Absence Management Policy
This instruction applies to:- / Reference:-
National Probation Service / PI 33/2014
Issue Date / Effective Date
Implementation Date / Expiry Date
1 June 2014 / 1 June 2014 / 31 May 2015
Issued on the authority of / NOMS Agency Board
For action by / All staff responsible for the development and publication of policy and instructions
National Probation Service (NPS) Directorate
Instruction type / HR function
For information / All staff
Provide a summary of the policy aim and the reason for its development / revision / This is a new policy specifically for the NPS which sets out the Absence Management arrangements in place for the Directorate.
The aim of the policy is to clarify a range of circumstances when staff may require to be absent from work and to ensure common minimum standards for absence are maintained across NOMS.
Contact / Shared Services HR Contact Centre
' 0845 010 3504
Associated documents / Guidance on undertaking all the requirements contained in this Instruction can be found on the My Services website.
Replaces the following documents which are hereby cancelled: None
Audit/monitoring: NPS senior managers will ensure local records are kept and monitored to demonstrate compliance with the mandatory actions set out in this instruction
Compliance with this Instruction will be monitored by Deputy Directors (DDs) within their Division.
Introduces amendments to the following documents: None
Notes: All Mandatory Actions throughout this instruction are in italics and must be strictly adhered to.
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CONTENTS
Section / Title / For reference by1 / Executive summary / All staff
2 / Time off for attending Medical and Dentists Appointment (including Opticians)
3 / Time off for Elective, cosmetic and lifestyle treatment
4 / Disability leave
5 / Occupational Health Appointments
6 / Infectious and notifiable diseases
7 / Arrangements in the event of severe weather or disruption to transportation systems.
1. Executive Summary
Background
1.1 This Instruction sets out policy on a range of circumstances when staff may require to be absent from work. It does not cover the following where there are separate policies:
· Annual leave
· Family Leave (maternity, adoption, paternity)
· Parental Leave
· Special Leave
· Career Breaks
· Sickness Absence
1.2 The policy set out in this Instruction applies to all those directly employed by NOMS.
Desired outcomes
1.3 This Instruction aims to ensure that:
· common minimum standards for absence are maintained across the NOMS Agency; and
· decisions are based on the facts of the individual case and are free from any unlawful bias. All Absence Management policy and procedures must be legally compliant and applied fairly and consistently to all staff. This applies to all stages of the process including entitlement, application, decision making and implementation. They will be monitored and audited to ensure compliance.
Application
1.4 All staff must be familiar with all sections of this policy.
1.5 All line managers are required to read and follow all sections of this policy as required.
Mandatory actions
1.6 All actions in this Instruction are mandatory unless otherwise specified and are shown in italics. All levels of management and all employees must ensure that they are aware of these mandatory actions and ensure this policy is implemented and adhered to.
Resource Impact
1.7 It is not anticipated that there will be any direct resource impact resulting from this Instruction.
Contacts
1.8 Shared Services HR Contact Centre
' 0845 010 3504 (VPN 7190 3504)
(Approved for Publication)
Carol Carpenter
Director of Human Resources, NOMS
ABSENCE MANAGEMENT POLICY
2. Time off for attending Medical and Dentists appointments (including Opticians)
2.1 Staff should schedule medical and dentists appointments (including opticians) outside of normal working hours. Exceptionally, when this is not possible employees should seek to arrange appointments that minimise the disruption to work, and paid time off should be allowed. Evidence of appointments should be provided if requested by the manager.
2.2 A sympathetic approach should be taken to staff who are undergoing specialist treatment particularly in relation to facilitating paid time off to attend appointments.
3. Time off for Elective, cosmetic and lifestyle treatment
3.1 Elective, cosmetic or lifestyle surgery is surgery that is not considered to be medically necessary. This includes cosmetic surgery, which is concerned with the enhancement of appearance through surgical and medical techniques, e.g. face-lifts or breast implants. It also includes other medical procedures such as laser eye treatment, vasectomies, the removal of bunions and the removal of warts. This policy does not cover gender reassignment surgery, which is dealt with under a separate policy.
3.2 Time off for these types of treatments should be in the employee’s own time. Time off should be facilitated by sympathetic rostering and by allowing annual/TOIL//unpaid leave to be taken when appointments have been scheduled and for surgery to take place. Staff should try and minimise disruption to work by arranging appointments at a time which will cause the minimum amount of inconvenience. Evidence of appointments should be provided if requested by the Manager. Further guidance about providing time off in these circumstances is available on the My Services website.
3.3 Any information provided to the line manager will be maintained in strict confidence. The reason for the employee's absence will be disclosed only on a "need-to-know" basis and in consultation with the employee.
3.4 Where the reason for the absence is disclosed line management must ensure that the employee is treated with sensitivity and dignity. Inappropriate jokes or comments about the employee's surgery should be dealt with under the policy on dealing with harassment complaints.
3.5 If someone as a result of the treatment/surgery becomes sick then normal attendance management provisions apply.
4. Disability Leave
4.1 Under the Equality Act 2010, employers may be required to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to enable or assist disabled employees to remain in employment. Disability leave is an example of a reasonable adjustment. It allows reasonable absences during working hours for rehabilitation, assessment and treatment (where this is directly linked to the nature of the person's disability and is not sick absence in the general sense). If approved as disability leave, absences of a day or more for rehabilitation, treatment and assessment count as leave with pay and must be recorded separately from sick absence.
