Policy 3.3 Management of Sickness Absence*

3.3 Management of Sickness Absence*


Attendance Support Procedure

LUU acknowledges that people all become ill occasionally and need to take time off work. Sick pay is provided so that people feel that they can take time off when they are genuinely not well.

LUU recognises the need to treat all cases of sickness absence on an individual basis. LUU has a responsibility to ensure that all its employees are fit to work and to not expose staff to any work or activities which may endanger their health. The aim of LUU's Attendance Support Procedure is to support employees in returning to work and achieve an acceptable level of attendance, in turn ensuring that it is able to provide an optimum service to its members.

The Attendance Support Procedure is defined by three branches;

  • short term absences are managed through Branch 1, this is triggered by the Bradford Factor Trigger

  • long term absences through Branch 2, this is triggered by a period of long term absence.

Branch 1: Bradford Factor Trigger

The first informal Attendance Support meeting will occur when a member of staff has a Bradford Factor score of over 150. The meeting will be held with the staff member and their manager and they will discuss the nature of the staff member’s illness(es) and support options in more detail and an Attendance Support Plan is completed to ensure all options of support are explored and put in place.

A first formal Attendance Support meeting will be triggered if there are 2 more incidents of short-term absence or one medium term absence within the next 6 months.


  1. Short term absence - any occurrence of absence that lasts less than 7 calendar days.

  2. Medium term absence - any absence that lasts over 7 calendar days.

  3. Long term absence - an occurrence of absence that lasts over 28 days.

At the formal attendance support meeting, the Attendance Support Plan is reviewed and further measures of support will be put in place. It will be discussed with the staff member that should a further 2 more incidents of short-term absence or one medium term absence occur within the next 6 months a 2nd formal Attendance Support meeting will be held.

The manager will review the likelihood of the attendance levels of the staff member improving. If it is viewed that attendance is unlikely to improve, an Attendance Recommendation 1 letter may be issued following a formal Attendance Support Meeting.

Should there be a further 2 more incidents of short-term absence or one medium term absence within the next 6 months a final formal Attendance Support meeting will take place with a possible outcome being that the manager recommends that the employee be invited to a Capability Dismissal Meeting. All management recommendations for a Capability Dismissal Meeting would be reviewed to ensure all possible support has been explored, before being progressed.

For all formal Attendance Support meetings, you will be informed of this in writing at least 5 days before the meeting and you can be accompanied to this meeting by a workplace colleague or trade union representative.

Attendance Recommendations will be used to clearly identify with a staff member that their attendance is not improving and they will outline recommended support options. The Attendance Recommendations reiterate that LUU is continuing to support that individual to feel fit and able to attend work. They will also clarify that should the current level of absence continue, a possible last resort may be Capability Dismissal and therefore the staff member’s manager needs to work with them to feel fit and able to attend work more frequently over the coming weeks and months.

Branch 2: Long Term Absence

The first informal Attendance Support meeting will occur after an absence of over 4 weeks. The informal Attendance Support meeting will review the nature of the absence, the current timescales and the likelihood of a return to work. An Attendance Support Plan will be completed. At this stage, if the return date is clear, then the manager and staff member can agree upon a schedule and method of communication in the run up to their return. However if it is not clear, the next meeting will be in a further 4 weeks or at when the staff member’s half pay is triggered, whichever is sooner.

Should a second meeting occur, at the earliest after 8 weeks, the first formal Attendance Support meeting will take place. At this meeting the Attendance Support Plan is reviewed. If a return date is now clear there are no further steps. However, if it is not clear an Attendance Recommendation can be given at this stage. The next meeting would then be scheduled for the trigger of half pay or halfway to the exhaustion of all pay, whichever is sooner.

At this formal meeting, the manager can recommend a Capability Dismissal Meeting if there are no clear prospects of a return to work. Alternatively a manager can recommend a final formal Attendance Support meeting if further time is required to support the member of staff to return to the work.

The final meeting would then take place at the exhaustion of full pay, at which stage if there are no clear prospects for a return, a Capability Dismissal Meeting would be recommended.


Capability Dismissal Meetings

Only when all other options have been exhausted will LUU end someone's employment on the grounds of incapability due to ill health. In many cases where the member of staff is a member of the pension scheme, it may be possible for that person to apply for ill health retirement under the scheme which will secure a level of income for the future. Any decision to dismiss will be taken in line with the levels of authority for disciplinary action (See section 7.6). If the employee is fit to attend this meeting, they are expected to do so otherwise a decision will be made in their absence. The employee will be entitled to be accompanied by a trade union representative or a workplace colleague. As with any other form of dismissal there will be the right to appeal under the disciplinary procedure.

Additional Information

After any absence you will have a return to work meeting with your line manager or supervisor. The purpose of this meeting will be to establish the nature of your illness and to ensure that you are fit enough to resume your normal duties. If you are not fully fit then your manager may be able to make some adjustments to your normal working patterns or practices to support you. This is most likely to be necessary if you have been off work for a long time. These meetings will be used following an absence of any duration, even if you are off for part of a day.

As part of the Attendance Support Procedure, and to support an employee to return to work, it may be necessary for LUU to gain a more detailed understanding of their absences. Further understanding can be gathered by inviting you to a meeting with Occupational Health or may include requesting a medical report from your doctor.