Managing sickness and absence within your workforce | Useful resources from Ellis Whittam

Managing sickness and absence within your workforce | Useful Resources

As part of our continued commitment to supporting organisations through the various employment and health and safety implications of coronavirus, Ellis Whittam continues to produce free resources, designed to help employers make confident, informed decisions whilst working within the confines of the law.

We hope you enjoyed our recent webinar. If you missed it or would like to watch it again, you can find the recording below.

Below, we have also provided links to a number of free resources that you can use to manage sickness and absence in your organisation.

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COVID-19 | FREE expert guidance for employers, including sample policies, template risk assessments and more

Watch On-Demand

In this recent live Q&A, James Tamm offers some much-needed practical advice, guidance and clarity around managing COVID-related sickness and absence within your workforce.

During registration, we invited registrants to submit questions for the Q&A session. We have since collated all the questions and our experts’ responses in an easy-to-read format. The full list of Q&As will be available shortly.

Related resources

Absence Management Guidance Note

The current coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis has seen a rise in the number of instances of absence across the UK workforce and has caused the government to change sick pay legislation on at least three occasions.

Absence and Refusals to Work During COVID-19 FAQ

A full list of frequently asked questions around absence from the workplace and refusals to work during the COVID-19 pandemic, complete with answers from our legal experts.

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP): When is it Payable?

To be entitled to SSP, subject to other qualifying conditions, an employee would normally have to be absent from work because of incapacity by reason of disease or physical/mental disablement which stops them from being able to perform their duties.

Staff Self-Isolation Memo Template

New regulations were introduced on 28 September 2020 in England by the UK government making it a legal obligation to self-isolate if an individual tests positive for COVID-19, is contacted by Test and Trace because they have been in contact with someone who has tested positive, or is living (or in a support bubble) with someone who has tested positive.

Back to Business Hub

Throughout the pandemic, our Employment Law and Health & Safety specialists have continued to produce free, practical guidance and templates for employers.

To access all these resources, plus be notified when new resources are added in relation to COVID-19, register for free now.

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Interlink RCT

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my request was dealt with very quickly and efficiently , the issue was resolved immediately.

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21:51 22 Nov 22

Stuart was extremely thorough and patient. He spent time discussing health and safety information that I wanted further understanding on.His manner is approachable and transparent. His approach is helpful, considerate and very supportive.Stuart doesn't dictate and is happy to highlight the areas that you have done well in & not just point out the areas that require improving.Trusting and knowledgeable - very happy to have Stuart supporting our venue and team.

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I have had dealings with a number of representatives from Worknest. They have all been polite,friendly & knowledgeable.

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Karl Offord

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Very helpful every time i phone, good advice and support

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Fantastic seminar and very informative 👏

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EA-RS Group

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Mark Hendry

10:07 31 May 22

Taylor Road Primary School has just had it's first H&S Audit with WorkNest. Andy Hooke is our H&S consultant. Andy was very professional, knowledgeable and fair in all aspects of the Audit and spent two days at the school working with me and talking to all staff. I look forward to working with Andy and WorkNest in the future to help improve Health, Safety and Wellbeing in our school. Mark Hendry, Site Manager

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22:34 16 May 22

Paul Wetherfield

09:08 11 May 22

Lisa Parry

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14:19 29 Mar 22

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Really rustic place. I love it.

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WorkNest have done more than it said on the can. They have been very responsive and provided outstanding specialist advice in relation to our school H&S policy review and legionella action plan,

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19:10 28 Jan 22

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Bridget MacPherson

13:23 28 Jan 22

A relatively new customer to WorkNest, but very soon became invaluable for support in both HR and H&S. We receive fantastic, personalised help at point of contact. Never a delay on our request for information and help. The online resource centre and live access to the HR and H&S portals have made our work lives so much easier and gives us the confidence in our day to day. WorkNest our 'trusted' go-to!

Dave Pascoe

11:38 27 Jan 22

A very easy site to navigate and very informative

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St Winefrides

11:21 26 Jan 22

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Ref. Jan Hallas Excellent, helpful, patient, friendly etc. etc. Always has time to hear the full extent of the issue and then offer pragmatic and sensible solutions. Thanks, Rob West, MD - Benchmark Scaffolding Ltd

ST WX

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Really helpful staff and always able to find the information and answers we need with their help and support.

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I have worked with WorkNest for a number of years and consider them an extension to our own People Services team; providing supportive, detailed and expert advice on all employment law matters and would highly recommend their services to both small and large businesses.

