1. Absence Management Policy July 2026

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Chard Town Council
Absence Policy

1 Introduction
The Council is committed to providing effective, high-quality service to all its
customers and to optimising the contribution of all employees. As part of this
aim, it is essential that all employees are committed to maximising
attendance.
The Council is concerned for the wellbeing of its employees and seeks to
protect their health and safety by creating a safe working environment. In
return, the Council expects all employees to take reasonable care of their own
health, seek medical help whenever appropriate, and to attend work when fit to
do so.
The Council recognises that genuine medical grounds will occasionally result in
employee absence. It is the Council’s policy to treat all such sickness
absence in a fair, sensitive, and consistent manner across all areas of the
workforce.
The Council must balance the sensitive management of genuine individual
sickness against its need to be publicly accountable for its resource allocation
and, as such, cannot sustain high levels of sickness absence. Action will
therefore be taken to address recurrent short-term sickness or extended
periods of absence as appropriate.
It is very likely that short or long term absence from work will impact on other
staff.
1.1 Aims
In order for the Council to meet its responsibilities, it will ensure that:
• It provides a supportive environment for those employees affected by illhealth;
• Managers and employees adhere to this policy and procedure; and •
Levels of sickness absence are the subject of routine monitoring.
1.2 Responsibilities
It is important that employees read and understand this document. If
employees are not sure about any part of it, they should ask their line
manager, who will provide the necessary clarification.
The onus for attending work on a regular basis and for reporting absence in
accordance with the Council’s agreed procedures rests with the employee. It is
also an employee’s responsibility to appropriately detail any periods of
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absence on their record of hours worked.
The responsibility for recording, monitoring, and managing absence on a day-today basis lies with the Town Clerk. It is therefore essential that they ensure that
all employees are aware of this Policy and Procedure.
1.3 Miscellaneous
It is important that employees comply with this procedure so that:
• The Council can monitor sickness absence across the workforce and
identify any intervention/support needed;
• The Council can provide assistance to individual employees where
necessary; and
• Any sick pay to which the employee would otherwise be entitled is not
withheld or refused.
If an employee wilfully abuses the sickness absence/payments provisions or
absented themselves without permission, then this will be dealt with in
accordance with the Council’s disciplinary process.
Records retained in respect of sickness absence will be treated with sensitivity
and confidentiality at all times, in accordance with the provisions of prevailing
Data Protection legislation. The employee is entitled to access their records
on request.
2 Absence Reporting
Employees who are unable to work due to illness/injury must telephone their
line manager. This should be done before their expected start time or, if this is
not possible, as soon as possible.
Text messages or emails are not
sufficient. If the employee is unable to speak to the appropriate person, then
they should leave a message for their line manager to phone them back.
When reporting absent, the employee should provide some indication of: •
The nature of the absence;
• The date the injury/illness began (including weekends and holidays); •
The expected duration of the absence; and
• Whether there are any immediate work commitments that need
completing/reassigning during the absence.
If the employee is unable to report themselves absent, they must arrange for
someone else to do this on their behalf.
The employee must maintain contact with their line manager during any
period of sickness absence lasting longer than one day, so that the line
manager is aware of any progress and the expected date of return to work.
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Failure to follow the sickness reporting process may lead to the absence from
work being considered as unauthorised, resulting in loss of pay and possible
disciplinary action.
3 Certification
3.1 Absence Period of up to Seven Days
Where the absence is for a period of up to seven days (including weekends)
and not covered by a statement of fitness to work (“fit note”), the employee will
be asked to complete a self-certification form on their return to work.
3.2 Absence Period Exceeding Seven Days
If the absence exceeds seven days and the employee has not already done so,
they must provide medical evidence in the form of a fit note for the
remainder of the absence. If the absence continues, the employee will need to
ensure that the employer is always provided with a current fit note.
All fit notes must be certified by a healthcare professional who has assessed
the employee’s fitness for work. Healthcare professionals who are eligible to
issue fit notes are doctors, nurses, occupational therapists, pharmacists and
physiotherapists. The fit note should state whether or not the employee needs to
see a doctor or other healthcare professional again before returning to
work.
If the fit note states that the employee "may be fit for work", the employee
should inform their line manager immediately. They will refer to the fit note
and discuss with the employee whether there are any additional measures
that may be needed to facilitate the return to work, taking into account the
doctor's or healthcare professional’s advice. This may take place at a Return-toWork Interview or an Absence Review Meeting. If appropriate measures
cannot be taken, the employee will remain on sick leave and their line
manager will set a date to review the situation.
4 Return to Work Meetings
When the employee returns to work after any period of absence, their line
manager will arrange to meet with them. This meeting will occur on the first
day back or as soon as possible.

