Managing Mental Health Absences

Some companies are still having a continued high absence rate due to mental health reasons.

If this is not managed correctly it can put colleagues and the service you provide under strain as well as hitting your bottom line because that employee is not contributing to the overall company plan but there could be litigation looming.

This information explains the legal background around sickness absence, what support you can give to staff and the procedures you can follow.

It is vital you follow your own internal procedures for reporting and recording sick notes without exception.

Doctors’ notes should not just be filed away, what is written on them must be understood first.

There have been countless occasions where a company views a doctor’s note as just a payroll matter and fails to understand what is written on the sick note. If a Doctor’s note says ‘work-related stress’, you must get in touch with HR. Often it is a mixture of private things and work that adds to an employee’s mental state.

Often such matters can be nipped in the bud and an employee returned back to the workplace providing a fully functioning role sometimes with support and possibly some adjustments. One of the actions you should undertake is a welfare meeting as part of the return-to-work interview.  

If your managers have not been trained on how to address the sensitive and tricky issue of mental health or indeed have not progressed a wellness support package before, please get in touch for guidance.