Sick Leave & Absenteeism Management
How Much Does Absenteeism Cost your Organisation?
Imagine the savings (and the productivity gains) you could enjoy by improved absence management?
Recent IBEC, CIPD and international surveys revealed the extent and causes of absenteeism in the workplace, including the following:
Average absenteeism in Ireland is 8.9 days per person
Short term absenteeism (5 days or less) is a significant problem
Long term absenteeism (more than 20 days) is a growing problem
Improved Absenteeism Management can make Big Savings
Absenteeism can be managed better and significantly reduced through measures such as:
Return-to-Work Interviews
Absence Reviews
Trigger Systems
Bradford Factor
Sickness and Absence policies and procedures
Line managers trained and supported to implement the policies consistently
Restricting sick pay provisions
Enhanced terms in contracts of employment
Read more about best-practice absence management.
Have you an Effective Sick Leave Policy and Absenteeism Management Policy and Procedure?
Having a well stated and clear Sick Leave Policy and Absenteeism Management Policy and procedure is essential for every organisation to ensure minimum disruption to operations through sick leave.
The policy should be clear on:
Notification of sickness procedure
Certification and non-certification
Continuing contact procedures for when an employee is out for a period of time
What is short-term and what is long-term absenteeism
Procedures for remaining in contact during long-term absenteeism
Short-tern and long-term absenteeism management procedures
Medical practitioner and occupational health procedures
Breaches of procedures
Workplace stress procedures
Alcohol and drugs policy and procedure
Unauthorised absenteeism
Who is eligible for sick pay (if any)
What causes ineligibility for sick pay
Restrictions on sick pay
Re-joining sick pay schemes
Contracts of employment and the employee handbook should be updated to align with the above suggestions.
Absenteeism Management Support
We can help you with:
Preparing and implementing
sick leave / absence management policies
timekeeping, attendance and unauthorised absence policies
drug and alcohol / testing for intoxicants policies
Advice, training and support for managers in dealing with absenteeism
Read about our Employee Handbook to see what policies and procedures we provide.
Individual Employees with Regular or High Absenteeism
Often times the employees with short, but regular, absences cause more problems that the employees with long-term sicknesses, as they are so unpredictable and arranging rosters and cover is a bit of a nightmare.
There are tools and techniques to manage these employees to better attendance or eventually to manage them out of the organisation.
You must also be cognisant of employees who are on long-term sick and ensure you maintain contact throughout the illness, use mediacl practitioners and occupational therapists at appropriate times, and mange the situation to an appropriate conclusion rather than let these situations linger on and on.
We can advise you on how to manage these difficult sick leave situations as well as how to handle isssues related to workplace stress, alcohol or drug related absence, workplace injury, etc.
Next Steps
Contact us for further information, email us or call us on +353 1 8666426 for a confidential discussion and see how we can help you.

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