When you log into Manager Self Service (MSS), select “Case Manager” to access the Case Management Module where you will be able to review the details of all cases where you have a role in the process.
You will be taken the screen below:
Click on “Cases”
You will be taken to the screen below:
For more tips on navigating the Case Management Summary page please see the section highlighted: Navigating the Case Summary Page
The easiest way to find a case is by searching for the employee name using the search facility in the top left corner.
Opening a case:
To access a case, click on any of the hyperlinks (such as the raised date, case type, case sub type, case owner etc) beside the employee name.
You will be taken to the screen below:
To go back to the previous screen, click on the person’s name in the top middle of the screen:
Data Fields in White Box at Top of Page:
- Case Type – Shows the Case Type (e.g. Grievance, Absence, Disciplinary)
- Case Sub Type – Short Term, Long Term and Medical Condition (not absent)
- Case Additional Sub Type – not used.
- Raised Date – for a long term case this will be the first day of absence; for a short term case this will be the day that they have hit the short term trigger and for the medical condition the date this was deemed a case.
- Current Stage – This is the current stage that the case is at
- Reported By – not used.
- Case Owner – Line Manager or Manager managing absence
- Advisor – HR Advisor for this case
- Outcome – Outcome of the Case once Closed
- Next Action Date – used to note actions required by line mangers/HR for this case
- UDF Absence – click on show more –
- For Long Term
- OH Apt date – date of most recent OH apt
- Absence Reason – drop down list
- Return to Work date – when employee has returned to work
- Dismissal date – date of dismissal
- For Short Term & Medical Condition (not absent)
- OH Apt date – date of most recent OH apt
- Dismissal Date – date of dismissal
- For Long Term
Data Tabs in White Box in Middle of Page – Absence Life Cycle Stages:
The stages of the Supporting Attendance process are outlined across the middle of the page with target dates for when each stage should be completed. These dates are outlined in the procedure and should be stuck to as far as possible. They will flag as overdue if you are out with timescales in holding these meetings.
Long Term
- Case Raised – this will be the first day of absence
- Informal Supporting Attendance Meeting
- Stage 1 – First Supporting Attendance Meeting
- Stage 2 – Second Supporting Attendance Meeting
- Stage 3 – Third Supporting Attendance Meeting
- Stage 4 – Management Review Meeting
- Stage 5 – Ill Health Capability Meeting
- Stage 6 – Appeal against Dismissal
Short Term
- Case Raised – this will be the day that the short term trigger was met
- Stage 1 – First Supporting Attendance Meeting
- Stage 2 – Second Supporting Attendance Meeting
- Stage 3 – Management Review Meeting
- Stage 4 – Final Supporting Attendance Meeting
- Stage 5 – Appeal against Dismissal
As the Line Manager or manager managing the absence case you are expected to keep this case up to date with all actions you have taken whilst moving through the process.
Please find below a process flow for the roles and responsibilities in the process:
As Line Manager you are responsible for updating the following in the Case Mgt Module:
- Update using the notes of a summary of absence contact they have with the employee, update any actions e.g. sending employee information about EAP or a Stress Risk Assessment doc, explain delays in the process, any other relevant information. Might also store emails if they are significant, a stress risk assessment or a letter from a Dr.
- Move stages when a stage is completed
- Upload the invite to meeting and outcome of meeting letters to the relevant stages and any other relevant documentation.
- Use UDFs to update Position Reference, RTW date (if Long Term Absence), dismissal date
- Change the case status
- Update “Next action date” when action completed
- Share cases with another line manager if two managers are working on the same case
- Close the Case choosing the most appropriate reason
- Re-open a case
The HR Advisor of the case is responsible for updating the following on the Case Management Module:
- Updating the notes when advice given to the line manager or contact from the employee
- Update “Next action date” when action completed
- Change dates of a SAM meeting if appropriate with an explanation.
- Linking other cases such as disciplinary or grievance
- Share cases with another line manager if two managers are working on the same case
The HRSC is responsible for:
- Updating the date for the next OH apt
- Uploading the OH memo
To add notes:
Click the 3 dots next to “Next stage” and click “Add note”
When you click add note, a box will open where you can type your note and then click the arrow on the right to submit it.
The system will time stamp the note with today’s date and time but if you are late in updating the note please ensure that you include the details of the date that the conversation/information pertains to.
To edit a note, click the pencil icon on the right-hand side, edit your message and click the save icon.
NB: It will note the date that note was last updated as well as the original date created.
To move stages:
Prior to moving stages ensure that you have updated the notes in this stage summarising the action that you have taken.
Click on the Green “Next Stage” button
To Add Attachments:
When you click Add attachment, you will need to give the attachment a name e.g. SAM Outcome Form, SAM Invite Letter. Choose the document type (Case Management Documents) from a drop-down list and then choose the document from your files.
NB: you can only upload one document at a time.
Click save to add the attachment.
To delete an attachment, hover over the attachment and click the x. You will see a pop-up on your screen saying “The attachment will be deleted. Continue?”. Click “Ok”, or “Cancel” to undo.
Adding Notes or Attachments to Closed Stages:
Click on Go to stage
You can only add notes or attachments to whatever stage you are currently on. Please avoid reopening stages where possible but if necessary to add notes or attachments go back and re-open a stage, click “Go to stage” and select from a drop-down list which stage you would like to go to.
Then click “Save” and you will be taken to the stage you chose. Press “Cancel” to undo.
That stage will be marked as reopened and the date to show the history.