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The Return-to-Work form is shown at Appendix 1.
The purpose of the return-to-work meeting is:
• To provide an opportunity for their line manager to check that the
employee is fit enough to return to work;
• To give the employee an opportunity to voice any concerns that they
may have and/or to identify any domestic, welfare, or work-related
problems in an appropriate forum;
• To ensure that the employee is aware of work-related matters that have
occurred during their absence; and
• To complete a Sickness Declaration Form to record details of the
absence for payroll/administrative purposes in addition to the return to
work form.
Return to Work interviews should still be carried out following any absences
that occur during any formal monitoring periods as set out below.
5 Short-Term Frequent Intermittent Absence
5.1 Absence Triggers
The Council will instigate a more formal review of attendance records and
reasons for absence with an employee if there has been either (a) four
episodes of absence or (b) a total of 10 working days’ short-term sickness
absence within any period of 12 months.
The number of days of sickness absence which constitutes the absence trigger
point will be reduced pro rata for employees who work less than 5 days per week as
follows:
Normal Days Worked
Per Week
5
4
3
2
1

Absence Trigger – Total
No. of Working Days
10
8
6
4
2

5.2 Action When Absence Triggers are Reached
The guidance in the following sections sets out the procedure for addressing
short term absence when absence triggers are reached. A flow chart to
support the guidance can be found at Appendix 2.

