Sickness Absence Procedure: formal stages

Where a recommendation has been made by the Faculty/Service for a case to progress to the formal stages of the procedure and this is supported by HR, the employee’s line manager (with support from the HR Advisor supporting the case) will be required to prepare a report which will be used at the meeting. The report should include the following information:

• background, including the employee’s work history and current role;
• the employee’s role, including a summary of their duties and responsibilities;
• the total sickness absence record, including any pattern of absence and reasons for the absence;
• details of support provided to date, including changes to the role, duties and/or working arrangements and any adjustments recommended by Occupational Health, where applicable;
• impact on business area and/or colleagues;
• conclusion;
• all supporting documentation, including information from the informal procedure, targets for attendance, notes of review meetings, and medical evidence etc.

For long term sickness absence, any medical evidence to support the case should be recent and have been obtained no more than three months prior to the formal sickness absence meeting. Updated Occupational Health reports should be obtained prior to any subsequent formal meetings.

The HR Casework team will commission a formal sickness absence review meeting and will make necessary arrangements, including issuing a copy of the report, appendices and details of the meeting to the employee in advance of the meeting, in accordance with paragraph 18.1 of the Sickness Absence Procedure.

Right to be accompanied

Employees are permitted to bring a companion to any meeting held under the formal stages in accordance with section 3 of the Sickness Absence Procedure. The companion may be either a trade union representative or a work colleague. Employees should inform the HR Casework Team who their chosen companion is, in good time before the meeting.

Reasonable adjustments

Where an employee has a disability, adjustments to the procedure will be considered where beneficial to the employee. For example, allowing an employee to be accompanied at the meeting by an alternative companion such as a friend/family member or adjusting the location or timings of the meeting. Employees should notify the HR Casework Team in good time if they would benefit from specific adjustments.

Only those who have a role in the formal stages of the Sickness Absence Procedure will be present during a formal sickness absence review meeting. This may include:

• the person chairing the meeting (the Chair);
• the employee;
• the trade union representative or work colleague (‘fellow worker’) accompanying the employee;
• the line manager who prepared the report (the University representative);
• the HR Partner or HR Advisor supporting the Chair (the HR representative);
• the HR Advisor supporting the line manager;
• the note taker.

At the commencement of a formal meeting, the Chair will:

• introduce those present and explain why they are there;
• explain the purpose of the meeting;
• explain how the meeting will be conducted.

The employee should be given a reasonable opportunity to present their case. Ordinarily, a formal meeting will follow the following format:

• the line manager (or in limited circumstances where an investigation is carried out, the Investigating Officer (IO)) will present their report;
• the employee or their companion may ask questions of the relevant manager/IO;
• the Chair and the HR representative may ask questions of the relevant manager/IO;
• the employee (or their companion if the employee wishes) will have the opportunity to present their case and any supporting evidence including any medical evidence;
• the Chair and the HR representative may ask questions of the employee (who must answer themselves – their companion is not permitted to answer questions on their behalf);
• the relevant manager/IO will have the opportunity to sum up the University’s case;
• the employee or their companion will have the opportunity to sum up the employee’s case.

The employee may request an adjournment at any stage during a formal meeting, for example to consult with their companion or to review an item of evidence. Such requests should not be unreasonably refused. The Chair or HR representative may also request an adjournment, for example to look into a query/new information that has arisen during the meeting, review a document provided by the employee and/or to check a point of law and/or procedure. Where a meeting is adjourned, everyone present should withdraw apart from the HR representative whose role is to advise the Chair on the Sickness Absence Procedure, process and points of law.

Once the evidence has been heard, the Chair will usually adjourn the meeting pending the outcome and advise the employee that they will be notified of the decision in writing. Preference can be taken if there is an alternative preferred way for the decision to be delivered, for example verbally, however, it will always be confirmed in writing.  

In exceptional cases the Chair may adjourn the meeting to consider the decision and inform the employee of the decision the same day. This may be appropriate for example if the employee does not dispute the University’s case.

Before reaching a decision, the Chair will consider all the evidence, including evidence from the meeting, any medical evidence submitted by the employee and written submissions (if any) and decide what action, if any, should be taken. In some circumstances it may be appropriate for the Chair to make further enquiry/investigation before deciding the outcome, for example to check or clarify something raised by the employee or their companion during the meeting.

