Managing Attendance Policy
Document Author(s): Kate Redmond, Executive Assistant
Relevant to: All staff
Responsibility for Policy: Chief Executive and Trustees
Responsibility for document review: Executive Assistant
Document introduced: 1st November 2013
Next Review Date: 1st March 2020*
*The Chief Executive reserves the right to amend this document at any time should the need arise
Any questions with regards to this policy can be directed to Kate Redmond, Executive Assistant
Contents
Page
Purpose 3
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Statement 3
Annual leave 3
Sickness absence 4-7
Maternity leave
*If you, the staff member are pregnant 7-9
Partners leave
*If your partner is pregnant 9-10
Adoptive and Surrogacy leave
*For parents adopting a child/ children or expecting via a surrogate 9-10
Parental leave
*To care for child/children 10-11
Grandparents leave
*Where you become a grandparent 11
Medical and dental appointments 11
Court appearances
*Jury, witness or defendant 11
Domestic incidents and compassionate leave 12
Flexible working requests 12
Emergency leave entitlement 13-14
Purpose
To provide a framework for a positive and pro-active approach to the management of attendance.
It is LiverpoolSU’s priority to provide a supportive, safe and inclusive working environment that encourages all employees to manage their health and wellbeing and maintain their attendance at work.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Statement
We are committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion for the benefit of our diverse workforce and student population. LiverpoolSU will provide the necessary support to employees, ensuring everyone is treated in a consistent and fair manner.
Annual leave
Core Staff
For core staff annual leave entitlement is stated in the employment contract (and shown in the totals of your electronic time sheet). In order to request annual leave you need to seek approval from your line manager. To do so please send an outlook calendar invitation*.
Your line manager will either approve the request or they may require more information. If a holiday request is ever refused, you can expect a full explanation from your line manager.
*Please send your annual leave request as an event in your outlook calendar to your line manager so that it shows in yours and your line manager’s calendar but not in the main section.
Ideally you need to put the request in at least 1 month prior to your wanting to take the time off, however the decision is at the discretion of your line manager.
Staff are also able to request Duvet Days (short notice annual leave days) up to a maximum of 4 per annum that are deducted from your annual leave entitlement. These are approved at the discretion of your line manager and will subject to there being no prior diary commitments or other departmental requirements. LiverpoolSU would appreciate that you give at least one day notice of a duvet day request but in some circumstances would consider on the day requests subject to your diary being completely clear.
The annual leave year runs from 1st August to the next succeeding 31st July. The Union strongly believes that it is important for all staff to take time off to recharge and to partake in other interests so we encourage staff to take all of their holiday entitlement each year. Only in exceptional circumstances (maternity leave, parental leave, long term sickness etc) and subject to approval by the Chief Executive may you carry up to 35 hours leave (or part-time equivalent) over into the start of the next academic year. Any leave that is carried over must be used no later than 31st December. If you do not use all of your holiday entitlement you will lose it.
Please note we would not expect staff to request to take annual leave in welcome week and only exceptionally in the first term as this is our busiest member focused time of year. Term-time holidays are granted at the discretion of your line manager.
Student Staff
Student staff holiday pay is calculated and paid at intervals through the year.
Holidays are to be paid in December, April and August pay and calculated at a rate of 12.07% of the hourly rate of pay.
Sickness absence
Union Sickness Benefit Scheme for Core Staff
Liverpool Students’ Union may continue to pay you your normal basic salary during any period or periods of absence due to sickness or other similar cause incapacitating you from attending for work. Such payment will be inclusive of any statutory sick pay or other benefits to which you may be entitled. Within a period of any 52 weeks, payment of sickness benefit will be made as follows, according to length of continuous service at the start of the period of sick leave. Please note as per table below that during probationary period (the first 26-weeks of employment) staff are only entitled to statutory sick pay:
Length of Service Full Pay Half Pay
Before 26 Weeks SSP only SSP only
After 26 Weeks 2 weeks 2 weeks
After 12 Months 2 months (8 weeks) 2 months (8 weeks)
After 24 Months 3 months (13 weeks) 3 months (13 weeks)
After 36 Months 4 months (17 weeks) 4 months (17 weeks)
After 48 Months 5 months (21 weeks) 5 months (21 weeks)
After 60 Months 6 months (26 weeks) 6 months (26 weeks)
Sick pay allowance is calculated by deducting the above entitlement (length of service) with any taken periods of paid absence due to sick leave during the 52 weeks after the first day of absence.
If an employee exhausts their full pay entitlement, they will not be entitled to full pay sick leave until 12 months has elapsed from their return to work.
The full pay entitlement is the amount required to bring any sick pay up to the equivalent of the employee’s normal weekly earnings.
The ‘normal weekly earnings’ for the purposes of sick pay will be based on an average of the last 12 weeks.
The SSP (Statutory Sick Pay) benefit to be taken into account is the full SSP rate to which the employee is entitled on the basis that they satisfy the criteria stipulated by the Benefits Agency.
Where absence results from injury and where a member of staff makes a claim against a third party, a calculation of pay received from the Union should be included in the claim. If the claim is successful, the member of staff must inform the Chief Executive and an amount equivalent to this calculation of pay must be returned to the Union. Failure to do so may result in disciplinary action.
The requirement to make a refund from damages received does not extend to any sum awarded by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board.
Absence procedure that you must follow to be eligible for sick pay (applies to both Core Staff and Student Staff)
If you are unable to come into work you must ring your line manager or supervisor by 8.45am or at least 2 hours before the start of your shift. In the absence of your line manager you should ring Reception (from 9am) and report your absence to them. Upon your return to work you are required to attend a return to work meeting with your line manager (or designated representative in their absence) on your return. When reporting absence, you must include the following;
· Why you are absent
· An indication of how long you expect to be away
· If you have any appointments that need to be cancelled or tasks reallocated
· Contact details in case your line manager needs to clarify anything with you
You must repeat the above process for every day that you are absent unless agreed otherwise by your line manager.
