Sickness absence review meeting at Aalborg University
Guide for employees
The purpose of the sickness absence review meeting
The purpose of the meeting is employee retention; that is, to talk to your line manager about how you might return to work. The meeting is intended to support you as an employee and to give you an opportunity to discuss any problems or raise any concerns, including the causes of your absence and whether this may be caused by workplace conditions.
Such a meeting held at an early stage may help prevent long periods of sickness absence and ensure that you are aware of your future options.
The focus of the meeting is your work situation and your opportunities for resuming your work despite your illness. The meeting is not about your diagnosis, the nature of your illness or controlling if you are ill.
Your responsibilities as an employee
Your line manager is required to invite you to attend a sickness absence review meeting, and you are required to attend. According to AAU’s guidelines, your line manager is required to invite you for a review meeting in cases of frequent periods of absence, atypical absence patterns and long-term absence. If you are unable to attend a meeting at the University due to illness, the review meeting may be held over the telephone.
You are entitled to invite a companion to the meeting, e.g. your union representative, partner, good friend, etc. Most importantly, it should be someone you trust.
Ensuring that the conversation proceeds appropriately and is focused on the purpose of the meeting, namely retention and return to work, is a shared responsibility between you and your line manager.
The sickness absence review meeting: before, during and after
The sickness absence review meeting does not only involve the meeting itself. In order to create a basis for a good employee retention agreement, you should prepare before the meeting and consider your options in advance, such as your options for returning to work on a part-time basis for a certain period of time, returning to work on restricted duties, etc.After the meeting, it is crucial that you and your line manager follow up on any agreements made; the sickness absence review meeting is only part of the retention process.
Before the meeting
To prepare for the meeting, you can find information in the retention and action plan template on the HR Department website and gain an insight into the issues of the meeting. Preparing yourself and considering your options in advance will form a good basis for the meeting. For this purpose, these additional questions may be useful.
Finding the reasons for your absence - this element matches the retention and action plan and is intended as inspiration for further consideration-How are you?
-How do you feel about returning to work?
-Do you consider workplace conditions to be a contributing factor to your absence (stressful workdays, bullying, noise, heavy lifting, etc.)?
-Are you generally satisfied with your job/your tasks?
-How would you describe your relationship with your colleagues?
The likely duration of your absence - this element matches the retention and action plan and is intended as inspiration for further consideration
-How long do you expect to be on sick leave?
-What is the prospect of your full or phased return to work?
-Would it be better for you to resume your duties on a part-time basis? How many hours?
-Do you expect to be able to start up on a part-time basis at a later stage?
-Have you consulted your doctor?
-Do you already know of any planned courses of treatment where you will be unable to work?
What are your thoughts about how your absence may affect task performance? This element matches the retention and action plan and is intended as inspiration for further consideration
-Which tasks have become difficult for you to undertake due to your illness/frequent periods of absence? Are there any tasks that might have become easier to undertake?
-Which tasks can you continue to undertake despite your condition?
-Can you think of any other tasks not part of your usual duties that might be better for you? (For example, if you suffer from back pains, you might consider tasks that do not comprise heavy lifting etc., or if you are sensitive to light, you might consider tasks that do not comprise display screen work.)
-Considering your current condition, what would constitute an ideal working day for you?
What aids or other measures may be offered to shorten or reduce your sickness absence? This element matches the retention and action plan and is intended as inspiration for further consideration
-Can your workplace/line manager do anything to support you in returning to work sooner?
-Can your workplace/line manager do anything to support you in reducing your periods of absence?
-Would it help you if a colleague were to assist you with specific tasks?
-Considering your current condition, what would constitute an ideal working day for you?
-Can you think of any aids or other measures that might make it possible for you to resume your duties?
-Can you think of anything you might do yourself to make it possible for you to return to work sooner?
What are the thoughts of your line manager as regards how your absence may affect task performance in the workplace? This element matches the retention and action plan and is intended as inspiration for further consideration
Your line manager will probably tell you about the initiatives taken during your absence and possibly who is currently performing your tasks. If not, please feel free to ask.
Concluding the meeting
Your line manager may conclude the meeting by suggesting that you both consider and clarify the following issues:
-Which initiatives can we take together to make a plan for you returning to work as soon as possible and in the best possible way?
-During your sickness absence, how and when do you think we should be in contact?
-What would you like me to tell your colleagues?
Most importantly, it should be clear to you what you have agreed on and who is responsible for what and when. If you are in doubt, make sure to ask your line manager to summarise these decisions.
During the meeting
Keep in mind that your line manager is trying to support you in finding solutions to ensure that you will return to work and stay in your job despite your sickness absence. Remember that if you need a break during the meeting, this is completely understandable.
After the meeting
During the meeting, your line manager will be taking notes so that they can prepare an action plan after the meeting; this will help you both to evaluate and follow up on the agreements made. If you do not agree with issues or agreements noted by your line manager, you must notify your line manager.
The retention and action plan must be approved by both parties.
Follow-up
The meeting must be seen as part of a process to support you in returning to work. Therefore, it is important that you follow up on the agreements made during the review meeting. The concrete initiatives that you both agree on during the meeting should form the basis for your return to work; therefore, you and your line manager should make an effort to implement these initiatives and follow up on the outcome. The plan might be adjusted during the process if the desired outcome is not achieved. This is only possible if you continue to be in close contact during the process.
The required frequency of follow-up will differ, but, as a general rule, you ought to be in contact more frequently at the beginning of a period of sick leave/return to work until any agreed action plan is properly established/increased attendance has been achieved. Protective and supportive measures as well as specific agreements made in the individual processes should always be temporary agreements in order to balance the individual consideration with considerations of the general good, including considerations of your colleagues in the unit.
Support
If you need guidance and/or assistance, you are always welcome to contact the sickness absence team at the HR Department.
Should you need professional support, you are welcome to contact AAU’s psychological counselling service.
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