Libraries
780+ HR templates
Everything your business needs to stay compliant
Policies, contracts, letters, guidance and HR support tools for UK employers.
View full libraryPolicies, contracts, letters, guidance and HR support tools for UK employers.
View full libraryManage sickness absence with a complete, practical set of HR templates covering absence reporting, return-to-work meetings, reviews, support and formal action — helping you follow a clear, consistent and supportive process.
Use this toolkit to:
Toolkit contains:
If you're dealing with several HR issues, buying individual templates can quickly add up. Get access to the complete HRDocBox library instead, with practical, ready-to-use HR resources covering recruitment, contracts, performance, absence, employee relations, policies, disciplinary procedures, redundancy and more.
Our absence improvement guide offers insights and strategies for improving employee attendance and reducing absenteeism.
A practical manager’s guide to identifying absence patterns, exploring root causes, and supporting employees fairly and consistently.
This guide provides guidance on managing employees on long-term sick leave, including understanding legal obligations, conducting effective communication, implementing reasonable adjustments, and exploring return-to-work options.
Download a guide to managing short-term sickness absence, covering reporting, return-to-work meetings, absence patterns, support and HR action.
Manager's guide to reducing sickness absence covering attendance management, return-to-work meetings, employee support, absence patterns, reasonable adjustments and further action.
Download a return to work interview guide for UK managers to discuss sickness absence, identify support needs, record actions and manage attendance fairly.
Our Absence Improvement Policy template is designed to support a healthier work environment by helping you to combat absenteeism, ensure fairness, and boost productivity.
Our Alternative Absence Policy Template streamlines managing non-holiday/sickness absences, fostering fairness and reducing disruptions.
Our Annual Leave Policy template simplifies time-off requests, ensures fair allocation, and fosters a well-rested workforce for better productivity.
Download a buying or selling annual leave policy template for UK employers, covering eligibility, approval, pay adjustments and statutory holiday entitlement.
A practical career break policy template that supports extended employee leave while balancing organisational needs.
Our Carers Leave Policy outlines entitlements and procedures, offering support and flexibility for employees balancing work and caregiving responsibilities.
Our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Policy Template ensures employees have access to professional support, fostering a positive and resilient workforce.
Our Jury Service Policy Template ensures clarity and fairness in managing employee obligations and rights during jury service.
Our Parental Bereavement Leave Policy Template offers compassionate support, helping employees cope with loss while maintaining work-life balance.
Our Sabbatical Policy Template empowers employees to take a break for personal growth, reducing burnout and enhancing long-term productivity.
Download a sick absence policy template for UK employers, covering sickness reporting, fit notes, absence reviews, return to work, long-term absence.
Our Time Off for Dependants Policy Template aids employees during family emergencies, ensuring compassionate support without work worries.
Our Timekeeping Policy Template promotes punctuality, accountability, and efficient workflow management for a more productive work environment.
Download an unauthorised absence (AWOL) policy template for UK employers, covering absence reporting, employee contact, investigations, pay.
Download an absence review meeting invitation template for UK employers to review sickness absence, attendance concerns, medical information.
Our Concern about absence Letter template is used to notify an employee that you have a concern over their level of absence, that may warrant disciplinary action should it happen again.
Our End of Company Sick Pay confirmation Letter Template notifies employees of the cessation of company sick pay, maintaining transparency and clarity in benefits communication.
Download an end of Statutory Sick Pay entitlement letter confirming when SSP ends, SSP1 arrangements, ongoing absence and employee support.
Our Fit Note First Request Letter Template streamlines the process of requesting a fit note from an employee, ensuring compliance with UK employment regulations.
Our Fit Note Second Request Letter Template helps efficiently address unsubmitted fit notes, ensuring timely completion.
Download a long-term sickness dismissal letter covering medical evidence, reasonable adjustments, capability considerations, notice and appeal rights.
Our Long Term Sick Absence Review Meeting Invitation Letter template invites employees to a meeting to discuss extended absences, ensuring a supportive and structured approach.
Download a medical report consent request letter explaining why consent is needed and the employee's rights when a report is requested from their doctor.
Download a GP medical report request letter covering employee consent, fitness for work, sickness absence, adjustments and relevant medical information.
Our requirement for employee to take annual leave letter template ensures employees use their full annual leave entitlement within a specified period to comply with legal obligations.
Download a short term absence review meeting outcome template for UK employers to confirm sickness absence discussions, support, attendance expectations.
Download a suspension on medical grounds letter confirming health and safety reasons, pay arrangements, medical assessment and review or return-to-work plans.
Our Sympathy for Illness (Employee at Home) Letter template expresses support and care for employees facing illness at home, maintaining a compassionate tone.
Our Sympathy for Illness (Employee in Hospital) Letter template extends sincere support to employees hospitalized due to illness, offering understanding and comfort.
Download a long-term sickness dismissal letter covering medical evidence, reasonable adjustments, capability dismissal, notice and appeal rights.
Download an uncertified sick leave letter template for UK employers to request sickness certification, explaining absence procedures.
Download a medical report consent form to record employee permission, access rights and consent to request health information from a doctor.
Download a return-to-work interview form to record sickness absence discussions, wellbeing, support, reasonable adjustments and agreed actions.
Our Absence Review Meeting Script Template facilitates constructive discussions, identifying causes and solutions for improved attendance.
Our concern about absence meeting script template guides managers through structured conversations with employees about their attendance, aiming to understand the reasons behind their absences and collaboratively develop a plan for improvement.
Use this concern about lateness or timekeeping meeting script to address attendance concerns, employee explanations, agreed improvements.
Use this long-term sickness review meeting script to discuss medical advice, adjustments, return-to-work options and next steps supportively.