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If an employee’s level of attendance improves satisfactorily during a period of
monitoring, then at the end of the monitoring period they will be informed that
no further action will be taken.
There is, however, an expectation that a satisfactory level of attendance will
then be sustained. If the employee’s absence meets a trigger in situations
where absence monitoring has recently ended or where an employee has
repeatedly been subject to absence monitoring, consideration can be given to
picking up the procedure at the next or most recent stage rather than starting
the process from the beginning.
5.3 Stage 1 – Short-Term Absence Review Meeting
The relevant manager will arrange an absence review meeting with any
employee whose absence record matches or exceeds the above criteria set
out in 5.1 above. The employee will be invited in writing to attend the review
meeting and notified of their right to be accompanied by a Trade Union
Representative or colleague. The employee should be reminded that the aim of
the meeting is to find ways to improve their attendance.
During the meeting, the manager should bring the employee’s attention to
their poor attendance record and the problems that their absences are
causing for the Council and other employees. The manager and the employee
should also consider any steps that can be put in place to help the employee to
improve their attendance as well as signposting them to any additional
support that can accessed such as an Employee Assist Programme.
During the meeting, if the employee discloses an underlying health condition,
then the advice in section 9 should be followed.
At the meeting, the employee will normally be advised that:
• They are being issued with a Stage 1 Short-Term Absence Warning, to
inform them that if they are unable to sustain an improved level of absence
then this procedure will continue to be followed.
• A 6-month monitoring period will be put in place.
• During that time their absence is not expected to exceed half the annual
triggers set out in 5.1 above.
• The manager will meet them at the end of the 6-month period to review
their absence levels.
• If they exceed the half-year triggers before the end of the 6-month
monitoring period, the review meeting should take place at this point.
• If the half-year triggers are exceeded during the monitoring period, then a
decision may be taken to move to Stage 2, as set out below.
This will be confirmed in writing and the employee will be notified of their right to
appeal.
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5.4 Stage 2 – Further Short-Term Absence Review Meeting
If the employee reaches the absence trigger set for their stage 1 monitoring period,
the relevant manager will arrange a further absence review meeting. The employee
should be reminded that the aim of the meeting is to find ways to improve their
attendance. The employee will be invited in writing to attend the further review
meeting and notified of their right to be accompanied by a Trade Union
Representative or colleague.
During the meeting, the manager should remind the employee of the problems caused
by their absences. The manager and the employee should also review any steps that
may have been put in place to help the employee to improve their attendance and
consider any further support that may be needed. The employee should also be
reminded of any additional support that they can access such as the Employee
Assist Programme.
During the meeting, if the employee discloses an underlying health condition which
hasn’t previously been raised then the advice in section 9 should be followed.
The employee will normally be advised that:
• They are being issued with a Stage 2 Short-Term Absence Warning, to inform
them that if they are unable to sustain an improved level of absence then this
procedure will continue to be followed and their employment may be terminated.
• A further 6-month monitoring period will be put in place.
• During that time their absence is not expected to exceed half the annual triggers
set out in 5.1 above.
• The manager will meet them at the end of the 6-month period to review their
absence levels.
• If they exceed the half-year triggers above before the end of the 6-month
monitoring period, the review meeting should take place at this point.
• If the half-year triggers are exceeded during the monitoring period, then a decision
may be taken to move to Stage 3, as set out below.
This will be confirmed in writing and the employee will be notified of their right to
appeal.
5.5 Stage 3 – Final Short-Term Absence Review Meeting
Where an employee’s attendance has still not improved to the required level, the
relevant manager will arrange a final absence review meeting. The employee
should be made aware that the aim of the meeting is to review and discuss their
attendance and for the manager to decide whether a Short-Term Attendance Hearing
should be held to consider dismissal.

