15 Feb Take the short-term sickness absence quiz

I will be administering a test this week on short-term sickness absence, specifically your organisation’s policy. This test is a closed book examination which means you will have to rely on the knowledge you already have in your head.

Are you ready? Remember no peeking at the policy or googling the answer! You have 20 minutes to answer the following questions:

1. What is the maximum number of days which constitutes short-term absence under your organisation’s sickness policy?
2. What is the procedure for reporting sickness absence?
3. What are the keep in touch requirements (with your manager) when you are on sick leave?
4. How many days of sickness can you self-certify up to?
5. Over what period is sickness absence calculated?
6. What is a return-to-work meeting?
7. What are the short-term sickness absence triggers?
8. How many stages does the short-term sickness absence procedure have?
9. What is the role of occupational health?
10. If you are sick during a booked holiday, what would you need to do to get your annual leave credited back to you?
11. Are you entitled to be accompanied at a formal sickness meeting?
12. Can an employee be dismissed for short-term absence?

How did you do?  For the answers, you will need to check your organisation’s sickness policy. While we are here, let me give you a few examples of why you need to know these details.

1. If you fail to report sickness absence correctly or fail to report it at all, there may be pay or conduct implications such as unauthorised absence.
2. You need to know your rolling period for calculating sickness to understand if and when you trigger the sickness procedure’s informal or formal stages.
3. The third and final example is to know the period you can self-certify and, when you need a fit note from your GP.

If you don’t know what you should know, you could face unnecessary problems ahead. So, it’s over to you.  Remember, be HR-wise!

If you want to book on one of the ‘How to read a policy’ sessions, click here 

Dawn H Jones is a HR Specialist.