Author: @deliver_els
Sunset Clause in the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill Dropped
The UK Government may have scrapped the controversial ‘Sunset Clause’ but there are still plans to reform retained EU employment law that will have implications for UK Employers.
Background
Following the introduction of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, the legislation that allowed the UK to leave the EU, a new category of UK law was created – EU Retained Law – which preserved EU derived law that would continue to apply in the UK after Brexit, including large sections of UK employment law.
The Brexit Freedom Bill
In September 2022 the UK Government introduced the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill, the intended purpose of which was to repeal, amend or replace thousands of EU laws and regulations. Included in the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill was a “sunset” clause that would have potentially seen all retained direct EU legislation and EU-derived subordinate legislation implementing EU law (regulations) scrapped entirely on 31 December 2023 unless otherwise preserved, ending the principle of the supremacy of EU law, general principles of EU law, and directly effective EU rights.
The sunset clause was considered controversial and created legal uncertainty because it was unclear which EU laws would be retained, replaced or revoked.
Sunset Clause Scrapped
In early May 2023, the UK Government confirmed that it was scrapping the sunset clause in the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill and in its place, it has set out a list of 600 pieces of retained EU law that will be revoked on 31 December 2023, most of which appear to be either obsolete and unnecessary, burdensome and duplicative or irrelevant to the UK.
Reforms to Retained EU Employment Law
On 10 May 2023, the UK Government published a Policy Paper on Smarter Regulation to Grow the Economy and launched a Consultation on Retained EU Employment Law, namely reforms to the Working Time Regulations, Holiday Pay, and the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations.
In its consultation paper, the UK Government has identified three key areas it believes could benefit from reform that it says would ensure they are fit for purpose for both businesses and workers.
Record keeping requirements under the Working Time Regulations
The UK Government is considering removing the requirement that records must be kept in relation to the right to a minimum daily rest period of 11 consecutive hours in each 24-hour period; the right to a minimum uninterrupted period of rest of 24 hours in each seven-day period; and the limit on the maximum weekly working time by introducing legislation to clarify that businesses do not have to keep a record of daily working hours of their workers.
Simplifying annual leave and holiday pay calculations in the Working Time Regulations.
The UK Government is considering combining the right under EU Working Time Directive to 4 weeks’ annual leave entitlement with the domestic right to an addition 1.6 weeks’ annual leave to create a single statutory entitlement of 5.6 weeks’ and introduce a standardised holiday pay calculation method across the single entitlement. They are also proposing to allow employers to pay “rolled-up” holiday pay, something that was deemed unlawful by the European Court of Justice.
Consultation requirements under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment), or ‘TUPE’, Regulations.
The UK Government is considering removing the requirement to consult with employee representatives for businesses with fewer than 50 employees (currently 10) where the transfer affects less than 10 employees and instead allow employers to consult with employees directly.
Although the UK Government may have scrapped the controversial ‘Sunset Clause’, which would have potentially created a legislative black hole and significant uncertainty for employers, the above changes being proposed appear to make clear that the current UK Government is intent on reforming retained EU employment laws and this will continue to create uncertainty for UK employers.
We will continue to closely monitor the situation and track changes to EU employment law legislation to ensure we keep ahead of the regulatory changes that are almost certainly coming.
Do You Need Assistance?
The specialist employment law team at Employment Law Services (ELS) LTD have extensive experience in advising UK Employers on their legal obligations to ensure compliance. If you have any queries about your legal obligations you can call us on 0800 612 4772, Contact Us via our website or Book a Free Consultation online.
HR Management Software
We are excited to announce the launch of ELS Secure-HRM, a multifunctional HR software solution that will save you time and money in managing your workforce, so you can focus more on your core business.
Key Developments in UK Employment Law in 2023
As we near the end of the first month of 2023, we summarise they key developments in Employment Law we expect to see during 2023.
New Rates for Statutory Employment Payments
On 28 November 2022, the Department of Work and Pension (DWP) published its annual rate increases for 2023/24. All of the new rates will take effect on or around the start of the tax year on 6 April 2023.
