Guide to managing long term sick absence
Supporting information
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.
The aim of this guidance is to support the management of cases of long-term or ongoing absence.
It focuses on 4 key areas:
- Maintaining Contact.
- Obtaining Medical Advice.
- Considering Supports/Adjustments.
- Considering Progression to a Capability Hearing.
managing long term sick absence
Maintaining Contact
Employees should remain contactable whilst absent from work due to ill-health and managers in turn are responsible for ensuring that regular contact is maintained.
Maintaining contact extends beyond simply ensuring that employees submit medical certificates on time. It should serve to update both managers and employees on progress, both with regard to the employee's absence but also on developments within the workplace. It is also through this contact that discussions can take place to increase understanding around the current position and it is not uncommon for this to lead to the creation of options (e.g. workplace adjustments) which support an employee to return to work earlier than they may have done previously.
In some cases, meeting within the workplace may not be appropriate however where possible, meeting within the workplace can help an absent employee maintain their connection with their work. It is good practice to allow the employee to be
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What is this for?
The primary aim in cases of long-term absence is to facilitate a return to work at the earliest possible point. The secondary aim is to then support any return to work effectively to minimise the risk of any further absences.
Employment law compliance
There’s no legal definition as to what constitutes long-term sick absence, but typically it’s any period over four weeks.
