary action being invoked;
- If you do arrive late because of inclement weather or other such extreme circumstances you will not normally be expected to make up the time lost.
Likewise, if you wish to leave work early because of the weather you should consult with your Line Manager. In the case of worsening, or particularly hazardous conditions you should speak to your line manager.
- In the event that weather conditions deteriorate during the working day and it appears that staff may have difficulty in travelling home, the Foundation will consider whether staff should leave work early. This will be communicated to all areas. No loss of pay to staff will be involved;
- In the event that weather conditions do not improve resulting in absence of more than one day, staff members should maintain regular contact with their Line Manager;
- Although the Foundation will not be unreasonable should extreme circumstances prevent a member of staff attending work, alternative arrangements will be required should a regular or consistent pattern of time–off as a result of inclement weather occur. This may be due to the member of staff living a considerable distance from work or in a remote area. In such cases, consideration should be given to a combination of paid, unpaid or annual leave being used during absences.
When a member of staff has not been able to attend work at all due to inclement weather, or other extreme circumstances out of their control, the Line Manager may come to an agreement with that individual to allow them to:
- Take a day’s annual leave; or
- Elect to have a day’s authorised leave without pay; or
- Work at home (where this is practicable); or
- Make up the time/hours lost within one month of the occurrence.
Last Updated: November 19, 2022
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