Three tips to ensure effective absence management

Workplace absences are inevitable.

At some point, employees will undoubtedly get sick, have a family emergency or face travel disruptions.

When any of these absences happen, you need to ensure you have the necessary processes in place.

To support, we’ve pulled together our top three tips to help you ensure effective staff absence management.

Tip One – Ensure you have an absence policy

The first thing you need to ensure is that you have a short-term absence policy in place to inform employees of the necessary actions.

It’s your duty as an employer to ensure your workforce is aware of the correct procedures.

The best practice is to brief employees on the absence policy during the induction period or on the first day.

Your absence policy must cover:

• What are the rules
• Who employees should contact
• How often employees should get in touch

Tip Two- Conduct return to work interviews

We advise you always conduct a return to work interview, regardless of the absence.

Conducting these interviews regularly ensures that you have formal records of each absence, while also providing a variety of benefits such as:

1. They act as a deterrent for employees who may be unnecessarily taking absences
2. They provide key insights into the employee’s situation, helping you determine whether any adjustments are necessary

We suggest you cover the following questions in each interview:

• Reason for absence?
• Are they fit to return to work?
• Did they go to the GP?
• Is there anything the business needs to be aware of?
• Are any reasonable adjustments needed?

Tip Three- Put in place Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)

Statutory Sick Pay is crucial to ensuring your business is compliant and is currently £94.25 per week for up to 28 weeks.

For employees to qualify for Statutory Sick Pay, there are a few criteria that must be met:

• They must be sick for at least four days in a row, including non-working days (for COVID-19 cases, SSP starts on day one)
• They have to earn at least an average of £118 per week
• They need to inform you that they’re sick
• They must be classified as an employee who has done some work for their employer

How to efficiently manage employee absences in small-to-medium-sized businesses

Are you looking for more information regarding absence management?

We’ve created a comprehensive guide that takes a look into what your business has to do to ensure correct and compliant processes, covering both short- and long-term absences.

You’re welcome to download the guide and discover how you can ensure your HR processes are compliant and correct.

Get help directly from experts

If you’re overwhelmed with the task and struggling to conduct absence management, don’t worry.

We have a solution, IRIS AdviserPlus, which is a HR consulting service providing business owners with unlimited support from HR Experts, ensuring you have the necessary support to correctly handle absences.

For more information on how IRIS AdviserPlus can help you manage your absences, click here or check out our absence management systems.

Stephanie Coward

Managing Director, HCM

Stephanie Coward is Managing Director for HCM at IRIS, where she leads the strategy, innovation and growth of the organisation’s HR and payroll portfolio. She is responsible for positioning IRIS as a trusted partner to HR professionals and ensuring its solutions support the evolving needs of modern workforces.

With more than 25 years’ experience in the technology sector, Stephanie brings deep commercial and operational expertise, with a passion for improving the employee experience through technology.

Stephanie is committed to advancing IRIS’ HCM offering and helping organisations build more resilient, empowered workforces.