- Statutory maternity, adoption, paternity, shared parental pay will increase to £172.48 per week on 2nd April 2023 (up from £156.66).
- Statutory sick pay will increase to £109.40 per week on 6 April 2023 (up from £99.35).
- The minimum weekly amount an employee needs to earn to qualify for these will remain at £123.
New National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage Rates
Having accepted the Low Pay Commission’s proposed increases to the national living wage (NLW) and national minimum wage (NMW), the new rates from 1 April 2023 will be:
- Age 23 or over (NLW rate): £10.42 (up 9.7% from £9.50)
- Age 21 to 22: £10.18 (up 10.9% from £9.18)
- Age 18 to 20: £7.49 (up 9.7% from £6.83)
- Age 16 to 17: £5.28 (up 9.7% from £4.81)
- Apprentice rate: £5.28 (up 9.7% from £4.81
Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill 2022-23
The intended purpose of the Bill is to repeal, amend or replace thousands of EU laws and regulations that were initially retained when the UK left the EU in January last year and will provide the UK Government with the means to update previously retained EU legislation via Parliament. Included in the Bill is a “sunset” provision that could potentially see all EU-derived subordinate legislation and retained direct EU legislation implementing EU law (regulations) scrapped entirely on 31 December 2023 unless otherwise preserved.
The introduction of the Bill could see changes to:
- The Working Time Regulations
- The Agency Workers Regulations
- The Part-time Workers Regulations
- The Fixed term Employees Regulations
- TUPE (but only insofar as it implements EU law)
- The Information & Consultation of Employees Regulations
- Various Health & Safety regulations
- The Maternity & Parental Leave Regulations
Trade unions and industrial action
The government is seeking to introduce measures to reduce the disruption caused by industrial action. The Transport Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill 2022-23 was presented to Parliament in October 2022 and if passed, will require minimum service levels in transport services during industrial action (see Practice note, Transport Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill). The government has suggested that it might extend the legislation to other services.
Employee data protection
The government has announced its intention to replace the UK GDPR with a British data protection system, which will be introduced by means of amending the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill.
Human Rights Act 1998
In June 2022, the government introduced the Bill of Rights Bill 2022-23, which aims to repeal the Human Rights Act 1998 and create a new domestic human rights framework around the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR), to which the UK will remain a signatory. After being dropped by Liz Truss’s government, the Bill of Rights Bill is now reported to resume its passage through Parliament.
Employment Bill
It was previously announced that the Employment Bill would be the vehicle for introducing these long-awaited measures. However, in December 2022, the Business Secretary, Grant Shapps, confirmed that there is no Employment Bill “on the cards per se”. Instead, the government is supporting Private Members’ Bills that reflect some of the commitments that were expected to be included in the Employment Bill.
Potential legislative developments that were expected to be in the Employment Bill that are reflected in these Private Members’ Bills include:
- Flexible working
- New duty to prevent sexual harassment
- Extending redundancy protection for women and new parents
- Tipping, gratuities, cover and service charges
- Neonatal leave and pay
- Leave for unpaid carers
- Single enforcement body for the labour market
- Confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements
- Dismissal and re-engagement
We discussed some of these key developments in more detail previously in the following blog articles:
The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill Announced
New National Living Wage & National Minimum Wage Rates from 1 April 2023
UK Government Confirms Flexible Working Will Become a Day One Right
Do You Need Assistance?
The specialist employment law team at Employment Law Services (ELS) LTD have extensive experience in advising UK Employers on their legal obligations to ensure compliance. If you have any queries about your legal obligations you can call us on 0800 612 4772, Contact Us via our website or Book a Free Consultation online.
Adverse Weather & Employment Law – Guidance For Employers
It pays to be fully prepared for whatever weather this winter may throw at you – whether its wind, rain, storms or snow and ice. Winter in the UK often brings its own set of workplace problems but making informed decisions will help avoid creating costly problems.
Impact of Poor Weather on Employers
The impact poor weather may have on Employers will be determined by the decisions they make, many of which may be based on issues completely out of their control, but those decisions and the way the issues they create are handled will ultimately determine the full legal / HR implications.
