Absence Management - checklist

Sickness Absence — What To Do

Follow this checklist every time you are off sick

1) On the first day of sickness

• You must personally phone in to report your absence — no texts, WhatsApp, email or social media.

  • Front of house and housekeeping phone Tim (07884430936)

  • Kitchen staff phone Chef Darren (07725090553) or Tim if Chef day off

  • Say what the problem is and when you expect to return (if known).

2) If your sickness continues

• Keep in regular contact with your Line Manager to give updates.

• Send updates promptly — Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) now starts from day one, so timing matters.

3) Provide the right documentation

• Self‑certification form (click here) for absences up to and including 7 calendar days.

• Fit note (Statement of Fitness for Work) if you are off more than 7 days, or if you have three or more self‑certified absences in any 12‑month period.

• Provide documents promptly to avoid any delay to sick pay.

4) If your illness is infectious

• Tell us if you have — or may have — a notifiable infectious disease (e.g., food‑borne illness, measles, mumps).

• Get clearance from your GP before returning to work.

• If you have D&V (diarrhoea and vomiting) you must be symptom free for 48 hours before returning to work.

5) While you are off sick

• Do not carry out activities that contradict being unfit for work — this may lead to disciplinary action.

6) When you return to work

• Attend a Return to Work Interview after every absence.

• Be ready to discuss how you are feeling, any needed adjustments and any patterns of absence.

7) Long‑term sickness (4+ weeks)

• Maintain weekly contact with your Line Manager.

• Attend welfare meetings when requested.

 

Reminder: Follow the Sickness Notification Procedure in the Employee Handbook. Non‑compliance can affect pay and may lead to disciplinary action.

 

Key Notifiable Infectious Diseases (England & Wales)
Registered medical practitioners must notify suspected cases of the following diseases, among others, to the Proper Officer of the local authority: 

• Respiratory: COVID-19, SARS, MERS, Whooping cough (Pertussis), Influenza of zoonotic origin.

• Vaccine-preventable/Childhood: Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR), Diphtheria, Poliomyelitis, Tetanus, Smallpox.

• Food/Waterborne: Cholera, Typhoid/Paratyphoid (Enteric fever), Food poisoning, Infectious bloody diarrhoea.

• Viral/Bacterial: Acute encephalitis, Acute meningitis, Meningococcal septicaemia, Invasive group A streptococcal disease, Scarlet fever.

• Other: Mpox (monkeypox), Rabies, Plague, Leprosy, Viral haemorrhagic fevers (VHF), Anthrax, Brucellosis.