What Should I Do If an Employee Keeps Calling in Sick?
Repeated short-term sickness absence can be difficult to manage. Here’s how UK small business owners can deal with it consistently, fairly and in line with their own procedures.
Repeated short-term sickness absence can be difficult to manage. Here’s how UK small business owners can deal with it consistently, fairly and in line with their own procedures.
Managing repeated sickness absence can be difficult for any employer.
An employee may have several short periods of absence, perhaps only a day or two at a time. Individually, none of them seem particularly concerning — but over time you may start to notice a pattern or feel that their attendance is becoming difficult to manage.
So, what can you actually do?
The key is to deal with absence consistently, fairly and in line with your own procedures. Check your Absence Management Policy, keep accurate records, hold return-to-work conversations, look for underlying reasons, and follow your policy if absence levels trigger a formal review.
Your first step should be to check your Absence Management Policy.
A good policy should explain:
Having a clear process gives both you and your employees a better understanding of what is expected. An employee handbook is often a practical place to bring policies like this together.
Don’t have an Absence Management Policy? This is something Crawford Consultancy can help you put in place.
It’s difficult to manage repeated absence properly if you don’t have a clear record of it.
Record the dates and duration of each absence and, where appropriate, the reason given.
This can help you identify patterns that may not immediately be obvious — for example, frequent Monday or Friday absences, repeated single-day absences or an increasing level of absence over a particular period.
However, a pattern doesn’t automatically mean someone is doing something wrong. It simply gives you a reason to look at the situation more closely.
A return-to-work conversation after sickness absence doesn’t need to be intimidating or overly formal.
It gives you an opportunity to welcome the employee back, confirm the reason for their absence, check whether they are fit to return and establish whether they need any support.
When someone has had repeated periods of absence, these conversations become particularly important.
They also demonstrate that absence is being actively and consistently managed rather than simply recorded and forgotten about.
Before deciding what action to take, consider whether there could be an underlying reason for the employee’s absence.
For example, is there an ongoing health issue? Could something at work be contributing? Has the employee raised anything that may require further support or consideration?
Depending on the circumstances, employers may also need to consider their obligations under the Equality Act 2010, including whether the employee may have a disability and whether reasonable adjustments should be considered.
This is one of the reasons why applying an automatic “three absences and you’re disciplined” approach can cause problems.
Potentially — but it needs to be handled carefully.
If an employee’s level of absence has become a genuine concern, your policy may provide for a more formal absence review.
This could involve meeting with the employee, discussing their attendance record, understanding the reasons for the absences and considering whether any support or adjustments are appropriate.
Depending on the circumstances, you may also need medical information or occupational health advice before making decisions about an employee’s ongoing attendance or capability.
The important point is that sickness absence and misconduct are not automatically the same thing.
The correct approach will depend on why the employee is absent and the individual circumstances.
Whatever process you use, make sure you’re applying it consistently.
If one employee’s repeated absence is addressed while similar absence from another employee is routinely ignored, you could create problems further down the line.
Having a clear Absence Management Policy — and actually following it — makes managing these situations much easier.
You don’t need to wait until absence has become a major problem before getting HR advice. Crawford Consultancy can help small businesses across Falkirk, Stirling and Central Scotland with:
Whether you need a policy putting in place or you’re already dealing with an employee absence issue, I can help you work through the appropriate next steps.
Book a free call HR support