Absence trigger-What would happen at your work?

[cherrypiepie]

This has been praying on my mind!

I've had three periods of absence in 12 months- would these constitute and absence trigger at your work and legally can they?

Feb- Covid (three weeks as I got a chest infection)
June- miscarriage (week off as had surgery),
December -Ankle injury (had a day off and went back to work on crutches had been given a sick note for three weeks)

Nothing has happened yet and don't think it will now- just intrigued as it's not been explained to me. I don't want to ask. Work are lovely and very reasonable

I think covid would not be counted at the moment - even at my academy penny pinching secondary school. It's a pandemic.

I think they would be more worried if it was occasional absences with flaky excuses.

Don’t think my work would if there is a legitimate reason for 3 or more - not if there’s a doctors note etc anyway.

I’d say our absences have increased a little due to having to isolate - the majority of our work is site based so if someone needs to isolate until they test negative that’s usually at least a day off. But that’s legally required so I don’t think it can be taken into account.

I think I’ve had maybe one day off this year and that was to isolate. Wasn’t covid though so back the following day.

Sometimes we can work from home and then we would do so but it’s not guaranteed and depends on what contracts we have at the time.

I wouldn't worry too much. I manage a department in a large company and the covid & miscarriage absences would be ignored for the purposes of absence monitoring - they're reported completely separately.

I'm sorry for your loss

Same for me as other posters.

The miscarriage and covid absences wouldn't be counted. The ankle would, but you wouldn't be at a trigger point.

This sounds like such a public sector thing. I've never worked anywhere where a few absences would "trigger" anything. I'd never even heard of this until joining MN. I've also never worked anywhere where the word "trigger" was used so frequently. This place really is like another world sometimes.

I'm three in two years, I will breathe a small sigh of relief in about 3 weeks when I will be down to the one in a rolling 24 months.

The system would 'trigger' where I work, but only to alert the immediate line manager. He would then review the reasons for the absence before deciding whether an informal chat is required. Obviously given the absence reasons you list, any sensible line manager would see that there is no chat required.

Most companies I know are not including Covid either.

Because the legal guidance from govt is that using Covid absence to progress processes where there is the potential for dismissal would be considered automatic unfair dismissal.

It would trigger but we are able to explain why action would not be taken. Yours are very reasonable and we are still in the middle of a global pandemic.

I would be more worried about someone having a cold or needing time off on e a week.

Today I had sickness trigger meeting .my boss was awful made me feel dreadful I was off last year due to mental health as my daughter in law was in itu and I was there to help my son through it this year I had a emergency operation my boss printed out my sickness over last 12 years had miscarriages worked on COVID ward had COVID and was told not to come to work I feel emotionally distressed over it why are bosses like this