As a manager you cannot directly influence all the factors which will impact on the health of your staff, however you can create a positive environment in which your employees feel able to discuss some of these issues. This is an important element of supporting health and wellbeing and helping employees to feel valued. The stage at which this plan should be formulated will vary depending on the circumstances of the individual and should be based on the expected date of return reflecting any medical and safety advice that has been received. It is helpful to start discussions about a return to work as soon as possible, usually before your member of staff returns to work. However, this will depend upon the nature of the illness and the ease of making the arrangements necessary to facilitate the return to the workplace.

You should have a policy for extended leave/career breaks, for example, where an employee wants a year away from work to get a qualification or spend time with their family. In certain situations, employees have the right to paid time off to act as a trade union or employee representative for the purposes of information and consultation between staff and the employer.

Flexible working and the right to request

If you work for a company that does not provide entitlement to paid sick leave, you will be expected to take unpaid leave for serious illnesses under the Family and Medical Leave Act . If a company sick pay scheme is not offered, this should be set out in writing within your written contract or employment particulars. The details of any company sick pay package you are entitled to must be provided to you in writing, during the first two months of your employment. In the UK, at the time of writing, you are entitled to £99.35 per week SSP if you are unable to attend work due to sickness. Check your employment contract to find out whether you are entitled to any contractual sick pay benefits.

The Pension Services website contains further information on the USS Flexible Retirement scheme and application process for flexible retirement. The plan might include changes to your hours, your duties, or your workplace. Depending on your condition, you may have to change parts of your job like driving or operating machinery. Your employer is required to make reasonable adjustments to assist your return. This could include changing your requirements, making sure you have suitable access, or providing you with different tools.

How to call in sick for mental health?

Knowing why you must introduce measures in managing personal work relationships will also support and underpin any action the organisation may need to take for any breach of the rules. If you capture data regarding personal relationships at work be sure that you have genuine need to do so and the purpose of it is enable you to identify and manage measures that are being put in place to mitigate risk.

As part of the procedure, the employer should investigate and take professional advice on the underlying medical reasons for the absence. The following guide examines the rights and responsibilities of employees who are absent due to stress, and the rules employers should follow when managing stress-related absence. Trigger mechanisms to launch reviews could include reasons to call out of work too many doctor’s notes. This should alert managers they need to step in and explain company resources and policies. And, if needed, outline the actions they’ll take if the problem continues. Introducing a program akin to the onboarding processeases them back into their role. Take the number of unexcused absences in a given time and divide it by the total period.

How to call in sick with a migraine?

The option of reverting to full time working should be discussed ahead of the extended leave being taken. For further information about UCL’s commitment and approach to balancing family and work commitments see the Parental Leave Pages. 4.5 Annual hours are based on the working week multiplied to an annual total, less annual leave, closure periods and public holidays. Scheduling annualised hours may be an average monthly total to be worked, or may take the form of planned periods of more intense work followed by periods of rest. Such arrangements can in principle meet the needs of employees who are comfortable with variation in employment intensity to dovetail with other aspirations in life. Annualised hours arrangements must conform to the Working Time Regulations and therefore an average 48-hour week must not be exceeded and minimum rest periods must be adhered to .

Check in with your boss near the end of the day to provide a health update. If you are still feeling unwell, you may need to ask for another day off. If you are feeling better, assure your boss that you will return to work. If you have used the sick excuse too many times, your boss may require a doctor’s note. Mishandling a disciplinary process and progressing without reasonable justification could render any action unfair, including an unfair dismissal. 1.1 UCL acknowledges that its staff are most productive when they have achieved a work-life balance that enables them to meet their responsibilities outside work. This policy provides a framework within which departments can consider how best to enable staff to achieve an effective balance between work and life outside the workplace.

Time off work for personal commitments and emergencies

If you are persistently off sick, or on long-term sick, your employer should normally look at any alternatives before deciding to dismiss you. For example, they might have to consider whether the job itself is making you sick and needs to be changed. If your employer dismisses you they must have a fair reason for their action, for example because of your conduct at work. Find out more about fair reasons for dismissal, and your employment rights should you be dismissed. If work is affecting your mental health, you must discuss this with them so that they can help. You might also wish to discuss whether your employer can offer you any support to resolve the issue, such as a physiotherapy referral or adjustments to your duties. If you are feeling unwell and too sick to work, it is best that you do not attend.

• In the UK, if you are absent due to sickness for more than seven days in a row (including non-working days such as weekends and public holidays), you must provide a doctor’s note .
• Learn how to calculate the number of days each worker should get for their statutory leave while considering several factors.
• You can get support from your occupational health provider if you need help and advice on making reasonable adjustments.
• Most people will need to take a day or two off at least once in their careers, and many people will need to take off far more than a few days over the span of their professional lives.