YOUR BODY. YOUR SOUL. YOUR RITUALS. ABSENCE POLICY UK FRONTLINE - 2023 _________
YOUR BODY. YOUR SOUL. YOUR RITUALS. ABSENCE POLICY UK FRONTLINE Rituals cares about your health and wellbeing, and so we understand that from time to time you won’t feel well enough to come in to work. This could be down to a minor one-off absence, a minor absence that occurs more regularly, or a prolonged period of absence. As an employee of Rituals you have a duty of care to ensure you are able to attend work and fulfil your contractual obligations, and as a business we have a duty of care to ensure you are fit for work. This applies whether you are employed on a full or part time basis or you are on a work placement or internship, so please read this policy carefully. If you don’t fully understand, or have any questions, please speak to your Line Manager or a member of the HR team. AIM We have written this policy to act as a guide for managing sickness absence, and how we can support and advise you so that you recover and return to work as quickly as possible, treating everyone fairly and consistently. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES EMPLOYEES LINE MANAGERS HR TEAM Every employee should ensure that they are aware of and understand the requirements of the sickness absence policy, including the absence notification procedure. All Line Managers are responsible for ensuring that the required standards of attendance are maintained, and that the sickness absence policy is applied fairly and consistently in their area of responsibility. The HR team are responsible for ensuring that managers receive adequate support, training and advice when applying the sickness absence policy (e.g., advice involvement in meetings if appropriate and support in drafting any written correspondence) All employees have an implied duty to ensure that they are able to attend work and fulfil the requirement of their contract, and that they take reasonable steps towards this. Line Managers are responsible for logging sickness absence, monitoring sickness levels, maintaining the relationship with employee whilst they are off sick, conducting Return to Work interviews and liaising with HR where a genuine concern is raised, or where they feel further medical support is required. The HR team are responsible for managing the relationship between the Company, the Occupational Health Advisers and the Employee Assistance providers.
YOUR BODY. YOUR SOUL. YOUR RITUALS. We expect you to be honest and show integrity in the matter of sickness absence and that you will not take time off for sickness unless you are genuinely too ill to come to work. Our starting position is one of trust, but if we have reason to doubt the legitimacy of your absence, any Company Sick Pay may be withheld, and you would be paid Statutory Sick Pay only. These matters may be considered in line with the Company Disciplinary procedure REPORTING ABSENCE If you are unwell and unable to come into work, or absent for any other reason, you need to follow the steps below: • Call your manager as soon as you are aware that you will not be attending work, as a minimum at least one hour prior to your start time. Telephone contact should be made with your manager and detailed information provided, including: o The reason for your absence; o Your expected return date; o Action you are taking to ensure absence is minimised e.g., whether you have visited your Doctor or taken medical advice; o Details of any work that needs to be handed over or rescheduled; and o When you will next contact your Manager • If your manager is unavailable, you will need to call the next most senior person in the team. • It is not acceptable to message or email your manager or another work colleague, or to have somebody else provide notification on your behalf unless you are physically unable to make contact yourself. • It is your responsibility to ensure you have the correct telephone number for your manager and to leave a voice mail with your return telephone number if you have been unable to speak to them directly. • If you are absent for more than one day, you are expected to call your manager on each day at least one prior to your normal start time (unless you are signed off and have provided a medical note with an expected return date) to give an update on your health, treatment and expected return date. • If your absence continues for a period of 7 calendar days or longer, you will need to send us a medical certificate (Fit Note) from your Doctor to certify your ongoing absence. • Whilst signed off work, you must not complete any work at home. If you want to come back before your Fit Note expires you will need to seek further medical advice from your GP and provide an updated certificate with your date of return. FALLING ILL DURING THE WORKING DAY If you become ill while at work and feel that you need to go home, you should discuss this with your manager first and obtain permission from them before leaving work. If you managed to complete half of your shift or more, then this day will not count as an instance of sickness for absence trigger reporting, however if you leave having worked less than half a day, it will be recorded as a period of sickness.