You can edit the “*** STAGE REOPENED ***” boxes by clicking the pencil icon, then edit your message to advise why the stage was reopened and click the save icon.
NB: Remember to use the Next Stage button to get back to the current stage of the case. The stages will be marked as re-opened and the date on the lifecycle will be amended to reflect the new date this stage was closed which is why it is important to avoid doing this and if you must then to explain why.
Add details to UDF fields:
You will need to update the details of the Position reference, return to work date and dismissal date (if appropriate).
Note: To find the position reference number, it will be visible on the case itself. It will always be on the first note that you see when you open the case. See a video below for how to update the position reference number:
Click the three dots in the top right corner and scroll down to UDF Details:
Long term
Short term
Important note: It is essential that you fill out the Position Reference box as it helps for reporting purposes.
Click Save
Change the case status
If you receive an email notifying you of an absence case, then you will need to update the case status to “In progress”. If you do not do this, then you will continue to receive emails.
To update this, click on the three dots in the top right corner and click on “Change case status”
This will take you to the screen below
Click the dropdown box and select “In Progress”
Click “Save”
Update next action date
You may have agreed specific actions with the employee or Advisor on the case e.g. OH referral to be completed or Stress Risk Assessment to be sent to employee and the next action date may be used to record this with deadline dates.
To create a next action date:
Click on the three dots in the top right corner and click on “Change next action date”
This will take you to the screen below
- Next action date (you can either type in the date manually or click on the calendar icon on the right and select the date)
- Note/Action (Text box)
Click “Add” to add the next action date. This will appear at the bottom.
If you click the pencil icon on the right, you can edit the date and the note/action.
To complete an action noted in next action date:
Tick the “Action completed” box that has now appeared since you added the next action date
Click the save icon on the right
Sharing a case:
If there is more than one manager working on a case then you can share this case with the other manager by using the share case functionality.
Click on the three dots in the top right corner and click on “Sharing”
This will take you to the screen below
- Click on the magnifying glass icon on the right. This will open a user search where you can search for the person to share the case with.
- You can search by Forename, Surname, Personal Reference and Username.
- Click on any of the hyperlinks (username, name etc) and they will be added to the box
- Lock (Tick box)
To remove someone’s name, click on their name and click the cross icon on the right
Click save when you have added the people you want to share the case with
Close the Case:
Click on Close Case:
Choose the outcome that matches the outcome of the case at the stage you are closing it.
The outcomes you can choose are:
Long Term:
- Capability dismissal
- Employee resigned
- Ill health early retirement
- Redeployment
- Returned to work
Short Term:
- Capability dismissal
- Employee resigned
- Ill health early retirement
- No further review
- Redeployment
Click save
Re-open a case
There may be times where you need to re-open a case e.g. the employee returns to work but then goes off sick again or the employee returns to work on amended duties and you want to continue to update the case with relevant information.
Click the 3 dots in the top right-hand corner and click “Re-open case”
You will get a notification saying “Are you sure you wish to re-open this case?”
Click “Ok”
When preparing for a Management Review of the case all of the documents and the timeline of the case can easily be downloaded and provided to the reviewer.
To PDF Print, click the PDF icon in the top right-hand corner
This will download the case
Click “open file” and this will add to your downloads in your files where you can open the PDF.
Open the PDF and click the Print icon in the top right-hand corner
This will open the print page. Fill out the printer options to your specifications and click “Print”
Automatic Emails
The system will generate automatic emails in the following circumstances:
- Case Created – when a case is created an email will go to the Case Owner (Line Manager) to advise them that a case has been created and remind them of their responsibilities.
- Stage Overdue – an email will got the Case Owner (Line Manager) to advise that the stage is now overdue and encourage them to move quickly or discuss with their Advisor.
- Change of Owner – if there is a change of Line manager or person managing the case then an email will be sent to advise of the change and their responsibilities.
Navigating the Case Summary Page
Along the top
Along the top, you can see the number of cases that are:
- Open
- Flagged
- Overdue
- Raised this week
- Closed this week
You can also filter the cases by:
- Case type
- Case sub type
- Case additional sub type
- Current stage
- Stage due date
- Next action date
- Current status
- Raised date
- Case owner
- Adviser
There is also:
- a search bar, where you can search for specific cases by employee name
- A refresh button to refresh your screen to see any new cases/updates whilst you have been accessing the summary page
- Sort by: You can sort each column by ascending, descending etc
Case information
Along the top, you will see details of the case, such as Case type, Case sub type, Case Owner etc.
Each case is represented by icons to easily identify the state of a case:
You can also see:
- Name of Employee (actor)
- Case type
- Case sub type
- Case additional sub type
- Current stage
- Stage due date
- Next action date
- Current status
- Raised date
- Case owner
- Adviser
Bottom of the screen
You will see:
- Case details
- Raise a case – new
If you click “Case details”, this will open a panel on the left-hand side. This will allow you search for cases through multiple different categories.
- Acted upon
- Acted upon type
- Advisor
- Case additional subtype
- Case description
- Case subtype
- Case type
- Closed date
- Next action date
- Owner
- Raised date
- Reference No.
- Status
If you click the 3 dots, this will allow you to:
- Advanced search
- Smart groups
- Export to excel
To get help
If your query could not be answered within the guidance given above, please raise a support request, email HRemployeerelationsenquiries@argyll-bute.gov.uk or contact Employee Relations on 01546 605513 (Option 3) followed by Option 4 – Employee Relations Advice Line.