Guidelines for Employees -

Sickness Absence
Introduction
Some absence due to sickness is inevitable within any large organisation and sickness absence
needs to be dealt with in a fair, understanding and sympathetic way. Absence is costly; it has an
adverse effect upon colleagues and on the level and quality of service that the University provides.
Effective monitoring of all forms of absence, and a consistency of approach, are essential if absence
levels are to be maintained at, or below, sector standards/averages. The University’s Absence
Management procedure is not a disciplinary procedure. Absence not due to genuine illness will be
dealt with under the Disciplinary Procedure. Sick leave is recorded on the Leave and Absence
Management System (LAMS).

Ill Health and Absence Regulation

This regulation applies to all staff, including academic staff who have completed probation. Please
refer to the Ill Health and Absence Regulation.

Who is responsible for managing absence?

 Line Managers (supervisors, section heads, etc.) are the people best placed to manage
absence in their areas of responsibility.
 Every employee has a responsibility to attend work when she/he is fit to do so.

Notification of absence
All staff have a responsibility, under their contract of employment and / or under the terms of the
Sickness Pay Scheme, to contact their department as early as possible on the first day of absence;
and no later than normal commencement of work or shift start time. This is important as
alternative arrangements (to ensure that all necessary work is covered) may have to be put into
place.
If you are absent for up to 3 calendar days, you are not required to provide evidence of incapacity.
If your absence extends to a 4th day and lasts up to 7 calendar days, a self-certification form
should be completed and returned to your departmental absence administrator .

 Self Certification Form 

If your absence lasts longer than 7 calendar days, a Doctor's certificate (fit note) must be
forwarded direct to your departmental absence administrator and you should inform your Line
Manager of the period of absence covered by the certificate. In this event, the Doctor's Certificate (fit
note) will be accepted as evidence of incapacity for the first 7 days and it will not then be necessary
to complete the self-certificate.

Note:
Until such time as a Doctor's Certificate (fit note) is received it is your responsibility to inform
your Line Manager on a daily basis of any continuing absence.
You should inform your Line Manager of the period of absence covered by the certificate.
Failure to comply with the reporting requirements could mean that a period of absence will be
treated as unauthorised absence and sick payments withheld.

Note:
If you have provided an open Doctor's Certificate (fit note) or you wish to return before the Doctor's
Certificate (fit note) has expired, you must obtain a Doctor's Statement of Fitness before you will be
allowed to return to work.

Medical appointments
Staff should, where possible, make medical and dental appointments outside of working hours. If this
is not possible, reasonable time off will be permitted for appointments; ideally these should be
scheduled at the beginning or end of the working day in order to minimise disruption. Managers have
the right to ask for evidence of appointments before granting time off.

Sickness absence and annual leave

Annual leave continues to accrue during periods of sickness absence.
An employee who falls sick during a period of annual leave, may claim back their annual leave. In
order to claim back any period of annual leave, the employee must, unless there are exceptional
circumstances, report their illness to their line-manager on the first day of their illness. The employee
must also, regardless of the duration of the illness, provide documentary evidence which would
normally be a statement from a doctor or a hospital covering the entire period of sickness during the
annual leave. The University may also require details of and the duration of the illness and, if
requested, the employee must arrange for any documents to be translated into English. The
University reserves the right to raise further queries about the documentary evidence. Annual leave
(and any associated sick pay) will only be available for any period covered by a medical statement.
Annual leave may only be claimed back due to sickness absence if the employee would have been
unfit to do their job. Annual leave cannot be claimed back where an employee could have come to
work but their illness has infringed on their enjoyment of their holiday, for example a sprained ankle
on a skiing holiday.
Where it is not possible for an employee to take their annual leave by the end of a holiday year due
to long-term sickness absence (or in exceptional circumstances where a period of illness coincides
with annual leave at the end of the holiday year), any outstanding annual leave (which will be pro-
rated for part-time staff) may be carried forward into the next leave year. Public or customary
holidays that fall during a period of sickness absence will not be accrued or carried forward (and an
appropriate deduction will be made in respect of part-time colleague’s pro-rata entitlement should
any period of sick fall on public or customary days). Further advice can be sought from HR.
Accrued annual leave may not be carried forward for a period of more than 15 months. Unless there
are exceptional circumstances, all accrued annual leave must be taken within 12 months of the
employee returning to work. When taken, accrued annual leave will be paid at the normal rate of
pay. The carrying forward of leave must be agreed with the employee’s line manager.
Employees may take annual leave while absent due to ill-health. If an employee wants to take
annual leave during a period of sickness absence, they must notify their line-manager and HR in
advance of the period of annual leave and state which days they wish to be treated as annual leave.
The University may ask an employee to take annual leave at an alternative time.
Return to work
As a reminder, when you return to work you should inform your line manager or departmental
absence administrator (dependant on individual departmental arrangements) of your return to work.
To be consistent, everyone returning from a period of absence, whatever the duration, must have a
return to work meeting with his or her Line Manager. An email reminder is sent to your Line Manager
when your department absence administrator inputs the end of your absence into LAMS.
The purpose of the meeting is to:

