Agenda and draft minutes

Members are reminded of their responsibility to declare any pecuniary interest in respect of matters contained in this agenda.

If you have a pecuniary interest you must withdraw from the meeting. Normally you should leave the room before the business starts to be discussed. You do, however, have the same right to speak as a member of the public and may remain in the room to enable you to exercise that right and then leave immediately. In either case you must not seek to improperly influence a decision on the matter.

There were no declarations of any interest received.

Further to the last Overview and Scrutiny Task Group on Sickness Absence which took place on 27 January, Fiona Daniels, Branch Secretary for Unison and Debi Bradford, representing Staff Matters will be attending this meeting to answer your questions.

The Chair of the overview and Scrutiny Committee decided to hold a short review to see if there was an underlying reason why staff sickness figures had increased in 2015/16 given sickness had been very low and dropping each consecutive year for the last few years.

The Chair invited the acting Head of HR and OD to outline the procedure that a member of staff is required to follow under the Sickness Absence Policy if they are unwell and feel unable to come in to work.

The Acting Head of HR and OD informed members that the Council’s policy states that when a member of staff is unable to attend work due to sickness, that they must telephone their manager directly to provide –

·         reasons for their absence,

·         an estimate of  the duration of their absence

·         if they have or intend to    visit a doctor

·         what, if any, medication had been prescribed

·         any meetings that needed to be rearranged

·         outstanding work that needed to be completed.

This process was to be repeated on day three and five of continued absence.  If the level of sickness exceeded seven days a doctor’s note was required. The individual would then be expected to contact their manager on a weekly basis to keep them informed of any improvement, or deterioration in their health and a likely date when they would be returning to work. 

If the individual is suffering from a long term illness, every fourth week the individual would receive a welfare visit at a location to suit them.  The visit would be undertaken by their manager and a representative from HR and would be a supportive conversation. There would be offers of welfare support and a discussion on what adjustments/adaptions (ie phased return to work, reduced hours, changed to equipment, and light duties) were required to speed up the individual’s return to work.  If the absence was due to a stress related illness, the welfare visits would start earlier and be more frequent than four weeks, especially if it was work related.

On their return to work, all employees were required to have a return to work interview with their manager.  The purpose of the interview was to establish if the individual was fit to work, and if they required any support.

The Acting HR and OD manager was confident that staff viewed the policy positively, and that it offered employees support and flexibility taking in to account individual circumstances.

It was possible that some employees would feel concerned if their absence reached a trigger point.  It was explained that when a trigger point was reached, the individual would be issued with a letter asking them to attend an interview with their manager and a member of the HR team.  The letter suggests that the outcome of the interview could result with the employee receiving a verbal warning.  However, the Committee were reassured that this outcome was not common practice.  It was confirmed that since the current policy came in to force,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.SA2