Our Long Term Sick Absence Review Meeting Invitation Script Template streamlines the process, ensuring timely and sensitive communication with employees.
Use this pre-consent medical report request email script to explain the report's purpose and the employee consent process.
Use this return-to-work interview script to discuss sickness absence, wellbeing, support, reasonable adjustments and a successful return.
Our Absence Improvement Checklist Form Template streamlines tracking and managing employee absences, enhancing productivity and reducing absenteeism.
Download a long term sick absence management plan for UK employers, covering medical advice, occupational health, reasonable adjustments, return to work.
More than just templates, the Sick management Knowledge Hub brings together practical HR guidance, real-world experience and tried-and-tested resources to help you understand the subject, manage it effectively and make informed decisions.
Sickness absence management focuses specifically on supporting employees who are unable to work because of illness or injury while maintaining appropriate attendance and operational arrangements. The subject covers sickness absence, sick leave, fit notes, return to work, welfare contact, occupational health, medical information and reasonable adjustments, and forms an important part of effective people management and, where relevant, workplace compliance.
For employers, getting this area right involves more than having a policy or form in place. Employers need to record absence accurately, maintain appropriate contact and consider medical information, disability and reasonable adjustments where relevant. A supportive but structured approach can help employees return safely while reducing unnecessary disruption. The process should be proportionate to the circumstances, applied consistently and supported by accurate records so that managers understand what to do and employees understand what is expected of them.
The Sick management Templates Toolkit brings these requirements together in a practical collection of HR documents covering sickness reporting, return-to-work arrangements, welfare contact, medical or occupational health referrals, reviews and outcome records. The templates are designed to support the key stages of the process, from planning and communication through to meetings, decisions, follow-up actions and record keeping.
This approach can help employers improve consistency between managers, reduce avoidable administration and create a clearer audit trail. It can also help organisations identify issues earlier, make better-informed decisions and manage the employee experience more effectively.
HRDocBox templates are developed from practical UK HR experience and are designed around the processes employers and HR professionals actually need to manage. The content takes account of relevant UK employment law, ACAS guidance and established HR practice, while recognising that individual circumstances and organisational policies will determine how a particular situation should be handled.
HRDocBox regularly reviews and updates its template library as employment law, ACAS guidance and practical HR requirements develop. This means employers have a professionally considered starting point that can save the time and effort involved in creating, maintaining and continually reviewing their own HR documentation from scratch. Templates should still be tailored to the organisation's circumstances and used alongside its own policies, procedures and appropriate professional advice where required.
A sick management process provides a structured way to manage employee sickness absence and support a return to work. It will typically follow these key stages:
Absence management is not just about attendance. The approach should consider the reasons for absence and any appropriate support.
Understand the common mistakes employers can make when managing this area of HR, helping you reduce risk, prevent unnecessary costs and ensure the process is handled fairly, consistently and correctly.
Here we show you which resources to use to effectively address an emerging absence concern, taking into account the different decisions and directions that are likely / possible.
Following this flowchart will ensure that you factor in all eventualities, follow legal / code of conduct or best practice processes, communicate effectively, and reduce the risk of things going wrong.
An employee has long-term sickness absence. The manager maintains appropriate contact, obtains occupational health advice and considers recommended adjustments before deciding whether formal absence management is appropriate.
The manager and HR then follow the relevant sick management process, making sure the facts are established, responsibilities are clear and the employee or other parties involved understand what is expected. Key decisions, evidence and actions are recorded so that the business has a clear and proportionate record of how the matter was handled.
The position is reviewed afterwards rather than treating the initial action as the end of the process. Any outstanding actions, training, support, adjustments, payments, documentation or follow-up meetings are given clear ownership and timescales. This helps the organisation demonstrate consistent practice, identify recurring issues and reduce the risk of the same problem happening again.
Sickness absence management is the process of supporting employees who are absent because of illness while maintaining appropriate attendance and business arrangements.
Return-to-work discussions can help employers understand the reason for an absence, identify support needs and ensure records are accurate.
The timing depends on the circumstances, length and frequency of absence and the employer's policies. Formal reviews may be appropriate where absence becomes prolonged or frequent.
Employers can request appropriate medical evidence in certain circumstances, subject to applicable rules and the employee's rights.
In some circumstances, prolonged or persistent absence may lead to a formal capability or absence management process. Employers should consider the individual circumstances and appropriate support.
HRDocBox combines real-world HR experience, subject-matter expertise and commercial understanding to support effective sickness management with practical, tried-and-tested resources. With instant access, editable documents, ongoing updates and 12 months' access, you get practical HR support when you need it.
How this content is developed and reviewed
The Sick management process toolkit is developed using a practical HR methodology that considers current UK employment legislation, ACAS guidance, CIPD good practice and the real-world HR process it supports. Templates and supporting information are regularly reviewed and updated, with additional reviews triggered by significant changes to legislation, guidance or established HR practice, helping ensure each document remains practical, relevant and suitable for UK employers.
Darryl Horn, Chartered HR Director
Darryl is a Chartered HR professional with over 25 years' experience in senior HR and employee relations roles.
He has extensive practical experience of managing sick management HR processes and founded hrdocbox to provide businesses with practical, professionally developed HR resources grounded in UK employment law and best practice.
HRDocBox has been creating practical UK HR documents since 2009.
"Darryl provides support and advice with excellent judgement, and has a strong understanding of people, policies and UK employment legislation."
"He is someone I trust; consistent, dependable, and committed to doing things properly."
Whether you employ 5 people or 50, hrdocbox gives you the structure, documents and expertise needed to manage employees professionally and legally.
Professionally written and fully compliant with UK employment law
Access a free contract template instantly - or save 10% on any document today.
Use this code at checkout for 10% off anything!
Includes instant download, updates, and full access to your HR templates.
