Managing absence – the return to work interview

October 21, 2008

I’ve recently been asked for advice on managing sickness absence, as there seems to have been an increase in the number of days employees are taking off ill in an organisation that I provide HR support to. This is probably partly caused by the change in weather, and the fact that there are a lot of horrible bugs around at the moment, but in addition I think that the major financial turmoil many organisations are currently facing will have an effect on employee absence levels, especially in relation to ‘sickies’, i.e. those days that are taken as sick leave for less-than-genuine reasons. Apparently, of the 172 million working days lost to sick leave last year, around one in ten were caused by ‘sickies’, and I think that if we add issues with morale caused by the current difficulties and stress within organisations, as well as big changes such as large scale redundancies, this figure could be set to increase even further.

Sickness absence management has many different aspects, but one of the strongest tools for tackling it is the return to work interview. Here’s some top tips on carrying out a return to work interview:

  • The approach of the interviewer should be supportive and non-judgemental. Whilst the return to work interview may help to discourage frequent ‘sickie’ takers, don’t forget that the majority of sickness absence is genuine and therefore the purpose of the interview is not to catch them out, but to ensure they are supported in returning to work.
  • Collate details of all recent absences before the return to work interview, so that you can assess whether there is an ongoing issue or if the absence is a one off.
  • Hold the meeting in a quiet, confidential room, where the employee can feel comfortable discussing their illness.
  • Ensure the employee is informed that they have been missed, and explain any developments or actions that have taken place whilst they have been away.
  • Try to conduct the interview in a positive way, with positive language. For example, asking ‘how are you feeling now?’ may be more constructive than ‘what’s been wrong with you?’
  • Use open questions to gain further information and insight. Try to avoid leading questions such as ‘so you couldn’t come to work because you were being sick?’
  • Find out if there are any ongoing support needs as a result of the absence, and put together an action plan to enable this to take place. If necessary, plan a further meeting to review any actions or support needs.

I think that a return to work interview should take place after every episode of absence, no matter how small. Sometimes very short periods of absence can be due to a significant ongoing problem for an employee such as underlying issues with stress or depression, and only by inviting an open conversation in a safe environment will the employer be able to find out and tackle these issues that may go unnoticed if the company has a policy of only dealing formally with longer episodes of absence.

Posted by hrgirl | Filed Under HR Practice, Health and Well being 

Comments

2 Responses to “Managing absence – the return to work interview”

  1. Vincent Doheny on December 6th, 2008 9:09 am

    Hi. I was wondering if there is a legal requirement on when a RTW has to be completed by. Foe example, is 2 dys after the employee physically returned acceptable?
    Thank you.

  2. hrgirl on December 9th, 2008 9:55 am

    Hi Vincent

    There isn’t actually a legal requirement to carry out return to work interviews at all, however it is certainly best practice and many organisations and studies have found the return to work interview to be highly effective in helping to reducing absence levels. Therefore organisations will set their own acceptable timescales for the completion of return to work interviews, and this would normally be stated in the employee handbook or absence policy.

    I would say that if possible the return to work interview should be carried out on the employee’s first day back. This is because part of the purpose of the interview is to ensure the employee is up to date with any work or organisational changes that took place while they were off, and ensure they are actually ready to return to work.

    Hope this helps!

Got something to say?