Absence management: UK employment law

Essential points

• Employers should distinguish between lateness, short-term absences and long-term absences, and authorised and unauthorised absence.
• Authorised short-term absences may include attending medical appointments and specific religious observances, annual leave and sickness absence; unauthorised short-term absences could include persistent lateness.
• Employers should investigate the cause of unauthorised absences and then respond appropriately, which could include authorising a temporary adjustment to cope with exceptional circumstances or disciplinary action.
• Authorised absences should be managed in accordance with an organisation’s policies on annual leave and sickness absence.