Supporting Attendance at Work

A healthy workforce and a healthy working environment are essential to achieving high levels of attendance and providing high quality services. The Supporting Attendance at Work Policy and Procedures should be used positively and constructively to support and enable employees to return to or remain at work. Employee wellbeing is important to the council and positive and timely management of attendance issues is an active indication of this.

Line managers have a responsibility to monitor the wellbeing and attendance levels of those they manage. To assist with this a series of absence triggers have been implemented. Where an absence trigger has been met the Supporting Attendance at Work Procedures should be implemented. Please find further guidance on absence triggers below.  

At all stages, discussions should focus on exploring ways to improve and maintain employee wellbeing and attendance thereby ensuring service needs are met. The particular circumstances of each individual should be considered and relevant support measures implemented where these can contribute to improved attendance levels.

The new Supporting Attendance at Work Policy and Procedures were implemented on 01/10/2021. If you are already managing an existing absence under the previous maximising attendance procedures, please contact the Wellbeing Team for further guidance as it is likely that you will need to continue with the previous process and will need access to these resources.

The Supporting Attendance at Work Procedure should be applied via either the short term absence process or long term absence process below. For further guidance on how these should be applied please review information on Sickness Absence Triggers and Guidance on moving through the supporting attendance procedures.