Key questions for Employers:
- What if an Employer decides to close the business temporarily due to poor weather conditions? Do staff still need to be paid?
- What if an Employer does open for business but staff can’t make it in because of the weather? Is this unauthorised absence? Should absent staff be paid?
- What if some staff make it in but other staff from the same area don’t, should they face disciplinary action?
Employer Initiated Closures
If an Employer decides to temporarily close their business due to extreme weather conditions they are effectively laying-off their staff, albeit temporarily. However, unless there is a contractual right to lay employees off without pay, or employees expressly consent to being laid off without pay, Employers are obliged to pay staff their normal pay for the duration of the lay-off.
Employee Initiated Absence
Employees are protected by a number of statutory rights, some of which may apply in instances of extreme weather where schools or childcare facilities are themselves suspended due to poor weather.
Employers should start with a full review of existing HR policies. Do you have an absence policy? Does it include an ‘adverse weather policy’? Having such a policy can help provide clarity when unpredictable weather causes challenges and can confirm what the company’s expectations are in terms of absence, what options are available to staff (eg. parental leave) and what the company’s pay arrangements in will be in these circumstances.
Employees have a right to time off for dependants and could invoke this right if schools or childcare provisions are cancelled due to adverse weather. Equally, qualifying parents have the right to take unpaid time off work to look after their children or make arrangements for their welfare. Effective staff absence and absence management polices as part of a thorough employee handbook containing critical HR policies is essential in acting as a point of reference when issues arise and can help make life less difficult and costly for Employers.
At Employment Law Services (ELS) we specialise is protecting businesses and helping them prevent problems by providing them with legally compliant contracts of employment and comprehensive Employee Handbooks tailored to meet their specific requirements.
How Can You Avoid Getting Caught Out?
- Contact Us – we will undertake full review of your current arrangements and provide you with our findings and recommendations.
- Ensure you have appropriate contracts should be drafted and issued to ensure the nature of the working relationship is clearly determined.
- Give us a call on 0800 612 4772 and we’ll help you to prevent problems and protect your business.
Office Closure During the Festive Period
Our offices will close for Christmas and New Year at 4:30pm on Thursday 22 December 2022 and shall reopen again at 9.00am on Monday 9 January 2023.
On behalf of the team here at Employment Law Services (ELS) LTD, we would like to wish all those celebrating Chanukkah (18 to 26 December) peace, love and joy during this Festival of Lights and to all those celebrating Christmas, may the magic of Christmas fill every corner of your heart and home with joy and laughter.
New Regulations Ban Exclusivity Clauses for Low-Income Workers
New regulations extending the ban on exclusivity clauses in employment contracts to low-income workers earning no more than the lower earnings limit came into force on 5 December 2022.
New Regulations Banning Exclusivity Clauses
The new regulations replicate the rights of zero-hours workers set out in section 27A of the Employment Rights Act 1996 and the Exclusivity Terms in Zero Hours Contracts (Redress) Regulations (SI 2015/2021) and make unenforceable exclusivity terms in an employment contract or other worker’s contract which is not a zero-hour contract and entitles the worker to be paid net average weekly wages that do not exceed the lower earnings limit (currently £123 a week).
In the same way as for zero hours contracts, exclusivity terms are defined as any contractual term which prohibits a worker from doing work or performing services under another contract or arrangement, or which prohibits a worker from doing so without their employer’s consent. The regulations specify how net average weekly wages are to be calculated.
Under the regulations, it is automatically unfair to dismiss an employee if the reason or principal reason for the dismissal is that the employee breached an exclusivity term, and there is no qualifying period of employment to bring this claim. In addition, workers are protected from detriment if they breach an exclusivity term in their contract.
Do You Need Assistance?
The specialist employment law team at Employment Law Services (ELS) LTD have extensive experience in advising UK Employers on their legal obligations to ensure compliance. If you have any queries about your legal obligations you can call us on 0800 612 4772, Contact Us via our website or Book a Free Consultation online.
An Important Milestone for ELS
This December Employment Law Services (ELS) LTD marks another milestone as we celebrate being in business for 14 years!!
