Absence management: Developing positive initiatives
Section 7 of the Personnel Today Management Resources one stop guide to absence management looks at how to take preventative steps to minimise future absence. Other sections.
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In the previous section , we have focused primarily on the steps needed to handle existing absence that is causing significant operational problems, including both recurrent short-term absence and long-term absence. While effective absence management is clearly dependent on the satisfactory handling and resolution of such cases, this is only half of the absence equation. Alongside this, the organisation should also be taking preventative steps to minimise the risk of future absence.
Again, the precise mix of activities and initiatives will depend on the nature and apparent causes of current absence in the organisation. Equally, it may be appropriate to establish initiatives across the organisation as a whole, or to focus specific activities on particular areas.
For example, if there is evidence that a significant proportion of absence is caused by work-related injuries, it might be appropriate to focus health and safety initiatives particularly on those areas where accidents are most frequent or where there is a relatively high proportion of physical work. Recognising, of course, that health and safety considerations will remain relevant to all staff.
Some examples of relevant potential activities are set out below.
Communication initiatives
We have already highlighted the importance of communicating the absence policy to all managers and staff. In many cases, however, this is treated as a one-off activity, rather than a continuous process of communication, which consistently reiterates the importance of attendance in the organisation. References to the absence policy should be included in all relevant documentation, including induction materials, performance management processes, management briefings, and so on.
Alongside this, the organisation should produce and publish periodic absence statistics, which are communicated to all staff - ideally with an indication of the associated costs. Increasingly, organisations are recognising absence statistics as a key performance indicator, published alongside financial and other measures of organisational performance.
Depending on the culture of the organisation, it may also be helpful to publish statistics for specific parts of the organisation - for example, by function or location. Such comparisons need to be treated with some care, but they can be useful in highlighting significant disparities between different areas. It may be, for instance, that employees in a given location are unaware that their absence levels are substantially higher than those in other parts of the organisation.
Increasingly, organisations are recognising that the application of effective procedures at recruitment can help reduce subsequent absence levels. Clearly, some care is needed in exploring absence issues at the recruitment stage, and there is a risk that inappropriate screening could potentially lead to unfair discrimination, particularly on grounds of disability.
It is not unreasonable for the recruiting employers to seek reassurance that the prospective employee will, in normal circumstances, be able to achieve the standards of attendance expected of employees in the organisation, so long as no unjustified assumptions are made about the likely attendance levels of particular individuals or groups. In support of this, potential procedures might include:
Standard medical examinations for all employees joining the organisation. If the associated costs are not felt to be justified, an alternative might be to conduct medical examinations only for specific categories of staff - for example, those involved in carrying out more physical work, or those for where there are some legitimate grounds for concern. This could include a poor previous attendance record or some declared medical condition. Again, it is important to avoid any risk of unfair discrimination
Seeking of references in respect of attendance records in previous roles. This is a standard part of many reference requests, but it does need to be treated with some care. References from past employers can often be unreliable in both a positive or negative direction. Nevertheless, the reference may at least highlight issues that can be explored in more detail during a medical examination or interview
Exploring in interview any issues that might affect attendance. Again, the employer needs to ensure that the exploration of such issues is fair and consistent, and that there is no risk of unfair discrimination. However, it would not, for example, be unreasonable to explore the potential implications of, say, a lengthy journey to work
More positively, if the recruitment process does highlight a genuine medical or other issue, the employer can explore at the beginning whether there are practical steps that can be taken to address this or to minimise its impact on attendance.
Incentives and performance management
The provision of financial or other incentives for attendance is a controversial issue. Many object to the concept of attendance bonuses - whereby employees receive some financial reward for achieving a defined level of attendance - on the grounds that employees are already being paid to attend work and so should not, in effect, be rewarded twice.
There is also potential concern that employees may be encouraged to attend work inappropriately, when they are genuinely ill, rather than risk losing a financial incentive.
Nevertheless, some surveys have indicated that attendance bonuses can make a useful contribution to reducing absence levels. One option that does address some of the potential objections to the concept is to link bonus payments to the achievement of organisational or team absence reduction targets. This helps to encourage a collective responsibility for attendance.
Another approach is to incorporate consideration of attendance levels in any general performance-related pay system. If, for example, performance payments are linked to achievement of targets or objectives, there could be a requirement for the employee also to achieve at least a specified level of attendance before the bonus is payable.
It is sensible to include some consideration of attendance in any performance management system. If an individual has a poor attendance record, this is likely to have an impact on his or her overall performance.
For team leaders and managers, it might also be appropriate to consider their effectiveness in managing absence in their own areas, alongside more conventional measures of performance.
In some cases, organisations have included attendance levels as one measure of employee satisfaction, which in turn contributes to a basket of performance measures for the organisation.
At the same time, it is important that this kind of focus on attendance levels does not become overly simplistic or one-dimensional. If managers perceive attendance levels in their team as a key measure of their performance, they may be tempted to adopt punitive measures that are not necessarily in the longer-term interests of the organisation.
Occupational sick pay
In practice, there is little doubt that the availability of occupational sick pay tends to result in an increase in absence levels. This is unsurprising - employees are more likely to attend work if they know that otherwise they will not be paid - and not necessarily a problem. After all, it is preferable that genuinely sick employees do take appropriate time off.
