Employees are the lifeblood of any business, so it’s vital that organisations keep across any and all sickness and absence management. In 2024, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), each UK worker took an average of 4.4 days off for sickness or injury – that’s almost a full week a year that needs to be line managed and accounted for.
Whether that’s managing sickness, redeploying staff, organising return to work or making payroll adjustments, there are so many HR absence management areas to consider in any absence management system. So, whether staff are at their desk or out of the office, everyone knows where they’re at.
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What is absence management?
Absence management, known as absence mgmt, is how companies set out their sickness and absence policies, monitor and keep absence tracking records, ensuring UK employment law compliance. All whilst supporting staff to know what’s expected of them, both in and out of the workplace.
People are complicated, they can be off work for many reasons, so managing staff absence in an effective, compliant and clearly defined way is essential to any organisation. HR teams need to balance the business bottom line with individual employee needs to create a workable workplace for each and every staff member.
Why does absence management matter?
For every shape and size of business, managing absence at work is a big deal. Looking after sickness absence management well should be any HR and payroll department’s bread and butter.
Protect efficiency and productivity
Any business is only as good as its people. You can have the greatest people in town, but if they’re not in work they’re not much use to you. Sustainable leave and absence management means maintaining staffing levels and managing absenteeism. Without this, the knock-on effect for operational efficiency and productivity can be enormous to any organisation.
According to the ONS, last year we lost an estimated 148.9 million working days to sickness and absence. That’s plenty of productivity pennies impacted.
Bolster wellbeing and morale
This impact isn’t just financial; it’s about the people too. Staff morale is a major sickness and absence management consideration. People dealing with complicated lives can find day-to-day work hard, but it’s also tricky for the surrounding team who may have to pick up the slack and step in on projects.
Uncertainty is stressful for anyone and is a major part of managing absence in the workplace. Managers and team members should handle people with care and consideration, for example managing long term sickness, whilst balancing everyday employee leave management workflow and ongoing business need.
Mitigate any risks
Underpinning all these are absence management legal requirements that must be met, according to current UK employment law. Organisations are at risk of expensive legal action if they fail to comply with procedures, so documenting staff absenteeism and ensuring robust reporting at every stage of the employee absence management process is key.
What are the key areas in absence management?
Just like every workplace is distinct, every person’s situation is unique. So, there are plenty of reasons why someone might miss work, many of which are enshrined in UK employment law. Each of these sickness and absence situations need a clear procedure, as laid out by HR absence management teams.
Today’s main managing staff absence scenarios are set out in the table below, with links to the relevant legislative guidance. However, there may well be other absenteeism from work things that crop up from time to time that may require a more individualised response.
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Day-to-day leave management |
Personal circumstance leave management |
Unpaid and other leave management |
Any employee absence management process has to include policies and procedures for how line managers and HR handle staff leave, for whatever reason. The 5 Ws approach – who, what, when, where, how – is a good starting point.
By automating these simple principles, for example in a staff holiday booking system, you can then implement clear leave approval workflows. Who is responsible for annual leave approval or sickness leave management? What are the timelines for holiday sign off? What is the workflow for leave of absence management? The list goes on.
It’s not just before sickness and absence leave is taken, there are return-to-work processes that need to be adhered to, especially from a compliance standpoint. Everything must be fully documented, and any ongoing support needed must be put in place. Especially for those coming back into work after extended time off or a phased return, maybe for medical or personal circumstances.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. This can get very complicated, very quickly without a rigorous absence management system in place.
How do you build an effective absence management policy?
Creating robust policy and protocols is the bedrock supporting such absence and leave management plate spinning.
There are three main pillars to implementing an absence management policy that hits all the right notes:
Ensure compliance
Although compliance can sound dry, this is very much a living and breathing thing. You must make sure you’re across relevant leave management regulations, which are updated all the time. By training managers in policy and compliance this supports your staff and heads off any possible legal ramifications of non-compliance.
Since the new UK government was formed in 2025, there has been quite a shake-up in employment legislation. The major shift is laid out in the Employment Rights Bill, which has changed all sorts of leave management terms and allowances, so companies must stay across these comprehensive updates.
For a useful ADP explainer on these changes, why not consult our guide here.
Set out expectations
Right. We’ve got the legal policies down pat, but how do these actually work in practice? Communicating your leave management programme effectively lets staff know what’s expected of them, whilst keeping the needs of the company centralised in this process.