YOUR BODY. YOUR SOUL. YOUR RITUALS. RETURNING TO WORK AFTER ABSENCE Once you feel well enough to return to work then you will need to remember the following: • It is your Managers responsibility to log your absence in the relevant HR System. Failure to do so may affect your sick pay entitlement. • You will be required to meet your Manager for a return to work interview and discuss the reasons for your absence and any related issues such as attendance levels. In this meeting you will need to complete a ‘Return to Work’ form which briefly explains the nature of your absence. This should then be passed to HR once completed and signed by you and your manager. • Your manager may also need to carry out a Risk Assessment before, or on your first day back at work, along with a Return to Work interview. These documents will need to be kept securely for future reference. • Following a serious illness or injury, it may be necessary to assess whether you are well enough to return to your normal role. To do this, we may ask you for consent to obtain a medical report from your GP and/or refer you to an assessment by an Occupational Health specialist, who can provide us with expert advice as to how best to manage your safe return to work. The Company will meet all costs associated with any such examination and/or medical report. If you refuse your consent to an occupational health referral, we reserve the right to withhold any Company Sick Pay. SICK PAY AND ENTITLEMENT a) Statutory Sick Pay Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is the amount of sick pay you are entitled to and is legislated by the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act of 1992. It is paid to you on behalf of the Department of Social Security for a period of up to 28 weeks. To qualify for SSP you must have been ill for at least 4 days in a row, and your average earnings must be high enough to make National Insurance contributions. Further information on SSP is available at http://www.gov.uk. Any other payments are made at the discretion of the Company and are not a contractual entitlement. b) Company Sick Pay Once you have completed your probationary period, you are entitled to Company Sick Pay which is paid at the rate of your normal basic salary and includes Statutory Sick Pay for the periods for which it is paid. As illustrated below Company Sick Pay increases with your length of service. The increase is effective on the anniversary of your start date. Provided you have followed the appropriate notification process for informing your manager of your absence, supported by the relevant documents, you will receive the following amounts for sickness absence in each rolling 12-month period, depending on your length of service.
YOUR BODY. YOUR SOUL. YOUR RITUALS. Length of Service Maximum Amount of Company Sick Pay Contracted hours per week Full-Time 32 24 20 16 8 During Probation None None None None None None Up to one years 1 week 32 24 20 16 8 Up to two years 3 weeks 96 72 60 48 24 Between two and five years 6 weeks 192 144 120 96 48 Five years or more 12 weeks 384 288 240 192 96 Company Sick Pay is discretionary, non-contractual and may be withheld if deemed appropriate. You should note that: • Company Sick Pay applies to one period of sickness absence, so if you gain an extra years’ service during a period of sickness absence you will not automatically receive additional sick pay entitlement. • Rituals reserves the right to amend the terms of the discretionary, non-contractual Company Sick Pay scheme at any time. • Company Sick Pay will be calculated on a pro-rata basis for part-time employees. • If you are on sickness absence following instigation of the investigation or disciplinary process, Rituals may decide to pay SSP only, regardless of your entitlement to Company Sick Pay. However, this will be applied in a discretionary manner and Managers will seek guidance from HR. • Company Sick Pay may be withheld where your sickness absence levels has led to disciplinary action, or where it is felt that the amount of self-certification is questionable. Managers will seek guidance from HR before withholding Company Sick Pay. • Company Sick Pay may be withheld if the reason for absence is a self-inflicted injury or illness e.g., as a result of alcohol or drug use (including hangovers) or not following medical advice. • Company Sick Pay may also be withheld if the reason is for non-essential or elective cosmetic surgery. You should instead discuss with your Line Manager if a period of annual leave or authorised unpaid absence is an acceptable option. • If the reason for your absence is not genuine, Company Sick Pay may be withheld. • If you do not provide a current fit note Company Sick Pay may be withheld - back dated fit notes will not be accepted. RECORDING ABSENCE Managers should ensure that: 1. Any absence that is notified to them is recorded in Quinyx in line with the payroll cut off timelines 2. For short term sickness absence, conduct a return-to-work interview, complete and return the ‘Return to Work’ form to [email protected] 3. Long term absences should also be notified to HR as soon as possible via email to [email protected]
