Hi everyone,

I'm having a bit of a battle about absence forms and people complaining about being asked to self certify if they are not at work. We send out absence forms for everyone who is absent during their normal working hours, unless it has been agreed in advance that they will use overtime to offset this. 

I am being told time and time again that it is causing people to stress out if they have to fill out a form when they're not in, especially if their absence has been agreed in advance. I'm being told it's a wellbeing issue but no-one has ever been to me as HR Manager to query the forms or that they are being asked to complete them. Our Employee Handbook clearly states the below: 

If your absence lasts for less than 8 calendar days, on your return to work you must complete an Absence Self-Certification explaining the reason for your absence.   The Academy requires any absence of more than 7 calendar days to be certified by a ‘Fit Note’ (Forms Med 3 or Med 10) and sent to the HR Manager immediately. Uncertified absence may be treated as misconduct and may not be paid.  

I'm after a bit of guidance as to how other schools handle absence reporting and if there is a threshold system in place for self certification before I go back to SLT

many thanks in advance

Kellyanne