EPPING FOREST COLLEGE HR

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SICKNESS ABSENCE

FOR ALL EMPLOYEES OF EPPING FOREST COLLEGE
FOREWORD

Most people are not usually concerned about the rules on sickness absence
until they become ill and cannot come to work. At that stage there is often no
one close at hand to give advice.

These notes have been prepared to fill that gap. You should keep them at
home so that you can refer to them if you are ill.

By following these rules you will not only help the College to monitor and
control absence but will also ensure that the correct pay or benefits are paid
to you.

It may be that the reason for your absence is such that you need the help or
advice of the HR department or the Occupational Health Service.

There is space at the end of this procedure for you to record important office
telephone numbers for important work contacts.

You can see the full rules and conditions governing sickness absence by
asking the HR department.

1. WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE SICK?

Should you be too ill to come to work, you should telephone EFC Staff Sick
Absence line on 0208 502 8777 (24 Hours) and your manager as soon as
possible after the start of the working day and explain:
a. why you are unable to come to work
b. how long you think the sickness absence might last
c. what action you are taking to mitigate the effects of the illness, eg
visiting the doctor
d. where you can be contacted during the day should the College need to
get in touch with you.
If your incapacity lasts for more than one day, unless you have submitted a
doctors certificate, you should telephone every day to keep the College
abreast of progress.

If you fail to report your illness promptly your absence may be recorded as
unauthorised, in which case your pay could be delayed or stopped
altogether. Therefore please obtain your Line Managers telephone number
and note it down on the last page of these notes.

If you are likely to have any difficulties in letting your Line Manager know on
your first day of absence because, for example, you live alone and do not
have a telephone, you must agree other arrangements in advance.

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EPPING FOREST COLLEGE HR

You should make these arrangements at once, and not wait until the first time
you are sick.

Probationers: As a new employee, it is important that you achieve a good

standard of attendance. If you cannot satisfy the College that your
attendance is at the required standard then we may not continue to employ
you or extend your probation to assure ourselves of your ability to meet
College requirements. On request, staff in the HR department will provide
information about the probationary review period.

2. WHAT ABOUT CERTIFICATES

You will not be paid for any days you are away from work unless you provide
a certificate covering the days you were absent. The certificate must state
clearly what is wrong with you. Sick pay may be refused if satisfactory
evidence is not provided.

Self Certificates & Medical Certificates:

A self-certificate form (Employee Absence Declaration form) must be

completed on your return to work. Additionally, your manager will conduct a
return to work interview with you. Failure to complete and return the Form
within 3 days may lead to the absence being considered unauthorised.

If your absence lasts for more than 7 days you must obtain a certificate
from your doctor to cover the period of your absence which is in excess of
7 days. You must send this certificate to the HR department as soon as
you get it.

If you are signed medically unfit by your doctor for a period of more than 14
days, you will be required to provide a certificate on your return to work
which signs you off as fit to work.

If you report sick on a Monday, and you report back to work on the following
Monday, you have been sick for 5 days (the Monday to the Friday) hence you
will need to complete an Employee Absence Declaration form which must
cover weekends and Bank Holidays for Statutory Sick Pay purposes, where
this is applicable.

If you report sick on a Wednesday and you report back to work on the
following Thursday, you have been sick for 8 days and you must obtain a
medical certificate from your doctor. Whilst you are certified sick by your
doctor you must not report for work nor undertake work at home.

You should be aware that any breach of sickness absence rules or the
falsification of details on NHS medical certificates or self certificates, may lead
to disciplinary action, including dismissal.

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3. WHAT PAY DO YOU GET IF YOU ARE SICK

Provided you follow the rules in this booklet, you will normally be paid in line
with your contract of employment and the amount of service you have
accrued with the College. You should refer to your contract of employment
for more detailed information. The College has a sick absence policy that
allows one months full pay in the first year of service and up to 6 months full
pay and 6 months half pay after 5 years service. However, sick absence in
the first four months of service attracts no pay, entitlement to SSP
(Statutory Sick Pay) is payable from the fourth continuous working day
of sickness.

If you are off sick for a period of time, we will advise you if we feel that we
need to arrange an appointment with our Occupational Health Service and
visit them at one of their local office. You will need to complete a consent
form in order for this visit to go ahead. After your visit to the Occupational
Health Service, he/she may advise the College that we need to contact your
GP for further medical information and another consent form will need to be
signed by you. A refusal to sign a consent form for whatever reason will result
in the College deducting your salary for a period of time. Your salary will only
be reinstated once you have agreed for the College to obtain further medical
reports from your GP.