Happy Anniversary to Employment Law Services (ELS) LTD
As Employment Law Services (ELS) LTD celebrates this milestone it would be remiss of us if we didn’t, in the first place, thank our fantastic team who work tirelessly to provide our clients with specialist employment law and HR advice and support across a range of contentious and non-contentious employment issues. Their dedication to delivering service excellence to our clients is critical to our continuing success.
To all our clients, you are the reason why we are celebrating this special milestone. Without you we would not be where we are today, and we truly value the trust you place in us to advise and support you! We look forward to continuing to support you in the coming year and beyond and greatly appreciate your business.
Gary H Sutherland, our Managing Director said, “I set up the business in 2008 with the aim of developing a complete employment law and HR solution for SMEs across the UK that was cost-effective, tailored to their specific needs, and which consistently exceeded expectations. Over the last 14 years and with the right team behind us we have been able to achieve this aim and continue to deliver exceptional value for money to our clients. From the shadow of the 2008 financial crisis, through the COVID-19 pandemic, and now into the current cost of living crisis, the journey has not been easy. We’ve learned many valuable lessons over the last 14 years that have helped us refine our service offering which has led to over 80% of our clients staying with us for more than 5 years, our client base continuing to grow year on year, and Employment Law Services (ELS) LTD becoming one of the leading providers of Employment Law and HR Services to SMEs in the UK.”
We are very grateful to be where we are and we are equally excited about where we’re going, and as we celebrate this milestone we’d like to thank all those who have helped contribute to our success along the way!
UK Government Confirms Flexible Working Will Become a Day One Right
This week, the Government published its response to its ‘Making Flexible Working the Default’ consultation and in doing so confirmed that employees will gain the right to request flexible working from the first day of their employment.
Flexible Working Continues to Rise Across the UK
We first highlighted the key changes the UK Government were considering back in October 2021 when it announced its Consultation on Flexible Working, which was based on its 2019 manifesto commitment to modernise the way we work.
Since then, the Covid-19 pandemic acted as a catalyst for hybrid working that forced many employers to pivot to an alternative working model to continue trading through the lockdown and this trend towards flexible working has continued to rise despite the removal of all remaining lockdown restrictions back in April 2022 and back in July we set out a Guide for Employers to Get Hybrid Working Right.
The recently published consultation paper on ‘Making Flexible Working the Default” includes a full range of proposals on flexible working options, including job-sharing, flexitime, compressed, annualised, and staggered hours, and phased retirement as well as well as giving employees the right to request flexible working from their first day of employment.
Key Changes to Flexible Working Legislation
- The right to request flexible working will become a day-one right and the 26-week qualifying period for making a flexible working request will be removed.
- Employees will be permitted to make two flexible working requests in any 12-month period (rather than one);
- Employers will have to respond to requests within two months (down from three);
- Employers will be required to consult with employees, as means of exploring the alternative options, before rejecting a flexible working request;
- The requirement for employees to set out how the effects of their flexible working request might be dealt with by their employer will be removed; and
- The eight business reasons for refusing a flexible working request will remain valid.
The decision to make the right to request flexible working a day-one right was widely supported by both individuals and business representatives with 91% of all respondents being in favour and it is believed that this will, according to the report, support a shift in workplace culture, moving away from the notion that the ability to request flexible working is an earned benefit and will make flexible working accessible to more employees (an estimated additional 2.2 million people), supporting labour market participation and improving workforce diversity.
Employers concerned about the implications of these changes may take some comfort from the fact that the in its conclusion in the report, the Government made clear that the legislation remains a right to request, not a right to have, and that the eight business reasons for refusing a flexible working request have been retained.
No timeline for when the changes will be brought in was announced but there is currently a Private Members’ Bill making its way through Parliament which, having passed its second reading in October, could carry through some of the changes early in the New Year.
In the meantime, Employers will still need to ensure that any requests for flexible working, either formally within the current statutory framework or informally outside it, are managed appropriately and in accordance with the current legislation and/or any policies that are in place and that the process they follow is well documented.