Adding self-service tools can be a great boon as it keeps information flowing and accessible to every employee. Also, highlighting the correct communication channels for specific scenarios is key; for example, staff should know who to contact to report sickness and absence and via which platform. Hidden risks such as presenteeism or mucking about on the job may well impact absence management, so joining up with performance management systems can be useful.
There are a million managing sickness and leave scenarios that could play out. Therefore, clearly transmitting policy to all staff is vital, so everyone at every level knows the score.
Enhance absence tracking
Data is your friend and these days so much can be automated that you can get a quick accurate, quantified picture of holiday and sick leave management.
Ongoing, monitoring sickness absence and absenteeism of employees can be used to feedback and implement tweaks and changes to improve sick leave stats for ongoing continuous improvement. For example, NHS England now monitors and reports all its staff sickness absence rates every month, offering unrivalled insight and the ability to spot work absence management trends and address them head on.
However, there are still real people attached to these data sets and numbers, so don’t forget the human being in amongst this.
What can an absence management system do?
An effective absence management system simplifies the sick leave and holiday process. The benefits of using the right leave management application includes:
- Centralised tracking: get a bird’s eye view across every staff member in business
- Automated workflows: streamline requests, approvals and notifications with increased accuracy
- Employee self-service portals: empower staff to get information and help themselves
- Reports and trend analysis: identify issues and pressure points for smarter decision-making
- Compliance audit trail automation: calculate leave efficiently and avoid non-compliance risks
What’s the best absence management software out there?
Today’s workplaces pride themselves on their wellbeing focus and good leave management may be paramount to staff retention.
The best-in-class absence management software brings together the legislative, the practical and the personal. Choose absence management solutions that embody workplace policies, following the letter of the law. All whilst slotting in seamlessly to usable smart tech and dovetailing nicely into the unique feel of an organisation – that’s the dream.
Frequently asked questions
How do line managers and HR teams deal with people who take multiple sick days?
Using absence tracking software can monitor ongoing attendance and spot patterns. Then, it’s a matter of good communication with the staff member to understand what’s going on, if there are any additional needs and how to work on this going forward. Last port of call is escalating towards work absenteeism policy steps and disciplinary intervention.
How should HR go about managing long term sickness leave?
Always top of the list, keep communication lines flowing. It can be a stressful time for the employee and employer, so making sure you stick like glue to employment law regulations can offer reassurance to all parties, as well as documenting it at every stage. Discuss options like phased return-to-work or flexible working to bridge the gap from being at home to back in the workplace.
How does a phased return-to-work play out after long medical leave?
Create an individual plan for the returning worker, all agreed upon between HR, management and the employee themselves. The ideal scenario is upping hours or days over time, gradually as per the employee’s needs and ongoing health, reviewing together on a regular basis to refine as needed. Expect that there may be occasional setbacks and plan for this, whilst keeping everything documented on your absence tracking and HR management systems.
What’s best practice for managing staff time off for caring responsibilities or personal leave?
Carer’s leave and leave for personal circumstances such as bereavement is protected in UK employment law, but due process must be followed. Make any official forms accessible via self-service, where FAQs can be answered and links to government guidance included.
Any leave taken must be approved by the relevant line manager and HR, so a clear authorisation workflow should be established so employees know who to talk to, especially in what might be a very stressful time. Sickness and leave records must be kept up to date through payroll, compliance and absence tracking.
How useful is absence tracking software in spotting sickness and leave trends?
Centralising employee data through absence tracking platforms offers so much information and insight. You’ll see patterns form at certain times of year or high-risk events that impact sickness or absenteeism, this knowledge can be put into action looking into how these could be addressed.
Are there specific departments that are outliers? Both positive and negative spikes can show a lot. What can we learn from these insights? Use this data-rich information to implement change, it could be a little nudge that makes a big difference to improve absence stats and enhance productivity in the future.
How well can HR software manage absence compliance?
Absence management systems are made for keeping compliance boxes ticked, whether it’s statutory requirement, payroll or absence leave monitoring. Especially as UK employment law is ever-changing, high-level absence management software will keep you informed and automatically ahead of these changes.
Robust documentation and monitoring are the essence of any HR management software, so relevant line managers and HR teams know that they have ticked off every due process in complicated areas like return-to-work or sick leave. All underpinned by excellent self-service options, so staff know who to contact and on what platform, should unexpected life complications happen and impact their day-to-day work life.