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Although there is no statutory right of accompanied at this meeting, the
relevant manager may extend this offer to the employee as a supportive
measure.
During the meeting, the manager should review the employee’s absence record
and remind the employee of the problems caused by their absences. The manager
and the employee should also review any steps that may have been put in place to
help the employee to improve their attendance and consider any further support
that may be needed. The employee should also be reminded of any additional
support that they can access such as the Employee Assist Programme.
During the meeting, if the employee discloses an underlying health condition which
hasn’t previously been raised then the advice in section 9 should be followed.
The manager should then inform the employee whether the decision has been made to
proceed to an Attendance Hearing or not. Alternative options made include a further
period of monitoring or a review of the trigger levels.
5.6 Attendance Hearing for Short-Term Absence
Where the decision is made to proceed to an Attendance Hearing, the
employee will be invited in writing to attend the hearing and notified of their right to
be accompanied by a Trade Union Representative or colleague.
The Hearing Panel will normally be comprised of three members of the HR
Committee, who will make the decision. The Town Clerk/line manager will attend
to outline the history of absence; details of absence monitoring carried out; support
given; and other relevant information, including, where applicable, any medical advice
received.
All paperwork relating to the hearing will be circulated 5 days in advance of the
hearing to all parties attending.
Once the Panel has considered the manager’s and employee’s cases, and all other
relevant information, it will adjourn to make a decision.
The decision to terminate the employee’s employment may take place where the
organisation can no longer tolerate the high level of absence.
The decision of the Panel will be confirmed to the employee in writing within 5 working
days. The letter should clearly set out:
1) The Panel’s decision:
a) If a stage 3 warning has been issued, the timescale for this
(normally 6 months), the level of improvement required and any other
measures/support put in place;
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b) If the decision is to dismiss the employee, inform them of their
relevant notice period and provide them with any relevant pension
information; and
2) The employee’s right of Appeal.
6 Long-Term Absence
All cases of long-term absence will be treated sympathetically, and every
assistance will be given to the employee to return to work. There is very likely to be an
impact on other staff.
6.1 Long-Term Absence Review Meetings
The Council will maintain contact with the employee and advise them that they should
keep the Council informed of developments relating to their medical condition.
The Council will hold regular Absence Review Meetings with the employee during
their absence, as appropriate. The purpose of the meetings is to keep the employee
up to date, review the on-going absence, and offer support to the employee where
appropriate.
Where an employee remains absent and a return to work is not foreseeable within a
reasonable timescale, the Town Clerk will arrange a Final Absence Review meeting
which may lead to an Attendance Hearing to consider dismissal.
6.2 Final Long-Term Absence Review Meeting
Prior to an absence hearing being arranged for an employee on long-term sickness
absence, the Town Clerk will normally meet with the individual for a final absence
review meeting.
The purpose of the meeting is to provide a final opportunity to review and discuss
the employee’s current situation and for the Town Clerk to decide whether an
Attendance Hearing should be held. Alternative outcomes from the final absence
review meeting could include seeking further medical advice or setting a date for a
further absence review (e.g. where a medical appointment is due).
In order to decide whether to proceed to an Attendance Hearing, the Town Clerk
will make sure that they have fully explored all the relevant information relating to
the employee’s absence. This would also be provided to the Attendance Hearing
Panel if a decision is made to proceed to an Attendance Hearing.
This will depend upon the individual case, but may include:
• Relevant absence history and the date on which the current absence started;
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• The reason for the employee’s current absence;
• Details of absence review meetings and other communications during this
absence;
• Any treatment/investigations being undertaken and the timescales for these
to be completed;
• Whether there has been any recent improvement in the employee’s
condition and whether this is expected to continue;
• Whether there is any prospect of them returning to work within a
reasonable timescale;
• Any reasonable adjustments or other support which would enable the
employee to return to work within a reasonable timeframe;
• Any vacant roles within the organisation which the employee would be capable
of performing and, where applicable, whether they would wish for this to be
considered.
It is usually advisable to seek up to date medical reports from an Occupational Health
provider or the employee’s medical professional prior to an Attendance Hearing.
6.3 Long-Term Absence Hearing
Where the decision is made to proceed to a Long-Term Absence Hearing, the
employee will be invited in writing to attend the hearing and notified of their right to
be accompanied by a Trade Union Representative or colleague.
The Hearing Panel will normally be comprised of three members of the HR
Committee, who will make the decision. The Town Clerk will attend to outline the
history of absence and relevant information described in Section 6.2 above.
All paperwork relating to the hearing will be circulated 5 days in advance of the
hearing to all parties attending.
Once the Panel has considered the manager’s and employee’s cases, and all other
relevant information, it will adjourn to make a decision.
The decision to terminate the employees employment may take place where: • An
employee is declared permanently unfit for work;
• An employee is declared medically unfit for their work and alternative
employment has not be found;
• The service can no longer support the employee’s continued absence for
operational/financial reasons.
The decision of the Panel will be confirmed to the employee in writing within 5 working
days. The letter should clearly set out the Panel’s decision:
•

If the decision is not to take action at this point and to review again in a certain
time period, the applicable timescale for this; or
• If the decision is to dismiss the employee, inform them of their relevant notice
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period and provide them with any relevant pension information; and
• The employee’s right of appeal.
7

