Case Study: Sickness absence management

The management of sickness absence can be one of the most time-consuming aspects of people management.

One of our clients had an issue with an employee whose work performance was not meeting the required standard – the client was concerned that the poor performance might be linked to a known medical condition.

Ashtons HR Consulting were able to provide support by liaising with an Occupational Health (OH) provider on the client’s behalf and obtaining a medical report. The HR support we provided included drafting relevant questions for the OH provider to answer, tailoring the questionnaire to the client’s specific concerns. We also advised the client on the process of obtaining the employee’s permission to seek the report and responding to queries from the employee regarding the process. We also advised on the implications of the condition being classed as a disability under the Equality Act 2010.

Once the report had been received, we supported the client at a meeting with the employee to discuss the report and performance concerns. The Ashtons HR consultant took notes at the meeting and provided advice to both parties on the implications of the report and performance shortfall. Following the meeting, we provided the client with a typed transcript of the meeting and also advised on next steps.

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