Return to work forms and procedures
Return to work is a vital part of effective absence management. It helps ensure staff are well enough to return to work, and to understand why they were off sick. The return to work process also captures vital data to monitor patterns of absence.
It’s also a vital opportunity to identify staff in need of support, for example if sickness absence is related to a disability, potential mental illness, or long term health condition.
Self certification form and GP Fit for Work Notes
For absences of seven days or less, the self certification form built into Activ Absence is a brilliant pre-cursor to the return to work interview. It is sent automatically to the employee on their return to work, capturing important data.
For absences of seven days or more, the employee is required to provide medical evidence in the form of a Fit for Work note.
These can be stored electronically in Activ Absence, and for longer periods of absence, the expiry date can be tracked.
Configurable trigger points can help you keep track of key dates during long periods of absence, such as when notes expire or when you are able to refer employees for assessment under the Fitness for Work scheme.
It’s like having an extra pair of HR hands – to help your staff return to work as soon as they are ready
Using data from the Return to Work process
Collating absence information from Return to Work interviews and self-certification forms allows Activ Absence to deliver accurate analysis of absence patterns.
Patterns do more than tackle absenteeism – they help identify when staff are in need of support. Trends and patterns can also identify priorities when spending hard-won wellness budgets.
Here’s just some ways that the powerful reporting tools can help:
- Identify potential occupational manual handling risks where one department shows a high degree of injuries
- Identify stress risks by department, which may show a need for management training
- A high incidence of winter ‘flu could suggest a need for ‘flu jabs
- Identify disability-related absence, allowing you to discuss a condition which an employee may not notice getting worse
- Monitor high bradford factor scores
- Identify ‘presentees’ who may come to work ill and infect the rest of the team
Activ Absence helps HR managers to monitor, support and encourage their teams – because it’s not all about absence.