 Welcome you back to work

 Ensure you are fully fit to return (has she/he been signed off by his/her own doctor and/or the
University's medical adviser?)
 Identify the reason for the absence
 Confirm the length of absence
 Discuss and/or identify any adjustments to the work place, duties or hours which may
reduce/eliminate absences
 Identify and address any problems (work related or otherwise) that may be causing or
contributing to the absence
 Agree priorities for the post-absence period

The general purpose of the interview is to establish the facts and see if any action may be taken to
reduce/eliminate future absence. This return to work meeting is not a disciplinary interview.
Discussions between you and your manager will be kept confidential so far as reasonably possible.
If your manager is dissatisfied with the outcome of the return to work meeting then he/she will seek
advice from the Human Resources (HR) Office before taking any action.

Phased Return
All phased returns must be discussed with Occupational Health and HR.
Phased returns will normally be for a four week period, with full time working resuming after four
weeks. A period in excess of four weeks for a phased return can only be agreed following further
discussions with Occupational Health and HR. Full pay will only be paid for a maximum of four
weeks, thereafter the rate of pay will normally be reduced to the number of hours the member of
staff is able to work.

Adjustments to working environment

It may be necessary to make temporary or, in some cases, permanent adjustments to the workplace,
your hours and/or duties to help reduce/eliminate future absence. If this is the case then your input
and agreement will be sought to any changes and to when such changes will be reviewed. The
Occupational Health Adviser will be able to provide both help and guidance in this process and will
be consulted before any adjustments are made. Adjustments will also be considered in appropriate
cases of short-term sickness absence.

Specialist help and advice

There are two sources of specialist help and advice available: -
The HR Office can help at any stage of the process and will advise on what steps need to be taken.
Occupational Health will assist with medical referrals and workplace assessments if the absence is
due to work-related problems affecting the health of the individual. If an employee is returning from a
period of long term absence, advice may be given as to how to effect a progressive return to "full-
time working". Occupational Health will also advise on what reasonable adjustments may be made
to reduce/eliminate absence and/or facilitate a return to work.

Frequent Intermittent Absence

Where there has been:

 3 or more absences in a 3 month period or

 intermittent absences amounting to 10 days in a rolling year

the University recommends that managers trigger the Ill Health and Absence Regulation. A reminder
email is sent to Line Managers from LAMS.

