Dealing with staff sickness

How to deal with staff sickness
It has recently been reported that nearly 25% of companies said that absence has increased over the last 12 months. Over 33% believe that their employees were abusing their sickness absence process.
It is important to be understanding and sympathetic to those who are genuinely ill, but how can you protect your business from those abusing the system?
Reporting sickness absences:
You must have clear absence policies, which should be included in an employment manual or contract of employment. The information should be readily available to all staff, and the rules must be enforced consistently.
This should show the process of reporting an absence, the amount of paid absence an employee is entitled to, and what you consider to be a disciplinary matter. You may want to include specific policies such as sick pay will not be paid for more than 5 individual days absence in any 12 month period (this only applies to company sick pay, not SSP. For more details on Statutory Sick Pay see below).
Tell employees that they (or someone else) must notify you by telephone that they are sick by, say, 10am on each day of sickness. The employee should speak to a manager, rather than leave a message with reception/another employee.
When an employee telephones in, you should ask them why they are unable to work, and when they expect to return to work.
If an employee is absent for 7 days or less they should be given a self-certification form to complete upon returning to work. You can customise this Sample sickness self-cert form or download self-certification form SC2 from HMRC. It is worth noting however that form SC2 does not state that giving false information is a disciplinary offence, and has no place for a manager or supervisor to sign, which you may want to include.
When an employee is absent for more than 7 days, the employee should provide a doctors certificate, also known as a ‘fit note’.
You should also consider interviewing employees who have been off sick on their return. There may be things you can do to prevent a recurrence. For example, providing better seating for an employee with back problems.
Return to work interviews are the first line of defence against abuse of the system. They can also provide a starting point for helping those genuinely ill stay in work.
Detecting sickness patterns
It is important to record every instance of absence, no matter how long the employee is off for or the reason. This can help you detect trends, such as regular Friday afternoon or Monday morning absences. If you suspect that there is abuse of your sickness absence procedure, you should follow your disciplinary procedure to deal with the misconduct.
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) 
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is paid to employees who are unable to work because of illness. SSP is paid at the same time and in the same way as you would normally pay wages for the same period. The weekly rate of SSP from 6 April 2013 is £86.70.
Statutory Sick Pay should be paid to employees who meet certain criteria, when they are not entitled to company sick pay, or where your company does not pay sick pay. 
There are various criteria that must be met in order for you to pay SSP. Full details can be found on the HMRC website www.hmrc.gov.uk/payerti/employee/statutory-pay/ssp-overview.htm
SSP is only payable if there is a PIW (Period of Incapacity to Work). SSP isn’t payable for the first 3 days of absence, these are called waiting days. SSP is payable from the fourth day of absence, also known as the first qualifying day. For more details on PIW, waiting days and qualifying days, please get in touch or see the HMRC website.
An employee can only be paid for the first 28 weeks of absence. If an employee is still off after this time you should complete form SSP1 so that the employee can make a claim for Employment and Support Allowance from their local Jobcentre Plus.
As an employer, you may also be able to recover some or all of the SSP you pay from HM Revenue and Customs.
Employer Helpbook E14 (2013) will provide some useful information, and can be downloaded here.
Disclaimer – Please note: The ideas shared with you in this article are intended to inform rather than advise. This article does not intend to replace the need to take professional advice. If you do or do not take action as a result of reading this article, we will accept no responsibility or liability arising from any reliance placed on this article.