YOUR BODY. YOUR SOUL. YOUR RITUALS. Sickness absence should always be recorded and treated as such, and rotas should not be amended in response to an employee being unable to attend work on a given day. UNAUTHORISED ABSENCE If you are absent and have not notified your Line Manager according to the Company procedures your absence will be treated as unauthorised, and your Company Sick Pay will be withheld (refer to the Unauthorised Absence policy). In addition to this, if, following a fair and thorough investigation, we have reason to believe that the reasons for your absence were not genuine, this will also be considered to be unauthorised and again your Company Sick Pay will be withheld. It is important to remember that unauthorised absence, including timekeeping, is regarded by Rituals as a conduct issue and may lead to disciplinary action, up to and including summary dismissal. In addition, you may not be paid during unauthorised absence. MONITORING ABSENCE As with all businesses we monitor all sickness absence. If we consider your absence levels to be excessive or unacceptable, a formal meeting will be held with you to discuss these with you. Sickness absence may be reviewed when: • We have reasonable grounds to believe that your absence is not for genuine reasons • There are short periods of persistent non-attendance; even if your reason for non-attendance is genuine, your ability to attend work on a regular basis will be assessed • There are regular patterns of absence • There are absences occurring at the beginning and/or end of weekends, bank holidays and pre-booked holidays • You have long term non-attendance for a clearly defined reason supported by medical information REVIEW THRESHOLDS In order to support the management of attendance and help identify cases that require active support and/or investigation, Rituals has established review thresholds to prompt a review of an employee’s attendance and decide what course of action is required. These thresholds are: • 3 occasions of sickness absence in a 12-month rolling period • Absence that equates to a 3% absence rate • Any period of unauthorised absence The simplest way to measure absence is to calculate the days lost through absence as a percentage of the days originally scheduled to be worked – as detailed below… Example: • Scheduled to work 46 days during the period • 4 days lost during the period Absence Level • 4 days /46 days during the period x 100 = 8.6% absence level • Round up to 9% and Review
YOUR BODY. YOUR SOUL. YOUR RITUALS. Rituals reserves the right to review these thresholds. If you have frequent short-term absence it may indicate to us that you are suffering from general ill health. Where there are concerns about your attendance levels, we will always try to resolve the matter informally, but if this is not feasible or appropriate, any action taken will be strictly in accordance with the Performance Management Policy. TIMEKEEPING You need to be ready to start work at the start of your shift, i.e., on the shop floor, or at your desk logged on to your computer ready to work. If you think you might be late you should phone your line manager to let them know as soon as possible. Managers should take steps to manage a situation where an employee is persistently late. Each incident of lateness should be recorded using the Record of Conversation form. If the lateness persists, your manager will meet with you formally to discuss lateness and identify any problems that they may be unaware of. If you are having difficulty attending work on time for a particular reason, you should bring this to their line manager’s attention at the earliest opportunity. If you continue to be late and there are no mitigating circumstances, your persistent lateness will continue to be managed under the Company Disciplinary procedure, whereby a sanction may be issued up to and including dismissal. ABSENCE MANAGEMENT a) Capability If you are legitimately absent from work on a frequent basis, you may be subject to termination of your employment for reasons