Absence Management

For an organisation the primary goal of absence management is to reduce the amount of unplanned absence that occurs.

Unplanned absence can have a significant impact on the level of productivity that an organisation is able to achieve. This can be both directly (where a key member of staff is absent) or indirectly through factors such as low staff morale.

The approaches organisations take toward absence management will be varied. There is no single approach which is best as broader factors such as contract terms, organisational culture and ultimately the individuals themselves are all significant.

At a high level an absence management policy must balance multiple concerns, it should not be too weak to avoid disciplinary action at all cost but also not so strong as the be draconian. It is always paramount that the individual and their circumstances are understood, one person’s absence has no direct comparison with another person’s absence. Capturing good quality data about employees and absences should be at the heart of a comprehensive absence management process.