Watcombe Childrens Centre Nursery

Staff Sickness policy

Synopsis

Watcombe Childrens Centre Nursery recognise that there are times when workers are absent from the organization for a variety of reasons. To ensure that all workers are treated in a consistent, equitable and fair way these documents inform what processes need to be followed for sickness absences, when sickness certificates are required, returning to work following sickness absence ect…

Watcombe Childrens Centre Nursery is committed to being a good employer and in so being ensuring the safeguarding of children through the maintenance of sufficient staffing levels.

What is an absence?

It can be defined as non attendance of workers for scheduled work when they are contracted to attend.

What type of absence are there?

Annual leave

Please refer to staff holiday policy

Time off for dependants

In emergencies where normal childcare arrangements break down or where an employee is primarily or solely responsible for a child, dependant relative or partner who becomes ill or incapable, or when one of the above becomes dependant and requires attention then that employee may request up to 5 days unpaid leave in any 12 month period to carry out the care duties necessary. This is based upon a rolling 12 month calculation which starts on the 1^st day taken as dependency leave.

All requests must be made to the manager who will consider the facts and who may require a valid medical certificate or other acceptable medical evidence (e.g. letter from a GP ect...) before deciding to grant this leave. The employee will be expected to confirm their request in writing within 5 days: the line manager must acknowledge this within 5 days.

Time off for medical appointments

Where possible you should arrange appointments with your general practioner, optician, dentist or hospital ect…, outside your normal working hours. However Watcombe Childrens Centre Nursery recognises that this is not all ways possible but would expect employees to arrange such appointments so as to cause as little disruption to the working day as possible.

You must inform the nursery manager of such appointments in advance and as soon as possible, and your line manager is entitled to ask you to produce your appointment card or letter for appointments other than one off GP appointments.

Where you are undergoing regular medical treatment which may require several visits to a clinic or hospital etc, then arrangements should be discussed with your line manager so that working hours can be revised if needed.

You should expect to make up any time taken for occasional medical appointments.

Bereavement/ compassionate leave

In the event of a death of a close relative (spouse, parent, child, sibling or partner) an employee may request up to 5 days paid leave. This must be approved by the committee

In exceptional circumstances the committee may, with discretion, approve a further 5 days unpaid compassionate leave. The circumstances to be considered would include:-

Whether the employee is responsible for the arrangements related to the deceased

The distance the employee must travel to the deceased

The closeness of the relationship between the deceased and the employee

Responsibilities of the employee for other family members

What counts as a sickness absence?

If you are not well enough to be at work(this may be certified or uncertified)
If you return from sickness absence, find that you are not after all well enough to resume work and have to call in sick the following day, this will count as one continuing absence, not two
If you need to go home sick after reporting in at the start of the working day or shift, that absence will be recorded as a part-day absence. Such absence will affect salary or wage.

Worker responsibilities

All workers should ensure that they read the Watcombe Childrens Centre Nursery absence policy and if you are unclear on anything you should speak to the nursery manager.

Reporting sickness absence- any sickness absence should be reported by 7:30am by telephoning the nursery (staff should not text senior staff unless they are due to open up the nursery) if managers have not heard from you 15 mins after your shift was due to start then it is wholly appropriate for them to contact you at home. Failure to report absence inline with the policy maybe treated as an unauthorized absence. Please note that you should report the absence yourself to the senior member of staff, you should not leave a message on the answer phone, nor should someone ring in on your behalf (unless there are extreme mitigating circumstances). Please remember to advise them if you are due on any courses, home visits ect… so arrangements can be made

Failure to report sickness absence- should you fail to report sickness absence in line with the procedure, then this will be considered a conduct issue(unless there are extreme mitigating circumstances which prevent notification) which would be dealt with under the Watcombe Childrens Centre Nursery disciplinary procedure.

Line manager contact-in cases of absences which are mid-long term, then line managers must maintain regular contact with you. It is wholly appropriate for line managers to maintain regular contact with you. The purpose of contact should be to check progress with you, any updates from your GP/hospital and any likely return date.

Home visits-line manager’s should undertake a home visit to you once your absence has exceeded 28 consecutive days.

Sick notes-you must produce a sick note from your GP/hospital if your absence exceeds 7 days.

Line managers should remind you of the need to produce sick notes if these are not sent in. if sick notes are not sent in them you absence will be treated as unauthorized and disciplinary action may be taken

Return to work process-irrespective of how long you have been absent from work due to sickness, your line manager should complete a return to work interview after each occasion of sickness absence. The purpose of the meeting is to welcome you back, discuss reasons for absence and identify any adjustments that can be made.

Absence review meetings-your attendance at work will be monitored and if there are any patterns or excessive sickness absences then your line manager will conduct an absence review meeting. If unacceptable patterns of absence are identified, it may be that action is required under the Watcombe Childrens Centre Nursery disciplinary policy.

Referrals to occupational health- are normally made after 28 days continuous absence; however line managers may request referrals if other patterns of absence are emerging. If your line manager wishes to refer you to occupational health, you will be given a form to complete and sign. This form also details your rights under the access to medical report act 1988. Referrals are not a punitive measure against you because you are absent from work. They are intended to give Watcombe Childrens Centre Nursery as much information as possible to help support you back to work. You reserve the right to refuse your consent.

Sick leave and annual leave- if you are on annual leave and then become sick during that period, then you should advise your line manager as soon as possible. You should also obtain evidence of your ill health from your doctor.