Any failure to manage flexible working requests fairly and reasonably could give rise to possible claims at the employment tribunal, the most significant risk likely being discrimination claims, particularly in circumstances where an employee’s request to modify their working hours to accommodate childcare responsibilities is refused.
Do You Need Assistance?
The specialist employment law team at Employment Law Services (ELS) LTD have extensive experience in advising UK Employers on their legal obligations to ensure compliance. If you have any queries about your legal obligations you can call us on 0800 612 4772, Contact Us via our website or Book a Free Consultation online.
Living With COVID-19 this Winter and Managing Staff Absence
Covid restrictions may have been lifted but employers still have a legal duty to protect staff, so how can they live with COVID-19 this winter and manage staff absences effectively and legally??
What Are an Employer’s Legal Obligations?
While there is no longer a requirement for all employers to explicitly consider COVID-19 in their statutory health and safety risk assessments and the laws that required individuals to test if they had COVID-19 symptoms and then self-isolate and/or work from home if they tested positive have been revoked, employers still have both statutory and common law duties for health and safety.
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HSWA 1974) imposes a general duty on employers to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all their employees. It sets out the basic health and safety duties of a company, its directors, managers and employees and acts as the framework for other health and safety regulations. In particular, employers should ensure:
- Provision and maintenance of plant and systems of work that are, so far as is reasonably practicable, safe and without risks to health.
- Safe use, handling, storage and transport of articles and substances.
- Information, instruction, training and supervision as is required to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the health and safety of employees at work.
- Places of work under the employer’s control are, so far as is reasonably practicable, safe for work and without risks to health (with safe entrances and exits).
- Provision and maintenance of a safe working environment with adequate facilities and arrangements for welfare at work.
(Section 2(2), HSWA 1974)
In addition to their statutory duties, all employers have a common law duty to take reasonable care for the safety of their employees; they have a duty to see that reasonable care is taken to provide them with a safe place of work, safe tools and equipment, and a safe system of working.
It is an implied term of employment contracts that employers will take reasonable care of the health and safety of employees and provide a reasonably suitable working environment for performance of the employee’s contractual duties. Where employees raise concerns about health and safety, they are potentially protected from unfair constructive dismissal, from detriment and dismissal by the health and safety provisions in sections 44 and 100 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, and from detriment and dismissal by whistleblowing legislation. Workers are potentially protected from detriment under the whistleblowing legislation.
Whilst there is no legal requirement for employers to report workplace outbreaks of respiratory infections to their local public health team, outbreaks of high levels of people with respiratory symptoms in workplaces should trigger actions to help reduce the spread.
Reducing the Spread of Respiratory Infections in the Workplace
As we move into our first winter without COVID-19 restrictions for two years, we will likely see a significant increase in cases of COVID-19 and other respiratory infections, which will, courtesy of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, impose legal and operational obligations on employers.
Keys steps employers should take manage the risk of infection from COVID-19 and other respiratory infections include:
- Encourage and enable vaccination
- Let fresh air in
- Maintain a clean workplace
- Reassure staff by telling them how the workplace has been made safe
- Encourage staff to raise any concerns they have, listen to them, and try to resolve them together
- Consider the needs of employees at greater risk from COVID-19 and other respiratory infections, including those whose immune system means they are at higher risk of serious illness and be aware that you must make reasonable adjustments for disabled staff
- Take steps to keep everyone safe at work
COVID-19 will remain a public health issue and guidance for workplaces has been replaced with public health advice. You can check the latest position and timescales for the nation you are working in here:
Managing Absences Caused by Infection from COVID & Other Respiratory Viruses
The latest public health advice for individuals suffering with symptoms of Covid-19 and other respiratory infections such as flu is consistent across the UK and recommends that individuals should try and stay at home and avoid contact with other people if they have symptoms of a respiratory infection.
In consideration of the latest public health advice and the strong likelihood of a significant rise in COVID-19 and other respiratory infections as we move into winter, employers will almost certainly see an increase in employee absences and should therefore be ready to manage absences effectively and legally.
The main issues an employer will need to consider when dealing with sick employees include:
- Entitlement to SSP and/or contractual sick pay, including deciding whether qualifying conditions have been met. Many employers will have sickness policies which set out relevant qualifying conditions.
