Absence and Wellbeing - Operational Staff

A formal stage 1 meeting should be set up if the employee does not meet the targets or breaches a trigger set at the informal support meeting stage or any subsequent review meetings, depending on the circumstances of the individual's absence.

A Station Manager will chair the meeting; however, a Watch Manager may be present to detail how the absence has been managed up to that point. The employee will be given 7 working days' written notice of the stage 1 meeting and informed of their right to be accompanied at the meeting by a Trade Union Representative or work colleague. The manager should try to identify the cause of the absence and discuss ways to reduce further absence with the employee.

A reasonable target (e.g. 4 days or 2 occasions in 6 months) will be set and a review meeting will be scheduled to assess progress against the required improvements. In relation to long-term absence, timescales for returning to work and triggers should be set in consideration of medical advice and based on the details of the particular case. In all cases, managers are encouraged to use an Action Plan (PA10 template).

The employee may be issued with a sanction, such as an Improvement Notice. This addresses the fact that the employee has an unacceptably high level of sickness absence and details the discussed actions for both the manager and employee to take in order to improve the individual's level of attendance. Managers may seek advice from People Management when considering the possibility of issuing a sanction.

The manager will send written confirmation of the outcome of the meeting and a copy should be placed on the employee's personnel file through the the Service Centre portal.

A formal stage 2 meeting should be set up if the employee does not meet the targets or breaches a trigger set at stage 1 or any subsequent review meetings, depending on the circumstances of the individual's absence.

A Group Manager will chair the meeting; however, a Watch/Station Manager may be present to detail how the absence has been managed up to that point. The employee will be given 10 working days' written notice of the stage 2 meeting and informed of their right to be accompanied at the meeting by a Trade Union Representative or work colleague.

The manager should try to identify the cause of the absence and discuss ways to reduce further absence with the employee. A reasonable target (e.g. 8 days or 3 occasions in 12 months) will be set and a review meeting will be scheduled to assess progress against the required improvements. In relation to long-term absence, timescales for returning to work and triggers should be set in consideration of medical advice and based on the details of the particular case. In all cases, managers are encouraged to use an Action Plan (PA10 template).

The employee may be issued with a sanction, such as an Improvement Notice. This addresses the fact that the employee has an unacceptably high level of sickness absence and details the discussed actions for both the manager and employee to take in order to improve the individual's level of attendance. Managers may seek advice from People Management when considering the possibility of issuing a sanction.

The manager will send written confirmation of the outcome of the meeting and a copy should be placed on the employee's personnel file through the Service Centre portal.

A stage 3 meeting is the final formal meeting in this process and could potentially lead to the dismissal of the employee. This meeting should be set up if the employee does not meet the targets or breaches a trigger set at the stage 2 absence meeting, or any subsequent review meetings. Where an employee's absence has been long term, a stage 3 meeting should be convened once all possible options have been explored, these are listed below and explained in further detail within the Grey Book Absence and Wellbeing Guidance. The purpose of the meeting is to determine whether there are further actions that can be taken to assist the employee in continuing their employment.

The employee will be given 21 working days' written notice of the meeting and advised of the right to be accompanied by a trade union representative or work colleague.

This meeting will be chaired by an Area Manager, or above where appropriate.  The manager who has managed the employee through the earlier stages of the process should attend this meeting to present the case, this should be done in the format of an absence report. A People Management advisor will also attend to provide advice. 

If the Area Manager concludes that the employee and the process have been managed fairly, that the required level of attendance is fair and achievable and that the employee has been given all reasonable opportunity to improve to an acceptable standard but failed to do so, they will be able to consider formal action, including the termination of the employee's employment for failure to meet an acceptable level of attendance.

The Service will only consider dismissing an employee on the grounds of capability due to ill health when it has considered all the available facts and medical reports, and where the appropriate options of returning to their post (with or without adjustments), redeployment, phased return to work have been examined and found not to be possible or applicable. The Area Manager will confirm the decision in writing within 5 working days of the hearing and the employee will have the right to appeal within 7 working days of written notification of the decision.  The letter will set out the employee's contractual entitlement to notice pay and details of the right of appeal against dismissal. A copy should be placed on the employee's personnel file through the Service Centre portal. 

Long Term

This section should be read alongside the detailed guidance document .

Long term sickness absence is normally absence which lasts for 28 calendar days or more. Long term sickness cases are often linked to an underlying medical reason; however this may not always be the case.

In cases of long term sickness absence, managers should make a management referral to the Occupational Health service, then arrange a formal meeting with the employee in line with the three absence management stages above. Given the time that it may take for a clear diagnosis of the employee's condition, or for a review of the effectiveness of any treatment, it may be that a number of formal meetings need to occur before final advice can be implemented.

Whilst the Council will take all reasonable steps to assist the employees return to work, it is not possible to wait indefinitely for an employee's condition to improve. The formal stage meetings should therefore set a date for return, subject to an employee's fitness to do so. Whilst each case will be judged on its particular circumstances, managers should endeavour to ensure that appropriate action in line with the available options is actioned as soon as possible. Should the triggers applied to the absence be reached then progression through the formal stages will apply.