Nevertheless, a growing number of employers are adopting more rigorous approaches to the payment of sick pay, including:
Not paying occupational sick pay for initial days off - typically, for the first three working days - with the aim of discouraging short-term, uncertificated absence
Requiring medical certificates for all absence, although this may be seen to place an unreasonable burden on both employees and their GPs
Linking eligibility of occupational sick pay to length of service. It is not uncommon for longer serving staff to be eligible for more extended occupational sick pay, or for new staff to have only limited occupational sick pay entitlement.
As a minimum, most occupational sick pay schemes allow for payment to be withheld or reduced at management discretion. This enables the provision of sick pay to be incorporated as one of the tools for managing individual sickness absence. For example, in cases of persistent short-term absence, it may be appropriate for payment to be withheld or made conditional on the provision of medical certificates.
It may also be appropriate for the provision of sick pay to be linked to the employee's willingness to undertake some form of preventative or remedial action - for example, treatment for an addiction problem.
Flexible working practices
It is clear that, in many organisations, a proportion of absence results from domestic issues, such as carer responsibilities, with employees often feeling that it is more acceptable to call in sick than to arrive late or to take time off. It is therefore worth considering whether any steps can be taken to increase the flexibility of working hours, without adversely affecting operational performance. Options here might include:
The introduction of flexi-time or similar arrangements, allowing employees some flexibility in start or finish times
Allowing individual working patterns which are different from standard arrangements to suit individual circumstances - for example, a later start time so that children can be taken to school
Developing specific contracts or working patterns that match operational and personal needs - for example, shifts that operate within school hours
Allowing and encouraging part-time working or job sharing where possible
Allowing a specified level of leave (taken by the hour) to deal with domestic emergencies - for example, to allow an employee to come in late in response to childcare or other domestic problems. This might be simple paid leave, or might include a requirement to make up some or all of the lost time at a later date
Developing formal homeworking or teleworking arrangements, or allowing employees the facility to work at home on an occasional basis where appropriate.
Clearly, the availability and nature of the options will depend on the operational requirements of the organisation or of specific areas. In an operation where staffing levels are critical - such as contact centres - then flexibility will necessarily be more limited. Nevertheless, even in these kinds of environments, it is worth considering whether there is scope to increase flexibility in the interests of both employees and the organisation.
Occupational health (OH) initiatives
Organisations are increasingly recognising the benefits of investing in occupational health (OH) support for their employees, perceiving this both as a direct benefit to the individual and as a tool for reducing absence levels. These might include health education initiatives, facilities for supporting employee fitness and well-being, and health screening or preventative measures, such as:
Stress management policies and practices, including stress audits
Improvements in working conditions or environment, including initiatives to improve health and safety
Provision of employee assistance programmes (EAPs). These kinds of services allow employees to raise personal issues or problems with a third-party adviser. They in turn can provide access to expert advisers in a range of relevant areas. This can be a valuable mechanism for helping to address issues that might otherwise affect attendance or work performance
Introduction and support of policies and education in areas such as substance abuse, smoking and so on
Health screening programmes - for example, in respect of conditions such as heart disease and high blood pressure
Support or funding for membership of sports or health club facilities.
The feasibility of such support will depend on the resources available to the organisation, but the availability of positive initiatives of this kind can often be a powerful reinforcement to the introduction of more rigorous policies for dealing with 'problem' absence.
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An NHS Trust has introduced a range of positive initiatives to support its overall absence management procedures. The trust has placed a major emphasis on the rigorous management of absence, with absence levels and trends being reviewed regularly both by the senior management team and by managers at all levels. Alongside this, the trust has introduced a range of
innovative initiatives designed to support employee attendance including
the provision of emergency leave, the facility to 'buy' additional annual
leave, the increased use of flexible hours and working patterns -
including allowing staff to roster their own hours where this is
operationally possible - and the use of annualised hours in some parts of
the organisation. |
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A major public sector organisation was suffering from high levels of employee absence, with both short and long-term absence running at unacceptable levels. The organisation adopted a highly rigorous approach to the management of individual absence, with formal action being taken with all employees whose absence levels exceeded defined 'Bradford formula' trigger points. In parallel with this, however, the organisation also introduced a range of positive initiatives designed to help improve attendance levels. These included:
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A major manufacturing company introduced an incentive scheme that recognised the potential impact of improved attendance on the company's bottom line performance. The company committed to share the cost benefits of every 1% improvement in attendance levels equally between employees and the company, in the form of twice yearly bonuses. The incentive scheme produced potentially significant bonuses if targets were met, with payments being made only to those employees with 100% attendance record in the previous six months. The scheme was introduced as part of a wider
'gainsharing' initiative, enabling employees to share in the benefits of
performance improvements. As attendance levels improved, the company then
introduced further targets in areas such as health and safety,
productivity and reduced waste, encouraging employees to view attendance
as a major contributor to overall company performance alongside more
familiar financial measures. |
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Section two: Do we have a problem? Section three: What causes employee absence? Section four: Developing an absence policy Section five: Establishing absence procedures Section six: Handling 'problem' absence Section seven: Developing positive initiatives Section eight: Legal implications
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