Appeals

Employees have the right to appeal against any decision to issue a formal warning
or dismissal under this procedure. If an employee wishes to appeal, they should
write to the Town Clerk setting out the grounds of their appeal. This must be done
within 10 days of the date of the letter informing them of the outcome of the relevant
stage of this procedure.
Appeals will be heard by a separate person/panel. For warnings short of
dismissal, the appeal will normally be heard by another manager or the Town Clerk.
For warnings issued at a Short-Term Attendance Hearing or Long-Term Absence
Hearing, the Appeal will normally be heard by members of the Appeals
Committee who have not previously been involved.
Once the person/panel hearing the appeal has considered both the
employee’s appeal and the original Hearing Chair’s case, and considered all other
relevant information, the meeting will be adjourned to make a decision.
The decision will be confirmed to the employee in writing within 5 working days.
The decision will be final and there is no further right of appeal.
8 Occupational Health
In order to ensure that the Council has access to guidance and advice in respect
of the best course of action to follow in relation to cases of absence, employees may
be referred to the Council’s Occupational Health Advisor.
Examples of when an employee may be referred to occupational health include
to:
• establish when the employee might be able to return to work; • ask
for guidance on an employee's health condition;
• discuss any adjustments that could be consider in order to support the
employee.
Where the Occupational Health Advisor makes a recommendation that might affect
the employee’s continued employment, the relevant manager will discuss the
advice and options going forward at an Absence Review Meeting with the employee.
Employees may wish to have the support of a trade union representative or a work
colleague present during such a meeting, and this should be positively encouraged.
In certain cases, the Occupational Health Advisor might find that an employee is unfit
to perform a particular job but fit enough to undertake other types of work. In such
cases, full consideration will be given to the possibility of redeployment into
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alternative positions. Consideration will also be given to redeployment in cases
where work in a particular place poses problems with attendance.
Where a return to work following a period of prolonged absence might be
facilitated by temporary redeployment or phased re-introduction (e.g.
reduction in hours) an employee can discuss these options with their manager and, if
such measures are appropriate, the Council will ensure that the support mechanisms
necessary for this to occur are provided. Such arrangements will be for a defined
period and will be subject to joint review.
9 Underlying Medical Conditions
Where an employee and/or their manager identifies that the employee’s
attendance may be affected by an underlying medical condition, the Town Clerk
will give consideration whether to request that an Occupational Health referral is
arranged.
This process would involve discussing with the employee the proposal to
undertake a referral to the Council’s Occupational Health Service.
The
purpose of this referral would be to obtain independent medical advice on:
• The nature of any underlying/recurrent condition;
• How to support the employee to improve their attendance, e.g.
suggestions for reasonable adjustments to the employee’s work, which the
Council could consider.
Any agreed adjustments should be taken into account when applying the
following procedure, which may need to be adapted accordingly.
Where appropriate, an employee may be referred to Occupational Health on more
than one occasion e.g. when there has been a change to an employee’s underlying
health condition or prior to an attendance hearing.
10 Personal, Domestic, or Work-Related Problems
Where an employee reveals that their absence has been a consequence of
personal, domestic, or work-related problems, the relevant manager should
endeavour to discuss with them any relevant details that they wish to disclose.
Although an employee may have genuine concerns about revealing sensitive or
personal information, they should be reminded that such matters will be
treated confidentially and that the Council cannot assist them if it is not made aware
of the problem.
If an employee wishes to discuss matters with
someone other than the relevant manager, the Chair of the HR Committee can be
contacted for a confidential interview.
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Once the problem has been clearly identified, appropriate assistance can be offered
to the employee. In some circumstances, special leave, temporary adjustments in
working arrangements, or referral to specialist agencies may be granted.
11 Alcohol/Drug Dependency
Where an employee discloses that their absences are a consequence of alcohol
or drug related problems, after a Risk Assessment they will be encouraged to
seek help and treatment voluntarily through the Council’s Occupational Health
Service or through resources of their own choosing. Employees may be granted, if
necessary, leave to undergo treatment and any such leave will be regarded as sick
leave within the terms of the Council’s sick pay scheme, with the monitoring of
progress by the Occupational Health Service.
Should an employee refuse or discontinue any programme of assistance
designed for them, then any unacceptable behaviour or inadequate standard of work
will be dealt with on its merits through the Council’s Disciplinary Procedure.
12 Welfare
If, as a consequence of medically related issues, the relevant manager has any
concerns about an employee’s ability to undertake the full range of duties and
responsibilities associated with their post, they should encourage them to seek
advice from their GP. If necessary, consideration could be given to suspending
them with pay, or finding alternative duties whilst medical advice is sought from the
Occupational Health Provider.
13 Monitoring of Absence Records
Monitoring is an important part of sickness absence management. In order for this to
take place, it is important that all absence from the workplace is reported and
recorded. All signed Sickness Declaration Forms and Return to Work Forms should
be returned as soon as possible after the employee’s Return to Work Interview has
been conducted.
The Town Clerk will ensure that absence records are maintained for all
employees. These records will provide the base data for the compilation, as
required, of statistics showing the level of sickness absence across the
Council.
The absence monitoring system will also enable the Town Clerk to identify
individual cases where frequent or lengthy absences have occurred, or where patterns
of absence have been identified. However, the manager should not rely on this as
a substitute for pro-actively identifying and addressing problems or potential
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problems.
Managers should ensure that records of contact during and after absence are
completed thoroughly and correctly stored on the employee’s personnel record.
These could include Sickness Absence Declaration forms, return to work meeting
records, fit notes, notes of absence review meetings, correspondence and
medical reports. These should be treated with sensitivity and confidentiality at all
times. Employees will be entitled to access these records on request.

