Phased Returns

What is a Phased Return to Work and why might staff need one?

When a member of staff has been absent from work due to sickness for a period of 20 working days (4 calendar weeks) or more, this is regarded as long term sickness absence.

Staff who have been off ‘long term’ may require a phased return to work to ease them back in gradually, to avoid exacerbation of their symptoms and fatigue, or to help them re‐adjust to work duties and hours, depending on their condition or illness.

An employee who has had a period of long-term continuous absence or even a shorter period of absence may benefit from a phased return to work. This would normally be agreed based on a recommendation from OHS and/or if advised by the GP on the ‘fit note’.

A phased return might consist of shorter days; a shorter working week than their normal contracted hours, and decreased duties – all of which may start off minimally, increasing to more hours and days as the phased return period progresses. Whilst hours may be reduced, other adjustments may also need to be considered for the member of staff ‐ please contact your HR Business Partner for advice regarding this.

Duration of a Phased Return

The phased return to work should normally be no more than 4-6 weeks. The exact length of a phased return will be agreed on a case by case basis. If the employee is not able to resume their normal contracted hours after this period, the employee should be re-referred to Occupational Health for further advice.

Phased returns to work should be agreed in advance of the employee returning to work. As advice may need to be sought from Occupational Health, early discussion will need to take place between the employee and their line manager to allow time for this process to be undertaken. If early discussion does not take place this may delay the manager being able to facilitate the employees return to work. Risk assessments may also be required to support return.

Recording a Phased Return

All phased returns must be recorded using the Phased Return to Work Plan which will need to be completed by the manager in conjunction with the member of staff returning from sickness absence leave. The plan then must be submitted to the relevant HR Business Partner to ensure correct payment is made during the phased return.

Phased Return Plan

Payment during Phased Returns

Staff will receive pay for the hours they are actually present at work, during their phased return. Employees will be required to obtain a Fit Note from their GP, to certify that they are well enough to return to work, which may be with or without restrictions.

Once the Fit Note is received by the employee’s line manager, a meeting can be held to plan the phased return.

The employee will receive full (normal) pay for the hours/days that they attend work, but will receive Occupational Sick Pay, Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), or nil pay, whichever is applicable to the individual, for the time that they are not at work (if this supported by the GP on the Fit Note).

Where sick pay is paid during a phased return, this will be deducted from the staff members remaining sick pay entitlement.

During a phased return, the level of entitlement to sick pay provision will be based on their continuity of service as at the start of the sickness period the phased return is linked to (Occupational Sick Pay Policy).

Staff may wish to discuss with their line manager, the option of using annual leave as a substitute for sick pay or nil pay periods, to enable them to receive normal (full) pay during these hours/days also (staff on term time contracts will receive either SSP or nil pay).

Sickness Recording During Phased Return

The sickness record for a member of staff on a phased return to work will show them as sick for SSP and Occupational Sick Pay purposes.

Managers should record staff as on a phased return in their sickness absence return.

Carryover of Annual Leave

In the case of long term sickness absence, a member of staff is able to transfer from one leave year to the next only what Annual Leave they have not been able to take out of the 20 day statutory minimum entitlement, due to ill health (this would exclude any Bank Holidays/Closure days taken in that leave year).

Managing a Phased Return to Work

The premise of a phased return is that the employee is well enough to carry out some work, and is likely, given time, to recover sufficiently to return to his or her previous role (or previous role with some adaptations). A phased return to work should be based on medical advice, either in a fit note from the employee's doctor, or in an Occupational Health assessment. In the event that a phased return has been recommended and is supported by Occupational Health, the manager should discuss the following with the employee:

When the phased return is to start;
With what work and hours the employee will start the phased return;
At what location the employee will start the phased return (e.g. at home or in the office);
Whether or not there are any other changes to the working arrangements that might need to be made (e.g. a special chair or computer equipment to help support an employee with a disability);
What changes in work, hours and/or location are thereafter expected to occur, and when they are expected to occur;
What arrangements will be put in place to monitor the employee's progress and any difficulties;
What will happen to the employee's pay during the phased return to work; and
To whom the employee should report if they have any difficulties with the arrangements.

Arrangements should take into account the individual circumstances and addressed on a case by case basis. The manager should review the member of staff's progress on a weekly basis and should they recognise that the member of staff is unlikely to be able to resume their normal working hours and duties before the four week period expires, further urgent advice should be sought from Occupational Health.

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