of capability. Please refer to the Ill Heath Incapability within the Absence Policy. The HR Team will support in the management of your absence prior to any decision regarding your employment status being made. b) Conduct Failure to adhere to Rituals Absence Policy and reporting procedure may lead to disciplinary action, up to and including summary dismissal. You are expected to actively manage your own attendance at work. Should your absence levels, including timekeeping, prove unsatisfactory, it is your responsibility to take positive steps to improve your attendance. Failing to do so may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including summary dismissal. You are also expected to conduct yourself in a manner that is supportive to making a smooth and speedy recovery. (For example: participating in sports or hobbies that are inconsistent with a physical injury; or going on a pre-booked or unannounced holiday whilst ill without consulting with your Manager or against the advice of your Doctor.) If you fail to do so, you may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal. Where, following a thorough and fair investigation, your unsatisfactory attendance levels are deemed by Rituals not to be caused by genuine health reasons, you may be subject to disciplinary action which may include termination of your employment for reasons of misconduct. Subject to consent from you, the investigation may also include comprehensive medical information. In such cases, the HR Team must be consulted before any
YOUR BODY. YOUR SOUL. YOUR RITUALS. decision is made regarding an employee’s employment status. Please refer to the Disciplinary Policy for further information. You should note that if you are absent for work for more than 26 weeks during one period of sickness absence you are entitled to return to the same role. However, if due to medical reasons it is not reasonably practicable for you to return to the same job, we may offer you suitable alternative work. MEDICAL ADVICE AND OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH We may at any time under this policy ask you to consent to medical involvement in your case by our appointed Occupational Health provider or Company doctor. This will be at our expense. We may use Occupational Health even if you are not physically absent from work but where health matters are affecting your performance or ability to carry out your role. With your permission, Occupational Health may also contact your doctor to request a medical report or require you to undergo an Occupational Health examination to ensure you are being given the best possible support (costs will be paid for by the Company) and help facilitate your return to work. You will be asked to agree that any report produced in connection with any such involvement may be disclosed to us and that we may discuss the contents of the report with the relevant doctor/occupational health adviser. We would not seek to obtain information about any element of your medical history that is not relevant to your current condition and its effect on your work. Where we believe it may be of benefit, we will also normally consider referring an employee to Occupational Health in the following circumstances: • For repeated (more than 3 in a rolling 12-month period) short term absences • For any absence lasting 10 or more consecutive days • For workplace stress related absence • For musco-skeletal related absence The purpose of any referral will be to identify how we can best support your return to work and to consider any adjustments that either party may need to make. We will seek to gain your agreement prior to any referral and before taking any action will provide you with further detailed information about your legal rights in this kind of situation and how we would use this information. Medical advice is sensitive information and is covered by the Data Protection Act. Medical reports should be stored in a secure place. LONG-TERM SICKNESS We will adopt a "case management" approach when dealing with employees who cannot work for a long period of time due to ill health. This means regularly reviewing your absence and health to see whether there is anything we can do to support you or facilitate your recovery and return to work. If you are absent from work for four weeks - or your absence is likely to last for more than four weeks - the long-term sickness procedure will be triggered. Your manager is responsible for managing your absence, with the support from the HR team. They will make appropriate arrangements with you for staying in touch on a non-intrusive basis.
