Long term sick absence

What is long term sick absence?

Most absences from work are relatively short term and caused by minor self-limiting conditions rather than major health problems. Long term sick absence (it’s considered to be in excess of 4 weeks but check your internal policy as this can differ) is an indication that your employee is dealing with a much more serious problem.

The impact of an extended period of absence may impact other areas, such as emotional health, family and finance. Long term sickness absence could also impact greatly on the rest of the staff and on the efficiency and effectiveness of your overall operation.

Staying in touch during absence

Not all employees will feel the same about contact from management; some may welcome it whilst others feel it is an intrusion. However, it is a contractual requirement of an employee in many businesses, and it is considered good management practice to maintain regular contact.

Whilst in some cases it can be seen as insensitive or intrusive to contact an employee on sick leave, the risk can be minimal or avoided if you maintain a consistent approach and work inline with your internal company policy.

The benefits of staying in touch

Regular supportive contact will help the employee feel valued and not forgotten or ‘out of the loop’ and will help to maintain an active link to the workplace so that the eventual return to work will be less of a challenge. Sending copies of bulletins or other organisational communications may also help them to ‘keep in touch’ and feel like a valued member of staff.

Sometimes it can be difficult to get the right balance when encouraging someone back into the workplace, without them feeling they are being pushed into returning before they feel ready.

Assistance from occupational health (if you have this in place) can provide advice in this area, and support with any required assessments on the employee’s return, such as fitness for the job.

Failing to stay in touch with an employee during long-term sick-leave can leave them feeling isolated. It may lead them to believe that their managers, colleagues and even the business itself only care when they are being productive in the workplace. An employee feeling that no-one cares at work is unlikely to feel encouraged about returning to the workplace.

Supporting a return to work

If you are working with an occupational health provider, you may have received reports from an occupational health specialist during the absence. This would have advised on things such as adjustments and next steps.

Recovering from a health condition is rarely a process which progresses from ill health to fitness in one simple step. Similarly, for your employees returning from long term absence, recovery is likely to be gradual and it will often be the case that the employee will benefit from adjustments to their normal role to help rehabilitate them back into the workplace.

Wherever possible it is important to welcome them back and conduct a return-to-work interview. This provides an opportunity to discuss the important issue of their future health and wellbeing and a way forward with any problems that have been identified during the absence can be agreed.

Quite often after a lengthy absence a rehabilitation plan will have been suggested and an agreement between yourself and the employee can be made on the content of the plan and how it will be monitored.

During return to work interviews it is important to give the employee time to talk and help them feel that their concerns have been genuinely listened to by agreeing actions. Returning after a long absence can cause anxiety for some people and there may be occasions when the employee becomes distressed during the interview with you or in the early phase of a return to work plan. Whatever the reason, adopt an understanding and supportive approach, allow time for them to recover and check that they feel ok to continue to work or complete the interview.

Agree arrangements for any review meetings in future if the employee has any concerns or problems which might impact their ability to progress through any agreed plans. This will help to build trust and confidence in management support. Remember that everyone is different and recovery times vary from person to person depending on age, general wellbeing and support available to them.