Absence Management
Better Conversations = Better Attendance.
Sickness absence is one of the largest hidden costs in most organisations, and one of the least consistently managed. White Cube Consulting helps you set a clear absence policy, train the managers who have to apply it, and handle the long term and complex cases that need more than a process.
We are based in Aberdeen and work with organisations across Aberdeen, Scotland and the UK, on site or online.
The Problems We Are Asked to Solve
Most organisations do not have a significant absence problem. More often it’s a problem of how absence is managed consistently. The policy is rarely the main issue. Applying it fairly, every time, can be.
Our Approach
Absence management can sit in an uncomfortable place. Handle it too lightly and the impact can fall upon the people who do turn up. Managing it too rigidly and you risk demotivating someone who may be genuinely unwell, or discriminating against someone whose condition could be a genuine disability.
Our starting point is that most absence cases are genuine, and that managers need a reliable framework they can apply to whether they can be capable of separating anyone who’s absence needs addressed. That means an absence policy people can actually follow, managers who know how to conduct absence conversations, and a clear position to know when to escalate or when to get medical advice.
We can work alongside in-house HR teams or act as an internal HR support function where one may not exist.
What We Offer
Most organisations start to focus on whichever areas are causing the most pain right now.
A short, readable absence policy that is practical, managers can use day to day and that stands up to scrutiny: notification, certification, trigger points, return to work, long term absence and links to capability. Customised to fit what your organisation needs.
The part that usually makes a big difference. Practical sessions on conducting return to work conversations, spotting patterns, discussing mental health and knowing when a case is no longer an absence matter and becomes a disciplinary one.
Hands on support with the cases that have stalled or need some extra input: occupational health referrals and how to frame the questions, reasonable adjustments, phased returns, and any difficult judgements about where a case may be heading.
Working out what your absence is actually costing, which patterns matter, and how to set trigger points that prompt conversations not straight penalties. We can help you apply the Bradford Factor, including where it may cause problems.
Free webinar, Tuesday 27 October, 12:00pm to 1:00pm. How to Manage Absence: the cost of absence, short term against long term, using the Bradford Factor to spot patterns, statutory sick pay changes, and recognising stress in individuals and teams. One hour on Microsoft Teams, free to attend. See the full outline and register.
Free to Download
Our free HR document library includes a comprehensive set of absence and wellbeing templates including: absence management policy, return to work interview checklist and record form, long term absence checklist, occupational health referral form, phased return plan, reasonable adjustments template, stress risk assessment, mental health conversation guide, menopause support policy and more.
Free to download and customise.
If you need any help customising them to fit your organisation, we can help.
What Organisations Gain
Why White Cube
Absence is a cost. We treat it as one to be managed, without losing sight of the person.
Policies managers can use and support with having difficult absence conversations.
Grounded in current UK employment law and ACAS Codes. Practical, compliant advice.
From support for a single case that has stalled to an absence management support programme.
Absence may not be a single issue. We support any performance, wellbeing or capability issues around it.
Absence cases are almost always sensitive. We handle them discreetly and confidentially.
FAQ
It depends what you need. It might be writing or rewriting your absence policy, training managers to hold return to work conversations, or working through one long term case that has stalled. Most organisations begin with whichever of those is most pressing, and broaden this out to a wider solution if needed.
Yes, it is quite a common challenge. A policy that may be too long, too vague about what a manager should actually do, or has never been explained to the managers expected to apply it. We can help with all three. Training is normally beneficial when a lack of knowledge or change of approach is required.
Yes. A lot of our absence work can be single case support: someone who has been off for weeks or months, an occupational health report nobody is sure how to read and apply, or a situation where health, performance and conduct have become tangled. We can advise behind the scenes as external advisors, or act on behalf of the client in the meetings.
Usually when you need a medical view to help reach a decision you cannot make effectively on your own: whether someone is likely to return to work, what adjustments may help, or whether a condition is likely to be long term or may deteriorate over time. A referral can sometimes only be as useful as the questions you ask, which is what we can help with.
Yes. Our free HR document library already includes more than a dozen absence and wellbeing templates covering policy, return to work, long term absence, occupational health referral, phased return, reasonable adjustments and stress risk assessment. If you want them tailored to suit your own organisation, we can help with that too.
Let’s talk
Whether you need help writing a policy, more confident managers, or help with one case that has gone on too long, we can help. Read our free How to Manage Absence guide as a starting point.