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APPENDIX 1 – RETURN TO WORK DISCUSSION
Name:
Date of Interview:
Time of Interview:
Period of Sickness Absence:
Number of Working Days Absent

From

To

* Self Certificate / fit note provided (*delete as appropriate) – Attached
Provide brief details of the content of the discussion:

Signed

………………………………………

Date…………………

………………………………………

Date…………………

(Employee)

Signed

(Town/Parish Clerk)

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APPENDIX 2 – MANAGING SHORT-TERM ABSENCE – FLOW CHART
Has the employee’s absence reached an absence trigger?
No. No absence review required.

Yes. Move to Stage 1.

Stage 1 – Short-Term Absence Review Meeting
Relevant manager to:
• Review and discuss absence record.
• Explain the impact and the need for attendance to improve.
• If the employee discloses an underlying health condition, then follow advice in section 9 of this
policy.
• Put in place a 6-month monitoring period, with specified maximum acceptable days and
episodes of absence during this time.
• Schedule the follow-up meeting to review this. State that if absence exceeds the maximum
above the meeting will take place at that point.
• Confirm the above in writing.
Has absence remained within the specified maximum days and episodes during the stage 1
monitoring period?
Yes. Manager will confirm end of monitoring
period.

No. Move to Stage 2.

Stage 2 – Further Short-Term Absence Review Meeting
Relevant manager to:
• Review and discuss absence record.
• Explain the impact and the need for attendance to significantly improve.
• If the employee discloses an underlying health condition, then follow advice in section 9 of this
policy.
• Put in place a further 6-month monitoring period, with specified maximum acceptable days and
episodes of absence during this time.
• Schedule the follow-up meeting to review this. State that if absence exceeds the maximum
above the meeting will take place at that point.
• Confirm the above in writing.
Has absence remained within the specified maximum days and episodes during the stage 2
monitoring period?
Yes. Manager will confirm end of monitoring
period.

No. Move to Stage 3.

Stage 3 – Final Short-Term Absence Review Meeting
Relevant manager to:
• Carry out a final review and discuss absence record.
• Consider whether to proceed to an Attendance Hearing or to implement an alternative option
before holding another final absence review meeting or attendance hearing.
Short-Term Absence Attendance Hearing
• Invite employee, giving 5 working days’
notice and the right to be accompanied.
• Review and discuss absence record.
• Panel will consider outcome including
dismissal.
• If the panel decides to dismiss, the
employee will be issued with notice of

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dismissal and offered the right of appeal.
Alternative options Other
outcomes could include:
• Seeking further medical advice.
• Amending the absence triggers.
• Issuing a stage 3 warning with an
additional period of monitoring.

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