- The reason for absence, and whether it is genuine. This will entail ascertaining the true medical position and may involve seeking a medical report.
- Whether the incapacity has been caused by workplace factors such as stress, bullying or an accident at work.
- Whether the absence coincides with any periods of holiday.
- Whether the absence is related to a disability and whether any reasonable adjustments may need to be made.
- Considering whether the employee may be eligible for permanent health insurance or ill-health retirement.
- Whether dismissal is appropriate and, if so, ensuring a fair process is followed.
Having an effective policy in place will help employers to deal with absences consistently and effectively as well as putting employees on notice as to the standards of attendance and reporting that the employer expects from them. This in turn will help reduce legal risk.
Sickness Absence Reporting Requirements
Employers should ensure that they set out the reporting requirements for staff who are unable to attend work due to illness or injury. Employers will have differing views on the time by which absence must be reported. In many workplaces it may not be practicable to notify anyone earlier than the normal opening time at that workplace. However, where staff work shifts, the workplace may be open long before the employee’s shift starts (or even open 24 hours a day) in which case the employer may require sickness to be notified at least an hour in advance of the start of a shift, so that cover can be arranged if necessary.
Evidence of Incapacity
For the purposes of company sick pay, an employer is free to choose what evidence of incapacity it requires. Many employers require self-certification for up to seven days’ absence, and a medical certificate thereafter, as this is in line with the statutory sick pay (SSP) requirements. For SSP purposes, an employer cannot require a doctor’s certificate for the first seven days of sickness absence. Whether they do so after that is largely up to the employer, but most do. Strictly speaking, employees need not self-certify absence of less than four days for SSP purposes, as SSP is not paid for the first three days of absence. However, an employer may still wish to ask for self-certification of shorter periods as part of its absence management strategy.
Employers can in theory require a doctor’s certificate for all absences as a pre-requisite of company sick pay, although this is rare. Many employers require self-certification. (See Practice note, Managing sickness absence: Evidence of incapacity.)
The “Statement of Fitness to Work” (or “fit note”, which replaced the old-style sick note in April 2010) enables GPs to certify that an employee is “not fit for work” or that they “may be fit for work” taking account of advice that the GP then sets out. This may include recommendations such as a phased return to work, altered hours or duties, or other adaptations. When presented with these statements, employers should generally hold a return-to-work interview to discuss any changes that may be needed.
Return to Work Interviews
Return-to-work interviews give an employer the opportunity to welcome a member of staff back to work. In addition:
- They provide the opportunity to confirm the details of the absence for record-keeping purposes.
- The provide an opportunity to discuss any changes that might be needed to facilitate a return to work.
- In the case of someone who has had several short, intermittent absences (and who is unlikely to be on a phased return-to-work programme), they provide the opportunity to establish whether there may be any underlying health or other (for example, disciplinary) issues that the employer should investigate further.
An effective sickness absence policy can fulfil several purposes. First, it sets out the employer’s sick pay arrangements including the rates of pay and the requirements for notifying and providing evidence of incapacity. It is a legal requirement that terms and conditions relating to incapacity for work due to sickness or injury, including any provision for sick pay, are given to the employee in writing. This can be done either in the “principal statement” of employment terms given under section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996), or in a reasonably accessible document such as a staff handbook, referred to in the statement. (Section 1(4)(d)(ii), ERA 1996.).
Second, the policy provides a procedure for managing longer-term incapacity including obtaining medical evidence, considering alternatives for rehabilitating the employee into work (including any reasonable adjustments for disability under the Equality Act 2010), and ultimately providing a fair procedure for dismissal where this is the appropriate course of action.
Managing Long-term or Persistent Absence
The purpose of a sickness absence meetings procedure is for employers to address issues caused by illness, as well as staff being away from and not contributing to its business. Issues are likely to arise when it is believed that illness is not genuine or where repeated periods of absence or long-term absence are impacting on colleagues, departments, and the employer’s business.
The procedure needs sufficient flexibility to deal with each individual case. Employers should consider adjourning any meeting in the procedure to consider any new matters if they arise. As soon as a case is identified as a conduct rather than an ill-health issue, it should be transferred and dealt with under the employer’s disciplinary procedure.