Long-Term Absence
Any long-term absence of 4 weeks duration will trigger a notification email to your Line manager
and the University Occupational Health Adviser. The Line Manager completes the referral
documentation and then sends this to the University Occupational Health Adviser, who will take
appropriate action in relation to the notified reason for absence including meeting with you and
obtaining necessary medical reports. If your manager thinks it appropriate, absences of less than 4
weeks' duration may also be referred to the University's Occupational Health Adviser.
If you are referred to Occupational Health you are obliged to attend the appointment. If you are not
able to attend due to illness, the Occupational Health Adviser will make arrangements to visit you at
home.
It is important for your manager to maintain regular contact with you on long term absence
throughout your period of absence. Where contact involves general enquiries regarding your
welfare, informing you of social events taking place, or passing on the good wishes of the staff,
contact may be made by telephone; a brief note of this may be logged on LAMS. All other
communications will usually be in writing.
The Occupational Health Adviser will regularly review your situation and will liaise with your manager
and keep him/her informed of any likely return to work date.
Consideration may be given to termination of your employment if you are unable to return to work
either at all or within a reasonable period of time, and there are no adjustments to workplace, hours
or duties that would facilitate a return. In this case, action would be taken under the Ill Health and
Absence Regulation.

Fit for Work Service

The Government introduced the ‘Fit for Work’ Service in autumn 2015. This service enables
employers and GP’s to refer an employee who is off sick for four weeks or longer (or, in the case of
a GP, he/she expects the employee to reach four weeks absence) to the new ‘Fit for Work’ service
for an occupational health assessment. You will be assigned a caseworker who will discuss your
condition, your job and any factors that may be affecting your return to work. The assessment will
result in a Return to Work Plan being produced with advice and recommendations. This plan would
be discussed with your manager, HR and the University’s occupational health adviser and
consideration given to the recommendations made. The Return to Work Plan provides evidence of
sickness absence in the same way as a fit note issued by a GP.
As the University has its own in-house occupational health provider we see this service as
complementing our current provision rather than replacing it. We will continue to routinely refer
employees to our in-house occupational health adviser as set out in our absence policy. We do not
expect to refer employees who are off sick to the Fit for Work Service. A referral to the Fit for Work
Service will not replace any requirement for you to attend an appointment with the University’s
occupational health adviser.
Any referral to the Fit for Work Service requires your consent. If your GP suggests a referral, and
you agree, you are advised to speak to your HR contact to confirm the appropriate person for your
caseworker to contact, if appropriate, if they have further questions regarding your role at the
University.
If you are contacted by the Fit For Work service as a Manager, in relation to an employee that is off
sick, please refer the caseworker to your HR contact in the first instance.
The service also provides free online or telephone advice for employees on any work-related health
issue. See www.fitforwork.org or telephone 0800 032 6235.
For further information on the scheme see:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fit-for-work-guidance-for-employees
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fit-for-work-guidance-for-employers

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What are the implications for my Benefits+ arrangements if I drop to half pay as a
result of long-term absence?
Your Benefits+ arrangements will be reviewed. If there is a possibility that you will be
disadvantaged you will be removed from Benefits+ and reinstated on your return to work, if
appropriate.
2. Can I refuse to attend a return to work meeting? 
Under the procedure everyone should attend a return to work interview. If the reason for your
sickness absence is for a personal medical reason, and your line manager is of a different
gender to yourself, you can ask to have the interview with someone of the same gender in your
department. If no one is available in your department then, in exceptional circumstances,
arrangements can be made for you to have a return to work interview with the Occupational
Health Adviser.
3. Can I be accompanied when attending a return to work meeting? 
The meeting is an informal discussion to ensure that you are fit to return to work and to
determine whether or not any adjustments of a temporary or more permanent nature are
required to be made to your "job". Being accompanied to the meeting suggests that you want the
discussion to take place on a more formal basis and this is not the intention of the discussion.
4. How long do I have to be absent from work before I have a return to work meeting? 
Any absence of one day or longer will require a return to work meeting. If you attend for work
and then leave work because of sickness or an accident you should inform your line manager
prior to leaving the workplace. Provided you return to work the next day, there will be no need for
you to attend for a return to work meeting.
5. How do I collect my personal possessions during my absence?
If you are absent from your base of work for any length of time, it is your responsibility to have
your personal possessions collected in a timely manner or to arrange with your manager for
them to be stored, if this is possible

https://www.dur.ac.uk/hr/policies/absence/sickabsence/