Improvements to Sickness Absence Policy from UCU
UCU have negotiated improvements to the University’s Managing Sickness Absence Policy on your behalf. The substantial changes are:
- If you hit the sickness triggers but your absences do not indicate any cause for concern, your manager is no longer obliged to set a stage 2 meeting and a period over which to monitor your attendance. (Part 2, section 4.1). This reduces workload on staff and managers, and also removes the stress associated with going through an unnecessary monitoring period. You still have the right to be accompanied by a trade union rep to any review meetings, including the first, should you want to be.
- Greater flexibility around dentist and GP Practice appointments. This reflects the reality of how we all now typically make and attend these appointments, usually with little say over when they will be scheduled, and with telephone appointments now more common. (Part 1, section 17 and 18) Where possible, these should be arranged outside of work hours, but where this is not possible staff should try and minimise disruption to work, and time off with pay is allowed.
The changes reflect the default position of trust and flexibility that managers should be showing, and we hope they will remove some of the unnecessary stress triggered by sickness, or taking care of our health.