The Sickness Absence Framework
Gain insight into managing sickness absence and test your own organisation
Management
Organisation and ownership
Sickness absence data
Coordination of sickness absence
Prevention
Absence/presence culture
Clear leadership
Return to work
Managing sickness absence
You address the existing procedures for maintaining dialogue with employees who are off sick, ensuring that everyone knows and follows these procedures.
Are your managers equipped to address sickness absence and wellbeing issues at an early stage?
Test your own organisation
- Do you have a procedure for maintaining contact with employees who are off sick (e.g. 1-4-14-28)?
- Are all employees aware of why they receive a phone call?
- Have you discussed these procedures in the Safety and Health Committee?
- Do you hold conversations with employees who have sporadic sickness absence?
- Are your managers prepared to address difficult conversations at an early stage?
Sickness absence data
You systematically monitor and use the organisation’s data to identify patterns and trends.
You use data to initiate preventive measures at both individual and group level.
Test your own organisation
- Has sickness absence increased, and does it relate to short-term or long-term absence?
- Do you have access to data so you can monitor developments systematically?
- Do you need help using your data?
- Do you find it difficult to identify patterns and use your data for preventive action?
Prevention
You address all preventive initiatives implemented across all levels of your organisation:
Do they have an impact on sickness absence?
Is there anything that needs to be changed?
Test your own organisation
- Do you work proactively with health and safety and employee wellbeing?
- Are issues with wellbeing and stress addressed early, for example through regular 1:1 meetings?
- Do you respond when a colleague or employee displays changed behaviour, such as starting to distanc themselves?
- Do you launch appropriate preventive actions across all organisational levels, ensuring a tangible impact on sickness absence?
Clear leadership
Clear and effective leadership is crucial.
You consider whether it is absolutely clear to everyone that the ambition is to reduce sickness absence by two days per employee, and that everyone understands the purpose behind this.
Test your own organisation
- Have you, as management, clearly set out your target for sickness absence? For example, to reduce sickness absence by two days per employee.
- Has the importance of this been communicated to staff?
- And has everyone understood it?
Organisation and ownership
You reflect on whether the organisation has a clear system for, and anchoring of, the sickness absence initiative:
Do managers and staff representatives collaborate to reduce sickness absence, making use of each other’s roles and resources?
Test your own organisation
- Do you have a clear system for anchoring of the sickness absence initiative?
- Are you familiar with each other’s roles as managers and employee representatives?
- Are you effective at working together on the sickness absence task?
Coordination of sickness absence
You consider whether you maintain a continuous focus on:
1. reducing adsence
2. sharing knowledge internally about what works
3. ensuring that managers have access to support and advice.
Test your own organisation
- Do you keep a continual focus on reducing sickness absence?
- Do you share knowledge about effective measures with other departments?
- Do your managers have access to support and advice on complex sickness absence cases?
Absence/presence culture
You reflect on whether your organisation has a positive culture around absence and presence:
Is there a shared understanding of when one turns up to work, and when one is too unwell to attend?
Test your own organisation
- Do you have a healthy culture around absence and presence?
- Is there agreement on when one should attend work, and when one is too unwell to come in?
- Do you support one another during busy periods, and is there an ongoing dialogue about which behaviours best support your core tasks?
Return to work
From the very first day of sickness absence, you consider how to support the employee’s return to work.
You also address how to involve the remaining team members, and how to prioritise tasks going forward.
Test your own organisation
- From day one, have you considered how the employee can return to work?
- Which requirements, tasks, adjustments, and support are needed?
- Are you aware of potential opportunities, and do you involve the rest of the team to help make a successful return possible?
Any questions?