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10:08 21 May 21

We have received a very professional service , in a timely manner. The personal consultant assigned to our school has given great support and detailed responses to Health and Safety/Compliant issues.

CityStore Self Storage

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We have used Ellis Whitham for well over 20+ years, 12 years with "CityStore Self Storage" as well as many years before with our previous business "KeepSafe Self Storage". Primarily we use Ellis Whittam for our HR support as well as our annual H&S compliance reviews at each of our self storage sites. We have recommended them to many others and they are widely known and used within the Self Storage industry. Their online portals makes accessing, updating or sharing any reports or data very easy. The HR teams are especially good at what they do and really do help and offer great advice.

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06:46 19 May 21

Rob was professional but friendly during his visit and was able to point me in the right directions about certain health and safety matters that I was not sure about. Compared with another H&S Auditor from a different company, Rob took a more relaxed approach which works better for me personally. Recommended.

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Call answered quickly even in these challenging times. Advice from Nick was clear and he was also quick to provide further details via email.

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Visibility Scotland always receive 100% excellent services from Ellis Whittam. We cannot praise this service enough. Our staff have also enjoyed the on-line training, too.

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Stuart was helpful and supportive during his visit. This helps the Court and myself make continual improvements.

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10:19 18 May 21

Ellis Whittam looks after our Employment Law, HR and our Health & Safety Support.We continue to be impressed with their professional service, knowledge of the changes in the UK law and the accuracy in the information supplied.

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09:49 18 May 21

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09:33 18 May 21

Good quality advice and service. Friendly and Helpful assistance covering HR and H & S issues. The response to emailed enquiries is timely and it is unusual for there not to be anyone available to talk through issues on the telephone. In comparison to previous HR support, though this is not a cheap option it is a huge improvement.

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School Office

12:13 21 Jan 21

Simon's support has been invaluable in dealing with this matter, he has guided and advised us, and has responded to all our concerns and queries on the matter, both efficiently and promptly.

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20:59 23 Nov 20

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Flip Edwards

08:52 23 Nov 20

Our contact is always at the end of the phone, easy to talk to and fast response to problems. He is our "go to" as soon as we have an employment problem. Thank you Richard

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17:20 22 Nov 20

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Great service as always when I recently rang in with a problem.....

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11:28 19 Nov 20

Ross Macdonald

11:21 19 Nov 20

We use the services of Ellis Whittam for our HR issues and find the service to be excellent. During the current pandemic it has been crucial to keep abreast of employment requirements and for us David Eastwood has been critical in our attempts to steer a path through the legal minefield that has developed.

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Care Afloat

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11:11 19 Nov 20

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11:07 19 Nov 20

Helen went above and beyond to call me back after her shift should have finished, your assistance and dedication is much appreciated.

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11:02 19 Nov 20

Ellis Whittam have provided us with solid HR and Health and Safety support for many years. Their service is outstanding and very professional. They work closely with us ensuring the services they offer are tailor made to suit our business.Richard Szymanski,Operations manager,Metcalfe Catering Equipment Ltd.

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Fantastic service really supportive and throughout the Coronavirus pandemic they have provided lots of really useful documents that can apply to all businesses. Rarely have to use them but when I do, just the support you need.

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16:27 15 Oct 20

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09:51 02 Apr 20

We have used the services of Ellis Whittam for over 4 years. They provide a number of online resources but it is the personal touch which is proving invaluable particularly at the moment. I know that Toyah is there to assist and guide me in the decisions I have to make.

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13:56 31 Mar 20

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09:46 31 Mar 20

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14:59 30 Mar 20

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14:01 30 Mar 20

Toyah was very helpful and surprisingly energetic and enthusiastic considering what you all must be going through with a massive spike in furlough and other enquiries. Many thanks! Your service and staff commitment is massively appreciated, not only now, but always! Bernard Starkmann

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Sarah was sympathetic to our situation and although I'm sure she is really busy, took her time to answer all my questions and has sent me a list of links for more info. This service is a lifeline to small businesses.

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Derick is always professional, helpful and it gives me a huge amount of reassurance he is on hand to help with any questions I have.

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LLOYDS TRANSPORT

12:23 11 Mar 20

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22:13 04 Mar 20

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11:03 04 Mar 20

“A big thank you to Laurie Anderson for responding so quickly to our query and then sending through a letter so promptly.”

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