In reaching a decision the Chair will consider the following:

• whether the employee was aware of and understood the expectations of them? (e.g., any targets for attendance had been clearly communicated)
• whether the employees’ attendance is below the level expected (e.g., that they have not been able to meet the target for attendance within the agreed timescale)
• whether any support and/or adjustments to the role/working arrangements have resulted in an improvement in attendance and/or enabled the employee to return to work on a sustained basis and/or perform their duties in whole or part or to the required standard
• whether the employee has a disability which has contributed to their absence levels, and if so, a review of the reasonable adjustments in place to support them
• the likely prognosis for the employee returning to work on a sustained basis and/or being fit to carry out their duties in full and/or to perform them to an acceptable standard
• what action has previously been taken, including any ‘live’ formal cautions that may have previously been issued under the Sickness Absence Procedure?
• whether further medical advice is required
• considering the total absence pattern and the effect this is having on the work area
• any other relevant circumstances specific to the case

There are three stages under the formal process of the Sickness Absence Procedure. Following a formal meeting, the Chair will decide on the appropriate action to be taken. The Chair’s decision may be:

Stage 1 formal meeting:

• To take no further action, but a further review period may be implemented
• To take alternative action, for example to progress redeployment or ill health retirement
• To give the employee a formal caution in relation to their absence(s)

Stage 2 formal meeting:

• To take no further formal action, but a further review period may be implemented
• To take alternative action, for example to progress redeployment or ill health retirement
• To give the employee a final caution in relation to their absence(s)

Stage 3 formal meeting:

• To take no further formal action, but a further review period may be implemented
• To take alternative action, for example to progress redeployment or ill health retirement
• To give the employee notice of dismissal

First cautions will normally remain active for 6 months from the end of a formal review period and final cautions will normally remain active for 12 months from the end of a formal review period.

The Chair will inform the employee of the outcome of the meeting via letter in accordance with section 19 of the Sickness Absence Procedure. The employees line manager will be notified of the outcome as well as any further recommendations from the Chair as part of the outcome.

Where the outcome of a formal meeting includes a period of monitoring and review, consideration will be given to factors such as:

• whether the absence(s) are persistent short term absences or long term absence;
• where the absences are persistent short term absences, within what timeframe can they be expected to show an improvement (consider any patterns of absence);
• whether there is an underlying condition and, if so, the nature of the condition;
• other factors such as a change to medication/operation dates.

When setting targets for attendance within a review period, the Chair will consider whether it is appropriate to apply any reasonable adjustments to the target.

Once an outcome has been delivered, management of the case will revert to the employee’s line manager during any formal review period. Managers should maintain employee support and conversations during this period as they would during review periods under the informal stages of the procedure.

At the end of a formal review period, or sooner if attendance targets have been exceeded, the line manager will notify the employee of the outcome:

1. Where the employee has achieved the required standards of attendance or has returned to work on a sustained basis (with or without adjustments) and is performing their duties to an acceptable standard, it will be confirmed in writing that they will be removed from the formal procedure but that the caution will remain live.
2. Where the employee has been unable to achieve the required attendance either during or at the end of the review period, or in cases of long term absence, is unable to return to work on a sustained basis and carry out their work to an acceptable standard at the end of the review period, the case will be escalated to the next stage of the formal procedure. The employee will be required to attend a further formal review meeting.

Employees have the right of appeal against any sanction under the formal Sickness Absence Procedure (where a caution or dismissal has been issued), in accordance with section 20 of the Sickness Absence Procedure.

An appeal must be submitted within14 days of the date of the outcome letter.

Where an employee appeals against a sanction, the HR Casework team will commission an appeal panel and make arrangements for an appeal hearing, including arrangements for meeting rooms and relevant paperwork.

The appeal hearing will be conducted in accordance with Ordinance 35.   

An appeal will normally comprise a review of the original decision. Other than in limited circumstances, the appeal will not be a rehearing of the case. Where the appeal is on grounds that the formal meeting was flawed or incorrect process was followed, the HR Casework Manager will, following consultation with the appeal panel, decide whether a full rehearing is appropriate.

Exceptionally, the appeal panel may consider that new evidence should be presented, for example where the employee could not reasonably have been aware of a new fact/evidence at the time of the original formal meeting, or if it is otherwise considered necessary in the interests of fairness, in which case arrangements may be made for new evidence to be presented and/or for witnesses to attend.

Once the appeal has been heard the Chair will usually adjourn the hearing pending the outcome and advise the employee that they will be notified of the decision in writing. In some circumstances it may be appropriate for the appeal panel to make further enquiry/investigation before deciding the outcome, for example to check or clarify something raised by the employee or their companion during the appeal hearing.

The appeal panel may decide to:

• uphold the action taken;
• or withdraw the action taken;
• or reduce the level of action taken.