Advice on managing Blue Monday
The third Monday in January is often referred to as Blue Monday. This is thought to be the worst day of the year for mental health. Although there may be no scientific evidence to prove this line of thought, research by Mercer has found that workplace sickness is at its highest in January. More than a third of all sick days are taken during this month.
Sickness absence can cause huge disruption to a business including reduced productivity, increased costs, low morale amongst other staff and increased customer complaints. It can also have a negative impact on an employer’s bottom line. The best way to address sickness absence is active management. It is best practice for employers to have a well drafted sickness absence management policy in place. This policy should confirm the employer’s absence reporting procedures, explain any absence targets that are in place, inform employees of the requirement to provide fit notes and undergo medical examinations where appropriate, set out the details of when sickness absence meetings will be held and explain the potential consequences of high sickness absence levels. Employers must ensure that they deal with employees in a fair, consistent and non-discriminatory manner.
Sickness absence can be short-term or long-term. Short-term absence covers occasional sporadic absences throughout the year. Long term sickness is usually considered as absences that have been ongoing for at least 30 consecutive days. If an employee is absent due to sickness, they should report this to their employer on the first day of absence. The employer should ensure that a record of this is kept. When the employee returns to work, the employer should hold a return-to- work meeting with the employee to confirm the reason for their absence and to consider whether any further support or adjustments are required. Support for employees with health conditions should be proactively offered, medical advice sought where appropriate and if the employee has a disability, reasonable adjustment made.
For short term persistent absence, if there is no specific medical cause for the absence and the employee has hit an absence target, it may be appropriate for the employer to hold an investigation meeting. This is with a view to deciding whether the absence should be considered a conduct matter and dealt with in accordance with the employer’s disciplinary policy.
For long term absence, the employer should ensure that they hold regular wellbeing meetings with the employee and if they have a disability, consider what reasonable adjustments can be made to support the employee’s return. Medical evidence may also need to be obtained. If the employee remains unable to return to work due to ill health for the foreseeable, this should be dealt with as a capability matter. An employer should take steps to avoid dismissing an employee on the grounds of capability, as this should only be done as a last resort.
As it’s a new year and a new start for us all, it is important to check that your employment policies are robust and compliant with current employment law and practice. If you have any questions regarding absence management, or you need employee policies to be drafted or reviewed, please contact a member of the team.