YOUR BODY. YOUR SOUL. YOUR RITUALS. If you are off work for four weeks or more, your manager, with the support of an appropriate Occupational Health Supplier or Company Doctor will agree a rehabilitation plan to support your return-to-work plan for you. Short term adjustments to the workplace can assist your return to work, but the Company also has a duty to make reasonable adjustments where a person has a disability under the Equality Act 2010. ILL HEALTH INCAPABILITY In circumstances where an employee’s health will not improve sufficiently to enable them to return to work in the foreseeable future and/or their health hinders them from maintaining a satisfactory level of attendance and/or performance, the company may wish to review their capability in relation to their current role. In this situation, Line Managers & HR should consider the latest up to date medical information. If the employee is likely to return within a reasonable timescale, then the Line Manager should continue to monitor the situation and keep in regular contact with the employee. If it is unlikely that the employee will be able to return to work within a reasonable timescale, they will be invited to an initial meeting where any medical evidence, previous welfare meetings and on-going absences/performance concerns related to absence will be discussed. The Company will review employment and consider any reasonable adjustments that can be made to support an employee in their current role. If this is not possible or a long-term solution, the Company will make every effort to re-deploy the employee into a more suitable role. Where re-deployment is the outcome, the employee may be invited to additional meetings to discuss the progress and success of the redeployment. If a solution is not found and the Line Manager & HR considers that the matter should progress to a formal meeting, employees will be invited, on a date suitable for all parties, which will be confirmed in writing. During this meeting the Line Manager in consultation with HR will consider any outstanding points from previous meetings and decide whether it may be necessary to terminate employment on the grounds of ill-health incapability, after considering all other options. HOME VISITS In cases of long-term sickness or short-term repeated sickness absence, your line manager may, if it is deemed appropriate, carry out home visits in order to maintain contact with you. This will always be at a time agreed with you and may also be supported by HR/Occupational Health. SICKNESS WHEN ON HOLIDAY If you fall ill on holiday and wish this to be considered as sick leave rather than holiday, please report your illness as quickly as possible to us on your first day of absence, following the normal reporting procedure (i.e., as though you had been at work) On your return to work, you will also be required to attend a Return-to-Work meeting. As long as you have followed the correct absence reporting procedures, your holiday entitlement will be reinstated, and you can use it at another time. If you continue to be ill beyond your planned holiday period, the normal absence reporting must be adhered to.
YOUR BODY. YOUR SOUL. YOUR RITUALS. If you fall sick or become injured before starting your holiday and this continues into your holiday –the absence will be counted as sick leave and not holiday as long as you follow the correct reporting procedures and make contact with your manager as requested. On your return you will be able to re-request your holiday. If you are already absent due to sickness and you wish to take a holiday must advise the Company in advance and if requested, provide confirmation from your medical adviser that you are fit to travel and that there will not be a detrimental effect on your recovery/return to work. ACCRUAL OF HOLIDAY WHILST ON SICK LEAVE / HOLIDAY CARRY OVER ARRANGEMENTS WHILST ON SICK LEAVE If you are absent from work due to sickness, you do still accrue your annual holiday entitlement. • Sick leave for whole year –you can carry forward your statutory holiday allowance of 28 days in its entirety. Where Rituals offers additional days holiday to the statutory minimum these extra days can be taken as a payment, as they will not be rolled into a new holiday year. Statutory Holiday Allowances for employees, who are on sick leave for a whole year, can be taken as payment in lieu, but only with the employee and manager’s express written agreement. • Sick leave exceeds 3 weeks in the year but is less than 52 weeks – if you have been sick for more than 3 weeks, but less than a year, you should have been able to take some holiday, as you will have worked part of the year. However, any outstanding statutory holiday allowance can be carried forward. The holiday entitlement carried forward should be used wherever possible by the end of March. Statutory holiday allowance can be taken as payment in lieu with employee and manager’s express written agreement. • Less than 3 weeks sick in year – you cannot carry forward any holiday. An exception may be made if you are sick at the end of the holiday year and had holiday booked in that time, but you were unable to take that holiday due to sickness absence. However, you will have to follow the correct reporting procedures as detailed above. If you decide to leave the business without having first returned to work from your sickness absence in a previous year, you will be entitled to be paid for the holiday entitlement accrued but not taken in the current holiday year, as well as the holiday entitlement carried forward (and not paid) from the previous holiday year. ACCIDENTS AT WORK You should refer to the Health & Safety policy for procedures relating to accidents at work. If you are involved in an accident at work that causes you to be absent from work, regardless of liability, you will not generally be entitled to any CSP over and above the standard allowance. If, as a result of an accident (whether or not it occurred within the workplace and regardless of liability), you make a successful claim against the Company or a third party’s insurers, we require the reimbursement of any CSP (not SSP) paid whilst absent from work due to the accident for which the claim was made. If a period of sickness absence is or appears to be caused by actionable negligence, nuisance or breach of any statutory duty by a third party we may require you to cooperate in legal proceedings to recover the amounts we have paid to you for your sickness absence. The sum to be reimbursed will not exceed the amount of damages or compensation recovered or the amount that we have paid to you in respect of your absence.