While it would seem probable that the right to be accompanied does not extend to meetings which are not disciplinary in nature, including those relating to ill-health, providing the right to be accompanied and adding the discretion for the employer to exercise flexibility would be prudent. Whether, and to what extent, discretion is exercised can only be decided on a case-by-case basis.
Medical Examinations
Medical advice can:
- Establish the reason for absence and whether any illness is genuine.
- Indicate the likely length of continued absence.
- Assess the effect of an illness on an employee’s ability to do their job, what they are capable of and what, if any, adjustments can be made to help them to return to work.
- Assist in arranging a phased return to work from long-term sickness absence.
- Establish whether an employee is likely to qualify for any employment benefits, such as permanent health insurance (PHI) or early ill-health retirement.
Highlighting the potential to ask for medical advice may put off employees who are minded to “fake” illness to take time off work. It also draws attention to the need to co-operate with the employer’s attempts to understand ill health absence.
The steps an employer must take when requesting a medical report (whether from a general practitioner, a specialist consultant, a company doctor, or an occupational health specialist), must take the impact of the Access to Medical Reports Act 1988 and data protection legislation into consideration.
Stage One: Initial Sickness Absence Meeting
The purposes of the first meeting will depend on the type of sickness absence being investigated and whether any potential conduct issues have arisen in the individual case.
Prior to convening the initial sickness absence meeting, full details of the absence record along with reasons should be made available to all participants. The employee should be made aware of the date and location of the formal meeting and the reasons for it. In addition, they should be informed of the right to be accompanied by a work colleague or trade union representative at the meeting.
In cases of long-term sickness absence, the central issues will be the nature of the employee’s illness, how much longer they are likely to be away and whether they are going to be able to return to their job. It may be too early to predict a return date and it may be decided to obtain medical advice (either from the employee’s and/or the employer’s medical advisers) on both this and the employee’s ability to resume their job/adjustments at this stage.
In cases of intermittent absences, the issue may be the cause of the employee’s absences and the likelihood of recurrence. An employer may need to explain the impact that the absences are having on the employee’s colleagues and on the employer’s business. It may be decided to obtain medical evidence on the nature of the employee’s illness, the likelihood of recurrence and any steps that can be taken to reduce recurrence.
A meeting can end with a summary of matters discussed and action that it has been agreed will be taken. This can then be confirmed in writing as detailed under the procedure.
Stage Two: Second Sickness Absence Meeting
After the first stage of the sickness absence procedure, the second stage provides for further meetings with a view to resolving difficulties caused by short-term intermittent absences and the return to work of an employee on long-term sickness absence.
The second stage of the procedure should be designed to be flexible, accommodating the individual characteristics of each case. The suggested purposes of the further meetings in the procedure can act as a checklist for employers, to ensure that they are considering those matters relevant to a fair and non-discriminatory dismissal (should it ultimately terminate the employee’s employment).
Stage Three: Final Sickness Absence Meeting
The third stage of the procedure is reached when meetings under the second stage have not achieved their intended aim (overseeing a long-term absentee’s return to work or the eradication of sporadic absences).
This meeting should provide the employer with an opportunity to review the action it has taken to achieve its aim, why they have not worked and whether there is any reasonable prospect that waiting any further will be productive. The meeting also provides the employee with the opportunity to put forward anything that they consider the employer should have done.
Otherwise, the final meeting is likely to result in the termination of the employee’s employment. The employer should check that all prior warnings that it is relying on in making the decision to dismiss are valid. Failure to do so may result in a dismissal being unfair.
Appeals
If the decision is taken to dismiss the employee, they must be informed of their right to appeal against this decision.
Do You Need Assistance to Manage Respiratory Illnesses and Sickness Absence Effectively and Legally?
The specialist employment law team at Employment Law Services (ELS) LTD have extensive experience in advising UK Employers on their legal obligations to ensure compliance. If you have any queries about your legal obligations you can call us on 0800 612 4772, Contact Us via our website or Book a Free Consultation online.