Attendance Management: DWP must improve

The following details have been supplied by the PCS DWP Group:
PCS will take all necessary action to achieve improvements to DWP policy and procedure

Attendance Management Changes
DWP Attendance Management Policy, Procedure and Advice have been revised from 1st April 2014 following consultation but not agreement with the Departmental Trade Union Side (DTUS). The intent of DWP during the consultation process was to revise policy and procedure for consistency with Civil Service Employee Policy (CSEP) including the introduction of the CSEP spells of absence policy. The purpose of PCS during the consultation process was to:

• Oppose the imposition of a CSEP automatic warning policy
• Oppose the imposition of a CSEP spells of absence policy
• Negotiate improved support for disability related absences
• Negotiate improved guidance for exceptional absences
• Negotiate abolition of local “consistency” checking regimes which put undue pressure on managers to give inappropriate warnings

Warnings not automatic
DWP has agreed that Warnings are not automatic and should not be given where one of the special circumstances applies (Guidance for Employees 10 & Procedure for Managers 3.2). This retains policy achieved by PCS in 2009.

Spells of absence imposed
A new spells of absence trigger point has been imposed but only after acceptance of exceptions from the application of this policy to meet PCS concerns. New Procedure confirms that spells of absence are:

• Not applied for disability related absences (Procedure for Managers 2.2)
• Not pro-rata for part-time employees (Guidance for Employees 10 & Advice Q33)
• Not applied in a 6 month Review Period following a warning (Procedure for Managers 3.14/3.16, Procedure 3.25/3.27 & Advice Q34)

Disability related absences
DWP has accepted PCS proposals for improved procedural guidance for supporting occasional fluctuation of the level of disability related absence. Additions have been introduced to Procedure 3.2(b) & Advice Q9:
Advice Q9 New final paragraph:

Levels of disability related absences will vary, and may include peaks and troughs, so it would not normally be appropriate for an isolated peak of absence alone to justify unsatisfactory attendance action. The Disabled Employee’s Trigger Point supports irregular attendance and should not normally be used to trigger unsatisfactory attendance action in cases of continuous absence

3.2(b) new Procedural addition:
An occasional fluctuation [link to Q9] of the level of disability related absence would usually be supported and would not normally trigger warning or dismissal action. Before applying their discretion, or informing the employee of the decision in circumstances not listed, the manager must seek advice, not instruction, from their line manager (or a more senior manager) and an HR Expert.

Exceptional circumstances absences
DWP has accepted PCS proposals for new guidance for supporting exceptional absences.

New Attendance Management Advice Q36 covers “What should a manager consider when deciding whether to treat an absence as exceptional?

People can experience isolated incidents of absence or one-off illnesses or injuries. There are a number of circumstances where an absence would be treated as exceptional:

• An illness or condition which is usually only experienced once such as Chickenpox
• An illness or condition which is fairly uncommon or unusual
• An illness or condition which is fairly common but has had an uncommon or unusually extreme impact such as cases requiring hospital treatment
• The absence is following an accident or injury

A manager should not try to decide whether an absence is unlikely to reoccur. The manager must decide whether to treat an absence as exceptional based on the facts of the case at that time. Where an absence has been treated as exceptional but there are subsequent absences for the same reason, or related to it within the rolling 12 month period, that absence will be taken into account when considering whether to give an improvement warning.”

Spells of absence transitional arrangements 
The new spells of absence trigger point applies under DWP Procedure from 1st April 2014 but there are transitional arrangements:

• Sickness absences before 1st April will NOT count as spells of absence.
• Sickness absences that began before 1st April and include or continue past 1st April will NOT count as a spell of absence
• The trigger point for employees who are in a 12 month Sustained Improvement Period on this date is 8 days and will include spells from and including 1st April.

DWP now has accepted that the trigger point for employees in a 6 month Review Period will not include spells and will remain as four days.

DWP must improve
PCS Policy advocates significant improvement of Attendance Management. More needs to be done to ensure that:

• The warning process is not automatic in practice not just as a policy on the DWP intranet: words must be put into deeds
• Disability related absences must be better supported in practice
• Warnings and dismissal must be a last resort not a first option

PCS will take all necessary action to achieve improvements and better procedural fairness and justice for all: DWP Must Improve.