YOUR BODY. YOUR SOUL. YOUR RITUALS. Important points to remember. • Rituals reserves the right to request a fit note for any period of absence. • Sickness documents may be viewed by the HR and Payroll Teams as well as your manager. However, reasons for absence are confidential and will not be disclosed to other employees or third parties without your express permission or where required for the performance of their duties or by law. All personal records will be treated confidentially and strictly in accordance with the terms of the Data Protection Act 1998. • Whilst on sickness absence (whether paid or unpaid) you remain bound by your contract of employment. You may still be requested to attend an investigatory or disciplinary meeting whilst on sick leave. This would also apply when you provide us with a medical certificate unless the certificate states that you are medically unfit to attend such a meeting. • As medical certificates are not conclusive evidence of unfitness for work, Rituals reserves the right to take into account other evidence that may be contrary to the medical certificate. Should you be absent from work for an extended period of time or have been absent due to repeated sickness over a 12-month period, we may require you to undergo a medical examination by a medical practitioner of our choice. MEDICAL AND DENTAL APPOINTMENTS You are expected to try your best to arrange medical or hospital appointments outside of working hours when you can. We understand that this will not always be possible; therefore, you are expected to try and arrange Doctors and Dentists appointments for the beginning or end of the working day where possible. We recognise that it can be difficult to move Hospital Consultations, so these will be paid as long as evidence can be provided, and notice is given. If you have any other appointments, please speak to your Line Manager. Please inform your manager of your upcoming appointment as early as possible to ensure that your workload can be covered, if necessary. All appointments should be recorded (where appropriate) and authorised by your manager in advance. If you are taking a lot of time off for medical appointments, a meeting will be held with you to discuss this. We will always endeavour to assist in genuine cases of need, but if the appointments are not genuine or are excessive in number and duration, it may result in further investigation. HERE TO HELP… If you would like to speak to someone outside of the Company, all our employees have access to the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) via Perkbox. This is a free and confidential service run by trained counsellors and is available 24 hours 7 days a week, 365 days of the year. The EAP provides advice on a range of personal matters from relationship or family difficulties, financial or taxation issues or any health-related problems. The Company will never receive any information related to your calls. It is a completely confidential service. RELATED POLICIES • Disciplinary Policy • Unauthorised Absence / AWOL Policy • Holiday Policy APPENDIX RETURN TO WORK FORM
YOUR BODY. YOUR SOUL. YOUR RITUALS. Return to Work Form TO BE COMPLETED BY EMPLOYEE Name: Position: Employee No: Line Manager: Location/Department: ABSENCE DETAILS First day of absence: (DD/MM/YY) Date returned to work: (DD/MM/YY) Number of days absent: If you left work early what time did you leave? Please describe your reason for absence: Number of absences in rolling 12-month period: ABSENCE NOTIFICATION Did you call your Line Manager? Y / N Date of first call (DD/MM/YY) If absence lasted more than 1 day did you call every day? Y / N For absences lasting over 7 days UK or 3 days Republic of Ireland Have you submitted a Statement of Fitness to Work? (UK) Y / N Doctor’s certificate? (Ireland) Y / N To the best of your knowledge are you fit and well enough to return to work? Y / N Employee Signature Date RETURN TO WORK (TO BE COMPLETED BY LINE MANAGER) Did the employee visit any of the below? Doctor Y / N Hospital Y / N Clinic Y / N Date Visited:
YOUR BODY. YOUR SOUL. YOUR RITUALS. Has the employee suffered from this medical issue previously? Y / N Medical diagnosis and recommendations discussed: What medical treatment is the employee receiving for the condition? Are there any adjustments Rituals can make? Summary of meeting: (discussion points, action plans, timelines for review) Is company sick pay (CSP) payable? Y / N Signed Employee: Signed Manager : Date: