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Employee handbook

Sickness absence

There will be times when you can’t come to work because you’re ill. We’ll do everything we can, within reason, to support you through periods of ill-health. If you tell your manager about your health concerns they’ll keep this confidential and won’t share this information unless you say it’s okay.

If you're unable to come to work, you must call your manager before 10am (or your agreed start time if you work flexibly, prior to shifts or your rostered commitments). If your manager is unavailable, you should ask to speak to the next most senior manager in the office.

If you're going to be absent for more than 7 calendar days, you'll need to provide a GP fit note.

The attendance management policy explains:

  • how we manage sickness absence at the Parliament
  • the support we’ll provide
  • the steps we may take depending on the cause and duration of the absence

Read the full Attendance Management Policy

Your manager will meet with you after every absence to talk about how you’re feeling. They might suggest that you speak to our independent employee assistance programme, to get some help and advice. This is so we can get more information about how your health condition is likely to affect you at work, and what adjustments we can make to help. As long as you follow the correct absence reporting requirements, you’ll be entitled to receive sick pay. 

It’s really important that you follow the absence reporting procedure for every unplanned absence. If you don’t, this will be viewed as unauthorised absence which is a serious matter. This could result in your pay being stopped and disciplinary action being taken.