SICKNESS & ABSENCE
Support people properly. Keep control of attendance.
Repeated absence, long-term sickness and uncertain return dates can quickly become difficult to manage.
Harrington Raine helps employers understand the position, decide what should happen next and handle the process properly — from absence reviews and medical evidence through to reasonable adjustments, capability and, where appropriate, dismissal.
Queries received before 3pm on a working day receive a response that working day.
FAIR TO THE EMPLOYEE. PRACTICAL FOR THE BUSINESS.
Genuine illness needs to be handled properly. So does the impact that absence can have on the wider business.
Repeated or prolonged sickness can affect workloads, customer service, management time, productivity and morale. It can also create frustration where other employees are regularly expected to absorb additional work.
The answer is not to treat every absence with suspicion. Nor is it to leave attendance problems unmanaged.
Good absence management means understanding what is happening, maintaining appropriate communication and setting clear expectations — while giving proper consideration to the employee’s health, any medical information and the needs of the role.
Support genuine health issues properly, without allowing attendance problems to remain unmanaged.
Harrington Raine helps employers find that balance and decide what should happen next.
WHERE WE CAN HELP
Sickness absence rarely fits neatly into one category. A straightforward absence can become more difficult when it continues, repeats or raises questions about health, capability or the employee’s ability to return to their role.
Harrington Raine can support you with:
Identifying patterns, managing attendance concerns and deciding when further action is appropriate.
Maintaining appropriate contact, reviewing the position and keeping the process moving.
Preparing for meaningful conversations and establishing clear next steps.
Deciding what information would be useful and how it should inform the process.
Considering practical changes where an employee’s health affects their work.
Assessing whether temporary arrangements could support a sustainable return.
Deciding when an absence issue may need to move into a more formal process.
including situations involving grievances, workplace stress or disagreement about how the absence is being managed.
Where continued employment may no longer be sustainable and dismissal is becoming a realistic consideration.
Whatever stage the issue has reached, the objective is the same: establish the position, decide what needs to happen next and manage it properly.
SHORT vs LONG
The right way to manage sickness absence depends on what is happening, how long it has continued and what the business reasonably needs from the role.
Frequent short absences can be disruptive, particularly where patterns begin to emerge or other employees are repeatedly expected to cover the workload.
The focus should be on understanding the reason for the absence, discussing any underlying issues and setting clear attendance expectations.
Depending on the circumstances, that may involve:
return-to-work conversations;
reviewing absence patterns and frequency;
considering whether there is an underlying health issue;
assessing whether disability or other legal protections may be relevant;
making expectations clear; and
deciding whether informal or formal action is appropriate.
Long-term absence usually requires a different approach.
The employer needs enough information to understand the likely duration of the absence, whether a return is realistic and whether anything could help the employee return safely and sustainably.
That may involve:
maintaining reasonable contact;
discussing the employee’s prognosis and likely return date;
obtaining appropriate medical or occupational-health information;
considering reasonable adjustments;
exploring a phased return or temporary changes to duties; and
reviewing whether continued absence remains sustainable for the business.
There is no single absence threshold that tells an employer what to do next. The right approach depends on the circumstances, the employee’s health and the practical requirements of the role.
STRUCTURE BEFORE SPEED
Absence cases often become difficult for one of two reasons: nothing happens for too long, or decisions are made before the employer has enough information.
The aim is not to investigate endlessly. It is to establish what you genuinely need to know before deciding what should happen next.
That may mean answering questions such as:
What do we know about the employee’s health and how it affects their work?
Is a return to work likely — and, if so, when?
Would medical or occupational-health information help clarify the position?
Are there adjustments that could support a safe and sustainable return?
What does the role genuinely require?
Could temporary or alternative arrangements work in practice?
How long can the business reasonably sustain the current position?
Are there legal protections that affect how the situation should be managed?
Good decisions require enough information — not endless delay.
Harrington Raine helps employers identify what information matters, obtain it where appropriate and use it to determine the next step.
REASONABLE ADJUSTMENTS
A health condition can change what an employer needs to consider — but it does not mean an absence or capability issue can never be managed.
Where an employee may be disabled, the employer may have a legal duty to consider reasonable adjustments that could remove or reduce disadvantages they experience at work.
What is reasonable will depend on the circumstances. It could involve changes to:
working hours or patterns;
particular duties;
equipment or the working environment;
workplace arrangements;
the way work is carried out; or
how an employee returns following a period of absence.
The question is not simply whether an adjustment has been suggested. It is whether it is reasonable in the circumstances and whether it could realistically help the employee work or return to work.
Sometimes appropriate support and reasonable adjustments will enable an employee to return and remain in work.
Sometimes they will not.
If the employee remains unable to perform the role, or continued absence cannot reasonably be sustained, the employer may eventually need to consider capability.
That requires careful assessment of the medical position, the adjustments considered, whether there are realistic alternatives and the effect of the situation on the business.
Supporting an employee properly and addressing capability are not mutually exclusive. The important thing is reaching the decision through a fair, informed and defensible process.
If dismissal is becoming a realistic consideration, Harrington Raine can help you assess the position before action is taken.
THE OUTCOME-FIRST METHOD
Employers rarely need another explanation of what “might” be possible. They need to know what should happen next.
Harrington Raine takes an Outcome-First approach to sickness and absence matters.
01
Understand what is happening, what problem the absence is creating and what outcome the business needs.
02
Consider the medical, legal, employee-relations and operational information that matters.
03
Identify the most appropriate next step — whether that is further review, medical evidence, occupational health, reasonable adjustments, a return-to-work plan or a formal capability process.
04
Prepare the documentation needed to put the advice into action, which may include absence-review invitations; occupational-health referral questions; reasonable-adjustment correspondence; return-to-work documentation; capability meeting invitations; outcome letters; and, where appropriate, dismissal correspondence.
05
Set clear next steps, review points and expectations so the issue does not simply drift.
We do not simply tell employers to “manage the absence”. We help decide what needs to happen next and prepare the documentation required to do it.
FAIR TO THE EMPLOYEE. PRACTICAL FOR THE BUSINESS.
Some sickness absence cases need more careful judgement because health, Employment Law and employee relations begin to overlap.
Extra care may be needed where the situation involves:
a health condition that may amount to a disability;
pregnancy-related sickness;
mental-health concerns;
work-related stress;
an allegation that work has caused or contributed to the condition;
a workplace injury;
an existing grievance or dispute;
whistleblowing or Health & Safety concerns;
several overlapping medical conditions;
conflicting medical information;
an employee who does not want to engage with occupational health; or
a prolonged absence with no clear return date.
These issues do not necessarily prevent an employer from managing attendance or capability.
They do mean the process, evidence and reasoning behind the employer’s decisions become more important.
The more complex the circumstances, the more important it is to understand the risks before deciding the next step.
If an absence issue is becoming difficult to manage, Harrington Raine can help assess the position and recommend a practical way forward.
SICKNESS & ABSENCE FAQs
Related employer support:
Broader advice on difficult employment decisions.
Ongoing advice, drafting and day-to-day employer support.
Support if an employment dispute becomes a Tribunal claim.
See the options for ongoing HR & Employment Law support.
Keep the situation under review rather than allowing it to drift. Appropriate contact, medical or occupational-health information, the likely prognosis, possible adjustments and the requirements of the role may all need to be considered.
The objective is to understand whether and how the employee may be able to return to work and what the business can reasonably do to support that.
Start by understanding the pattern and reasons for the absences. Return-to-work conversations and absence reviews can help identify underlying health, workplace or attendance issues.
If concerns continue, further action may be appropriate, but decisions should reflect the individual circumstances rather than relying automatically on a particular number of absences.
Yes. Reasonable contact during sickness absence is generally appropriate.
How often you make contact and how you communicate should reflect the circumstances. It is often helpful to agree this with the employee, particularly during longer absences or where their health may make frequent contact difficult.
When the employer needs better information to make an informed decision.
This may be particularly useful where an absence is prolonged, the likely return date is unclear, adjustments are being considered or there are questions about how the employee's health affects their ability to perform the role.
Where an employee is disabled for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010, an employer may have a legal duty to make reasonable adjustments.
What is reasonable depends on the circumstances. The employee's needs, the effectiveness and practicality of the proposed adjustment and the employer's circumstances can all be relevant.
Potentially, but long-term sickness does not automatically justify dismissal.
Employers should normally investigate the position properly, consider appropriate support and reasonable adjustments where relevant, and assess whether the employee can realistically return to and perform the role. Ill-health dismissal should generally be treated as a last resort.
The employer should establish whether the employee is ready to return, discuss any support they may need and consider relevant medical recommendations or adjustments.
It is also an opportunity to understand whether there is an underlying reason for the absence and agree any appropriate next steps.
Potentially. Frequent genuine sickness can still create an attendance issue that needs to be managed.
However, reaching an absence trigger or review point should not automatically result in formal action. The employer should first understand the circumstances and consider issues such as disability-related or pregnancy-related absence, underlying health conditions and whether further support is appropriate.
The employer should consider whether the Equality Act 2010 may apply and whether reasonable adjustments could be required.
Disability-related absence does not mean attendance or capability can never be addressed, but it can materially affect how the employer should manage the situation and the risks associated with particular decisions.
Yes. An employee does not have to agree to an occupational-health assessment.
If they refuse, the employer should try to understand why and explain how the assessment could help clarify the employee’s health, ability to work and any support that may be appropriate.
If the employee still does not consent, the employer may eventually have to make decisions using the information reasonably available to it.
An employee can normally self-certify their sickness for the first seven calendar days of absence.
If they are off sick for more than seven consecutive days, including non-working days, the employer can require a fit note. A fit note may say the employee is not fit for work or that they might be fit for work with changes or support.
Pregnancy-related sickness should be handled carefully and recorded separately from other sickness absence.
It should not be counted towards normal absence review or trigger points. Employers should also consider whether changes or support may be appropriate where pregnancy is affecting the employee’s ability to work.
Where pregnancy-related sickness occurs close to the expected week of childbirth, separate maternity-leave rules may also apply.
Start by understanding what is contributing to the employee’s stress rather than treating it solely as an attendance issue.
Reasonable contact should normally be maintained during the absence, and the employer should consider whether workplace factors need addressing, what support may help and whether adjustments or a phased return are appropriate.
Where work may be contributing to the problem, the employer should also consider its responsibilities for managing work-related stress and whether a stress risk assessment is required.
Whether you are dealing with repeated short-term absence, long-term sickness or a capability issue that is becoming harder to resolve, you do not have to work out the next step alone.
Explain what is happening and Harrington Raine will help you assess the position, understand the risks and decide the most appropriate way forward.
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