4.2 Any disabled employee may apply for disability leave which may be taken to cover:
· short term absences such as occasional days;
· longer term absences of a number of weeks; or
· intermittent absences as part of an agreed pattern of part-time working during a period of rehabilitation.
4.3 The amount of disability leave required will vary from person to person according to their individual circumstances. Each application must be decided in accordance with what is reasonable given the circumstances of the disabled employee and their unit.
4.4 Disability Leave should not be used to cover periods of sickness absence whether or not the sickness is directly related to the person’s disability.
4.5 Disability Leave should usually be applied for in advance. However, it may be applied for retrospectively to cover unpredictable absences.
4.6 Full reasons for refusing disability leave must be given in writing to the employee and a copy retained for local audit purposes.
4.7 Guidance about disability special leave and examples of when it might be appropriate are available on the My Service website.
5. Occupational Health appointments
5.1 Staff must co-operate with the scheduling of appointments and attend any Occupational Health appointments made. Normally appointments will be scheduled by telephone by the Service’s Occupational Health supplier and staff must provide their telephone contact details for this purpose. Assessments may be conducted either face-to-face or by telephone.
5.2 If, after giving reasonable notice and opportunity to attend, staff fail to do so a referral may proceed and Occupational Health produce a report without the member of staff attending an assessment. Conducting a referral on this basis may affect the prognosis, assessment of eligibility for medical retirement or medical inefficiency compensation. In these instances, after informing staff of the consequences of their failure to co-operate, management may use the Occupational Health report and proceed with management of the absence, including dismissal procedures.
6. Infectious and notifiable diseases
6.1 In certain cases of infectious disease, though the employee may feel well enough to return to work, they may have been advised by their GP, their local Health Protection Unit (HPU) or Occupational Health (OH) to stay away from work for a period of time until they no longer present a risk to public health. Paid special leave will be granted on provision of the written advice of the medical practitioner (the GP, the HPU or OH), who will provide the employee with this with their consent.
6.2 Contact with notifiable diseases. Rarely, a GP or the Health Protection Agency (HPA) may advise an employee to stay away from work because they have been in contact with a notifiable disease (though not suffering from it themselves) and may pose a risk to public health – such advice should be followed by the employee. Special leave with pay will be granted on the provision of the written advice of either the GP or the medical officer of the HPA, who will provide the employee with this with their consent.
7. Arrangements in the event of severe weather or disruption to transportation systems
7.1 Employees have a contractual obligation to attend for duty at their place of work at the appointed time, for the full period of contracted hours.
7.2 It is the duty of each member of staff to make arrangements to get to work on time. It is recognised however that staff may, at times, experience severe difficulties in getting to and from work as a result of inclement weather and/or disruption to travel services. However, staff are expected to make all reasonable attempts to attend work even if this means they arrive late.
7.3 Staff may experience difficulties in getting to or from work because of:
· Severe weather conditions which cause delays or disruption to public or private transport;
· Major incidents or industrial action causing disruption to normal means of transportation.
7.4 Chief Officer Grades staff Pay Bands A-D will have in place robust business continuity plans that ensure that essential services are maintained in the event of any major disruption which means that staff are unable to get into work.
7.5 Where it is known in advance that staff will not be able to get to work, or are likely to experience significant difficulties in getting into their normal office, management may authorise and organise, where appropriate, for staff to attend a NOMS location nearer home or, provided this does not breach security, take work home with them. Essential staff can where necessary be accommodated at or near work at the Service’s expense, where this is both practicable and reasonable taking account of the conditions.
7.6 If staff are unable to get into work they must notify their line manager, or another manager in their absence, that they are delayed or will not attend for duty. Failure to notify an appropriate manager may count as unauthorised absence and be unpaid and lead to disciplinary action. Where staff are not able to get to work they should, where practicable and appropriate, work from home or subject to management authorisation and organisation attend another NOMS office or location. Where staff choose to do so they can apply to take time off as annual leave. Where staff have taken all reasonable steps to get into work and working at home or attendance at another location is not possible then they should not be required to take annual or flexi leave. Similar consideration applies to staff who are unable to get home or return to work because of travel disruption after working away from their normal place of work on official duties.
7.7 Where severe weather conditions or major travel disruptions develop during the working day then, subject to essential services being maintained, managers should allow staff to go home early. Where necessary, arrangements may be made for essential staff to be accommodated near work at the organisations expense.
7.8 NOMS will reimburse extra expenditure which staff have reasonably and necessarily incurred because of travel disruption.
7.9 Extreme weather conditions can also prevent staff from attending work because their normal arrangements for the care of a child, elderly relative, or dependant, unexpectedly break down. For example, schools and care centres may suddenly close. In these circumstances, staff must make reasonable efforts to make alternative arrangements. Where staff are unable to make alternative arrangements and so cannot attend work they may be eligible for special leave.
Further information
7.10 Guidance on undertaking all the requirements contained in this Instruction, and the policies referred to above, can be found on the My Services website.
7.11 The line manager is the initial point of contact for queries about this Instruction. However if they are unable to deal with the query Shared Services should be contacted.
HR Contact Centre at Shared Services - 0845 010 3504
PI 33/2014 ISSUE DATE 01/06/2014