4. WHAT IF YOU ARE SICK WHILST ON ANNUAL LEAVE

If you are taken ill whilst you are on annual leave, your absence can be
recorded as sick absence provided you produce a doctors certificate to
cover the period of your illness.

5. ACCIDENTS AND INJURIES

You must report all accidents arising out of, or in, the course of your work
immediately they occur, to your Line Manager, however, trivial they may
seem. You are also required to complete an accident form. (All accidents
must be recorded in the Accident Book which is maintained by the Health &
Safety Officer in the Estates department.

6. IF YOU BECOME ILL AT WORK

If you become ill at work, you should advise your Line Manager. You will then
need to decide whether you should rest in the First Aid room, or obtain
approval to go home by your Line Manager if you are too ill to stay. If you are
too ill to work the following day you should ring your Line Manager (and the
staff sick absence line) at the earliest opportunity and explain why.

7. INFECTIOUS DISEASES

Anyone who suffers from a notifiable infectious disease must not return to
work until they have received a certificate clearing them to return.

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EPPING FOREST COLLEGE HR

But you should not stay away from work simply because you have been in
contact with:-

scarlet fever
measles
rubella (German measles)
whooping cough
chicken pox
mumps
diphtheria

If you have been in close contact with German measles you must report this
immediately to your Line Manager. Your Manager may have to make
temporary arrangements to ensure that you do not come into close contact
with any colleague or student who is in the first 16 weeks of pregnancy.

If you come into direct contact with either TB or meningitis, please contact
your GP for medical advice about attending the workplace.

8. MEDICAL AND DENTAL APPOINTMENTS

You should always try to arrange appointments outside normal working hours.
However, if you must attend during working hours, you must tell your Manager
as soon as the appointment has been arranged. You should also tell your
Manager how long you expect the appointment to take and provide your
appointment card for him/her to see.

You are expected to return to work after the appointment unless your journey
is a very long one, the appointment is late in the afternoon or you are in pain
or discomfort after treatment. You should always tell your Line Manager if you
will not be able to return to work.

9. YOUR WELLBEING DURING YOUR EMPLOYMENT

If you are sick for a long time or suffering with a specified illness, the HR
department may contact you. This does not mean that we are checking up on
you. We do this to assist you and to see if we can be of help or offer advice in
any way.

We may ask your permission to refer you to the Occupational Health Service
to obtain further advice to support both you and Management in making
alternative arrangements once a medical prognosis for your return to work
has been given.
10. UNSATISFACTORY ATTENDANCE AT WORK

The HR department monitor all absences in consultation with Line Managers

and together, are responsible for assessing whether your attendance meet
EFC standards. If your attendance has to be questioned, account will be
taken of the nature and frequency of any absences, your overall attendance

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record, whether the absence is of a recurring nature and whether medical

opinion should be sought.

The primary aim of the HR department in this area is to help you to achieve a
satisfactory attendance level. However, if your attendance is unsatisfactory
and there is no evidence to suggest that it is likely to improve to an acceptable
level, the College is obliged to consider dismissing you on grounds of
incapacity due to ill health.

Note: The Colleges Occupational Health Service will, where appropriate, be

consulted in these cases and you would be informed if this action were to be
taken.

Your employment in the College depends on you reaching and maintaining a

satisfactory level of performance, conduct and attendance. If you fail to do
this, you may be dismissed.

11. OUTSIDE EMPLOYMENT

It is a requirement of your contract of employment that you should notify the

Principal if ever you take up secondary employment. You must remember
that your primary responsibility remains to the College. This means that if
you are sick you must stay away from your secondary employment, unless
the College agrees otherwise, until you are fit enough to return to work at
Epping Forest College.

If you are sick, you must not engage in any activity which may delay your
recovery and affect your eligibility for sick pay.

12. DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE RULES

If you are not clear about these rules when you have read them, please ask
for help. Your Line Manager or the HR department will be pleased to provide
assistance if anything is unclear.

Note: Remember to keep this booklet in a safe place at home. You will then
be able to refer to it right at the start of any period of sickness absence.

MAKE A NOTE BELOW OF NAMES AND TELEPHONE NUMBERS IN

CASE YOU NEED THEM

EFC Staff Sick Absence line: Tel. no. 0208 502 8777 (24 Hours)

Line Manager Name:

Office telephone number: .................................................................

Revised Sept 2017