Eligibility for sick pay, Statutory sick pay (SSP) & Union Sickness Benefit Scheme
You are required to comply with this policy in order to qualify for any sick pay that is due to you. If these procedures are not followed, sick pay may be withheld.
On your 4th day away from work (including weekends) you must self-certify by filling in an ‘Employees Statement of Sickness’ (SC2). This needs to be brought into the Union immediately. Copies are available from your line manager, your doctor’s surgery or electronically at www.hmrc.gov.uk/forms/sc2.pdf.
If you have been away from work for more than 7 days you will need to forward a medical certificate (statement of fitness for work) to the Executive Assistant to enable the Union to decide if you are eligible for sick pay.
More information is available at: https://www.gov.uk/taking-sick-leave.
Where you have been involved in an incident that means you are unable to contact the Union immediately then you must inform the Union as soon as possible.
In instances of frequent short term absence and long term absence, the Union reserves the right to refer employees to an independent medical advisor of our choosing. Subject to your eligibility, absences due to illness lasting up to 7 days (including the weekend), which have been notified to the Union, will be authorised for payment as detailed below.
Statutory Sick Pay
Core staff of LiverpoolSU are eligible for statutory sick pay only, from the fourth day of sickness that would have been a normal working day, providing that notification and evidence has been submitted in accordance with the Union’s Managing Attendance Policy.
Return to Work
Immediately upon your return to work you will be expected to complete a ‘return to work’ form at a meeting your line manager. The form is to;
· Establish the reason for the absence
· See if the absence is likely to recur
· See if there are any underlying causes to the absenteeism
· See what, if any, further support you need from the Union.
Return to work form and guidelines can be found at: Z:HR\LineManagers\RTW\RTWForm and Z: HR\LineManagers\RTW\RTWguidelines
Persistent Short Term Absence
Most short term absence is for genuine reasons and is likely to end within seven days and the most common reasons for short term absence are:
· minor illness;
· stress;
· musculoskeletal disorders;
· recurring medical conditions;
· back pain.
Persistent short-term absence review would be triggered where you have been absent from work on 6 occasions within 24 months. Once you hit 6 occasions in any 24 months or if you are considered to have a history of persistent short-term absence, the Chief Executive will be asked to attend the return to work interview with your line manager. Where you have offered no medical evidence you may be asked to consult your doctor or a designated Union Occupational Therapist to establish whether medical treatment is necessary or whether the underlying reason for absence is work related. If, after investigation, it appears that there were no good reasons for absence, the matter will be dealt with through the Union disciplinary procedure.
However, the Union reserves the right in cases of persistent short-term absence to review your continuous employment after due warning and consultation, even where there are good medical or other good reasons for absence.
Where such absence is the result of a temporary domestic situation, the Union will consider what flexibility, if any, can be offered.
In all cases you will be informed, in writing, what improvements are required and warned of the likely consequences if this does not happen.
Long Term Absence
Long term absence is an absence that has or is likely to last more than 4-weeks.
Where it is likely that you will be unable to work for some time due to illness the Union will maintain regular contact with both you and, with your consent your GP. The level of contact will be negotiated between you and your line manager but will usually be at least fortnightly. Your GP will be asked when a return to work is expected and of what type of work you are capable of doing. Where alternative work is available the Union may suggest it. At any stage the Union may ask you to visit a designated Union Occupational Therapist to undergo an independent medical examination that you are required to attend.
The Union reserves the right to review your continued employment in cases of long term absence. Listed below are some examples of causes of long-term absence. This list is not-exhaustive and would consider other reasons for absence too:
· Acute medical conditions.
· Musculoskeletal injuries.
· Stress.
· Mental ill health.
· Back pain.
Long Term Return to Work
Upon your return to work, you will be expected to attend a ‘return to work’ meeting with your line manager and the Chief Executive. The discussion is to;
· Begin an induction programme back into work
· Inform you of any changes that have occurred whilst you have been absent
· Update you on any new procedures, colleagues and tools
· Agree objectives to enable you to manage a successful return to work
· Check if you need any further support from your line manager/Union.
Return to work form and guidelines can be found at: Z:HR\LineManagers\RTW\RTWForm and Z: HR\LineManagers\RTW\RTWguidelines
Maternity leave
This is an ever changing area of employment law and this section exceeds statutory minimum requirements at March 2017. Please refer to http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/WorkAndFamilies/DG_10026556 for more details of the statutory rights of pregnant women.
Employees can take up to 52 weeks’ maternity leave. The first 26 weeks is known as ‘Ordinary Maternity Leave’, the last 26 weeks as ‘Additional Maternity Leave’.
If you find you are pregnant then you need to inform the Union of your pregnancy at least 15 weeks before the beginning of the week your baby is due. However the Union would advise that you let us know as early as possible so we can:
· Allow you paid reasonable time off to attend ante natal appointments – as well as medical appointments these appointments can include relaxation and parenting classes if recommended by your doctor (the Union requests that you make appointments outside of working hours where you can).
· Do a pregnancy risk assessment (employee and line manager) of your work station and duties to ensure the Union is a safe place for you to work. The risks might be lifting or carrying heavy loads; standing or sitting for long periods; exposure to toxic substances and working long hours. We will make every effort to minimise all risks but if it is not possible to remove the risk or prevent you being exposed to it (by providing alternative work) we may need to suspend you from work on full pay.