Sickness absence meaning

Government response—Making Work Pay: Strengthening Statutory Sick Pay What are the implications? The change to the method by which SSP is calculated will: benefit a number of lower-paid workers in particular result in an additional cost to employers, albeit relatively small in most instances The government considers setting SSP at 80% to be the right balance, shielding those on lower incomes from financial hardship and better enabling people to take the time off they need to recover, when they are unwell, which can also help stop the spread of infections and cut the overall rate of sickness absence. These changes will apply across England, Wales and Scotland...

Fajri v Vantage Capital Markets Ltd (ET/2209562/2023) Employment Judge Barry Smith, in a judgment issued in May 2024 with written reasons released on 15 August 2024, found that the agency broker acted reasonably in seeking a medical report before allowing Camelia Fajri to return to the workplace following chemotherapy. However, it overstepped by suspending her pay at the same time. The tribunal considered that a less discriminatory step was available; namely, continuing to pay up to three months’ salary while maintaining the requirement that the claimant remain away from work during the period in which the medical report and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) certification were being obtained. That alternative, the tribunal held, could and should have been adopted instead...

The pilot, a joint initiative between the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department of Health and Social Care, will test alternative approaches to issuing and supporting fit notes (documents completed by physicians setting out an employee’s fitness for work). The government also said the package would expand roles for non-doctor professionals and offer better work-health coaching for patients. Wes Streeting, the health and social care secretary, said that when someone visits their doctor’s surgery anxious about their job, they should leave with a plan rather than a slip of paper that shuts doors, and that we cannot afford to keep writing people off. The changes aim to tackle the present dependence on doctors’ judgements that staff are 'not fit for work'...

Statutory paid holiday In Great Britain, workers have a legal entitlement to 5.6 weeks’ paid annual leave under the Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR 1998), SI 1998/1833. It should be recognised from the start that this is made up of two components: a core entitlement of four weeks’ paid annual leave (often called ‘Euro leave’) (WTR 1998, SI 1998/1833, reg 13), and an extra 1.6 weeks’ paid annual leave (WTR 1998, SI 1998/1833, reg 13A) Different rules apply to irregular hours and part-year workers for holiday years beginning on or after 1 April 2024. For further details, see Practice Note: Statutory paid holiday—irregular hours workers and part-year workers. For the position in Northern Ireland, which has its own Working Time Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016, SI 2016/49, see Practice Note: Employment law in Northern Ireland—Working Time Regulations and holidays. The basic four-week entitlement reflects the UK’s implementation of the EU minimum in Article 7 of Directive 2003/88/EC (the Working Time Directive),...

This Practice Note This Practice Note considers the entitlement to notice for both employees and employers under the contract of employment, meaning the notice required to end the employment contract, whether spoken or written, and covers: the impact of statutory notice provisions on the minimum notice period the point at which the notice period starts matters concerning permanent health insurance (PHI) withdrawing a termination notice longer notice being given by the employee lawfully dismissing without notice Under contract law, an employer may give notice of dismissal at any time unless the contract, expressly or by implication, provides otherwise. No breach occurs if the employee is allowed to work their notice or, where the contract permits, is paid in lieu of notice. That said, an employee whose contractual rights have not been infringed may still hold statutory rights...

This Practice Note This Practice Note explores why an employer may issue an employee handbook or employee manual (also known as a staff handbook, staff manual or company policy manual). It sets out typical contents and how to present terms that must be reasonably accessible, covering disciplinary and grievance frameworks, holiday pay, sickness absence and pay, contractual and non-contractual policies, workplace rules and procedures, intranet publication, gender neutrality, the contractual status of policies, whether terms can be incorporated, permanent health (PHI) and other insurance, and how to make changes or amendments. It also references the Lexis®Smart Precedent employee handbook and other relevant documents. Certain aspects of the employment and worker relationship must appear in a written statement of particulars of employment given to the employee or worker (see Practice Note: Written statements of employment particulars). Those particulars are often placed within the employee’s contract of employment. Other terms must also be in writing but only need to be reasonably accessible. Employers can present them as separate documents, a...

1 The aim of the absence management strategy 1.1 Decrease the annual absence rate from [ insert rate, eg 3.5% ] to [ insert rate, eg 2.0% ]. 1.2 [ Lessen the negative effect on service delivery arising from the firm’s high level of short, irregular absences. ] 1.3 Enhance the handling of long-term sickness so its contribution to the firm’s absence rate is lowered. 2 Key trends and causes of absence over the past 12 months 2.1 [ One member of staff has been away for six months with long-term illness linked to stress (following the breakdown of marriage). No meetings have taken place yet owing to the sensitive nature of the sickness. ]...

This Precedent is aimed at law firms. Provided solely in Excel only, it cannot be downloaded to Word. The Precedent enables checking and recording that interviews are being conducted for each and every employee consistently and to the required standard as required...

A: Employee information Employee: [ Provide name ] Role: [ Provide role ] Period of absence: [ Specify the duration of absence, or for intermittent absence state the number of days and the timeframe during which this took place ] Record completed by: [ Provide name ] B: Potential contractual adjustments Reduce working hours: [ Describe what has been reviewed and your findings, or what has been actioned and the result ] Change working pattern: [ Provide details ] Agree ...

First West Yorkshire Ltd t/a First Leeds v Haigh The EAT found that fairness means a reasonable employer must give genuine consideration to any ill‑health retirement scheme before dismissing for long‑term sickness, consistent with overall fairness. In particular, where an employer offers an enhanced pension on retirement due to ill health, it will be expected to take reasonable steps to determine whether the employee is eligible for the benefit of ill‑health retirement under the relevant scheme in question...

You may wish to consider separately: the implied term the fairness of a dismissal which prejudices Permanent Health Insurance (PHI) rights, under the statutory law on unfair dismissal Where PHI benefits depend on employment continuing, the High Court has implied a term preventing dismissal during incapacity, save for summary dismissal (gross misconduct) or another compelling ground (eg redundancy). In Briscoe v Lubrizol, the Court of Appeal signalled a broader carve-out, permitting dismissal for ‘reasonable and proper cause’. Even so, such a term is not always to be implied. In Lloyd v BCQ (EAT) no implication was made where: a later written contract omitted any reference to the PHI scheme and contained an entire agreement clause there was, overall, no contractual entitlement to scheme benefits the contract expressly permitted dismissal for prolonged illness For more detail, including reconciling Briscoe and Lloyd, see Practice Notes: Dealing with long-term or chronic sickness—Consider any Permanent Health Insurance (PHI)...

Section 2 of the Mental Health Act 1983 (MeHA 1983) Under MeHA 1983, s 2 permits a person to be taken into hospital and kept there once an application for admission for assessment has been properly and lawfully made, the aim being to evaluate their mental health. MeHA 1983, s 3 in turn authorises admission to hospital and continued detention where an application for admission for treatment has been successfully made. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA 2005) sets out a number of governing principles which are to be appropriately applied for the purposes of that Act, in connection with its application...