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DIsciplinary procedure or absence capability route?

Jacqueline Burnett

Hi All,

I'm interested in how other companies deal with absence issues - whether it is via the disciplinary procedure (for short term unrelated absences) or via an absence procedure for related but sporadic absences.

Do you use the disciplinary procedure for unrelated periodic absences?

How do you manage absences which keep occuring for the same reasons 1) for non disability related and 2) for disability related absences.

If you have any policies you could share that would be great.

Thank you in advance.

Jackie 

 

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  • Hi Jackie

    It isn't appropriate or fair to issue someone with a warning for something which is beyond their control and which they cannot improve, which is therefore a capability issue, so this comes down to whether you have good reason to believe the employee is malingering or they that they genuinely have a lot of sickness absence.

    If someone is off a lot, even if the absences look trivial and unrelated, I would still get an OH opinion as I would want to know if there was a possibility of an underlying cause. In my experience, there generally isn't (horses not zebras) but I did have an employee who was diagnosed with lupus, whereupon her history of absences for all sorts of reasons including putting her back out, pains in various joints and doctor's appointments to get a stubborn rash looked at, suddenly all made sense.

    If the absences are genuine but frequent, you then need to take a view on whether the organisation can support that level of absence.

    There is a really useful discussion of the difference between capability and conduct here: https://www.cipd.co.uk/Community/discussion-forum/hr_strategy_and_function/f/general/59203/conduct-and-capability-compare-and-contrast/307768#307768 . Capability is considered in a broader sense that illness and covers things which are susceptible to improvement by e.g. providing training, but I think you'll still find it very relevant to you questions.

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  • Hi Jackie

    It isn't appropriate or fair to issue someone with a warning for something which is beyond their control and which they cannot improve, which is therefore a capability issue, so this comes down to whether you have good reason to believe the employee is malingering or they that they genuinely have a lot of sickness absence.

    If someone is off a lot, even if the absences look trivial and unrelated, I would still get an OH opinion as I would want to know if there was a possibility of an underlying cause. In my experience, there generally isn't (horses not zebras) but I did have an employee who was diagnosed with lupus, whereupon her history of absences for all sorts of reasons including putting her back out, pains in various joints and doctor's appointments to get a stubborn rash looked at, suddenly all made sense.

    If the absences are genuine but frequent, you then need to take a view on whether the organisation can support that level of absence.

    There is a really useful discussion of the difference between capability and conduct here: https://www.cipd.co.uk/Community/discussion-forum/hr_strategy_and_function/f/general/59203/conduct-and-capability-compare-and-contrast/307768#307768 . Capability is considered in a broader sense that illness and covers things which are susceptible to improvement by e.g. providing training, but I think you'll still find it very relevant to you questions.

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