This page provides a summary of the Sickness Absence Policy. For full details, please refer to the complete Policy on the Sickness Absence Policy page.
What is this Policy about?
The Sickness Absence Policy details the University’s approach to supporting attendance.
Who is this Policy for ?
- All University employees
- Managers
For Established Officers the Schedule to Statute C (statute U) Chapter IV and the Ordinances Chapter XI General regulations should also be followed.
For employees holding honorary clinical contracts, sickness absence issues will be managed jointly by the University and the relevant NHS Trust.
What do I need to know?
Sickness notification
An employee should contact their manager before their normal start time to let them know that they are not well enough to attend work. The employee and manager should remain in contact during the employee’s absence.
Certification and recording
For absences of up to 7 days an employee needs to complete a Self-Certificate form (CHRIS/62). For absences of 8 days or more a fit note is required. All absences are recorded on CHRIS by the manager or a designated administrator. Doing this promptly and accurately helps to ensure that employees receive the correct sick pay.
Return to work discussions
Managers are encouraged to have a return-to-work discussion with an employee when they return to work following a period of sickness absence.
Sick pay
The amount of sick pay an employee is entitled to depends on their terms and conditions of employment, details are given in the sick pay section of the Sickness Absence Policy.
Managing absence
To help ensure that employees are treated fairly, managers will follow a structured process to manage attendance. This consists of an informal stage followed by:
- Formal stage 1 absence review
- Formal stage 2 absence review
- Formal stage 3 absence review meeting – to consider ill health dismissal
Redeployment
Redeployment on the grounds of ill health will be explored where an employee is medically unfit to undertake their current role. Please see the Redeployment Framework for further information.
Occupational health
Managers that need medical advice about an employee’s situation can make an Occupational Health referral. An employee can also self-refer to Occupational Health. Further details are available on the Occupational Health website.
Disability related absence and reasonable adjustments
Information about the University’s approach to supporting disabled employees and putting in place reasonable adjustments is detailed in the Disability and Employment Policy.
Staff counselling
The University's Staff Counselling Service is available to support employees facing personal, emotional, or psychological challenges, including mental health difficulties.