Absence Management
Employee absence can be a high cost and burden to a small business. To reduce costs you need to have an effective process in place for reporting and monitoring absence.
You are advised to have a process in place to deal with employees who take regular time off sick or are absent for a long period of time. In dealing with sickness absence you need to consider whether it may be covered by disability discrimination and you therefore may be required to make reasonable adjustments.
It is also important to have an absence policy including, how and when holiday can be taken, medical appointments and any other time allowed off paid or unpaid.
As an employer you have certain legal obligations in regards to maternity, adoption, flexible working, parental, paternity leave – these have been constantly changing and with further government proposals in the next few years.