08.5 Staff sickness and absence
Policy Statement
Rattlesden Preschool recognises that employees may be absent from the organisation for a variety of reasons. To ensure that all staff are treated in a consistent and equitable manner, this document provides the framework for dealing with such circumstances.
Absence, whether due to illness or any other circumstances, is defined (for the purpose of this document) as the non-attendance of workers when they are contracted to attend.
Procedures
Any sickness/absence should be reported to the employee’s manager by 7.30am, by telephoning/messaging their personal mobile (all staff should take a note of the relevant numbers) giving a clear indication of the nature of the illness/absence and a likely return date.
(It is the responsibility of the staff member to ensure their information about their absence has been received by the manager- a left message or text must be responded to by the manager to ensure they have received it).
The Manager should report any sickness/absence to the Chair or in his/her absence to a Committee member by 7.45 am. The Manager is required to make every effort to ensure cover for Preschool. In the case of the manager’s absence, the Deputy will be asked to arrange cover instead and inform the Chair of arrangements.
In the event of no cover being available, the Manager (or the Deputy in their absence) will make the decision whether to close Preschool or to restrict numbers to ensure that Preschool remains within ratio. If numbers are to be restricted, children who do not attend full time will be prioritised for a session swap. The Manager will allocate staff to contact parents to inform them of a closure.
Any sickness absence of less than seven days (short term sickness/absence) may require an employee to complete a 'Self-Certificate' available from any Doctor's Surgery or downloadable from www.direct.gov.uk. ‘Self-Certificates’ are enforced at the Manager or Chair’s discretion and are dependent on an employee’s previous record of short term sickness/absence).
Sickness absence which exceeds seven days (long term sickness/absence) requires an employee to obtain a 'Sick Note' from their GP and attend a 'Return to Work Meeting' with the Manager. The Manager‘s Return to Work Meeting’ should take place with the Chair or another Committee member, as nominated by the Chair. A back to work meeting will take place after each period of long term sickness/absence and before the employee can return to work. The back to work meeting will be held within an agreed timeframe once the employee indicates their request to return to work. The Manager or Chair must offer a return to work meeting to the employee within two working days of their request to return to work. The fit note and back to work meeting is to establish the reason for and cause of the absence, to consider whether there is anything the Manager or organisation can do to help (make reasonable adjustments) and to confirm that the employee is fit to return to work.
If the employee is deemed unfit for work then they must return to their GP and the cycle of absence, sick note and back to work meeting will be repeated until the employee is able to return to work.
If long term sickness /absence prevents an employee returning to work or is recurrent or if frequent illness or absence exceeds recommended short term illness/absence within an agreed timeframe a more formal process will be triggered (agreed absence and timeframes can be agreed and extended on the advice of an employee’s GP). A fit note can be obtained from a GP or hospital (the employee may be charged for the fit note if requested or completed before the 7th day of absence).
Signed (Manager):……………………………………………………….
Date:……………………………………..
Reviewed: