Equality Impact Assessment - Absence management policy and procedure

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1 - Scope

1.1 List the main policy aims / outcomes, who benefits and how

• The management of health and sickness issues, both where there is an underlying health cause or where there is no underlying health cause.

The policy aims to

• Ensure sickness absence is managed in a fair, supportive and consistent way
• Support effective measures for prevention of sickness absence for employees, departments and Wiltshire Council as a whole
• Make clear the responsibilities placed on employees, managers and Wiltshire Council in managing absence
• Protect employees in the management of sickness

1.2 What data / research / evidence is available which is relevant to this EIA?

• Sickness reasons are recorded on SAP by managers. Wiltshire Council loses 8 days per full time equivalent (FTE) to sickness (last quarterly report ending June 2010) in comparison with the Local Authority median of 10 days per FTE.  
• This information is not split into sickness rates for the different equality groups.
• Sickness absence for employees covered by the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) is not currently recorded separately.

1.3 Is there further data or information you think would be useful in carrying out this assessment?

• A more active approach to recording and monitoring sickness absence is required to analyse the rates of absence in certain equality groups or areas of employees across the council.

2 - Consultation

2.1 Which groups were consulted when preparing the policy / EIA?

• Staff Disability Forum Rep
• JCC (Unions)
• Legal Team
• Stakeholder Panel
• Equal Chances, Better Lives
• Staffing Policy Committee
• The policy will be reviewed at the Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) and Staffing Policy Committee in December 2010

2.2 Is further consultation required? If so detail below and add to action plan

• Occupational health will be included in the consultation starting in October 2010

3 - Assessing impact and strengthening the policy

3.1 Using data collected (1.2) and information gathered from consultation ( 2.1) what implications might this policy have on equality?

• A more proactive approach to recording and monitoring sickness absence data is required to understand whether there are disproportionate absences in certain equality groups in order to assess the impact.

3.2 How will the policy affect different groups of staff?

Group	How affected (positive or negative)	Any actions required (add to action plan)
Disability	Reasonable adjustments. Time taken relating to disability and time for appointments recorded as sickness.	Add section to the policy on disability leave/sickness. Manager guidance on reasonable adjustments
Carers	Time to care for dependents may be taken as absence.	Reference the leave for carers and time off for family emergencies policies
Religion and belief	Time off may be considered as unauthorised absence.	Reference the religious beliefs and practices policy
Pregnancy and maternity	Reasonable adjustments.	Manager guidance on reasonable adjustments. Reference to the maternity and related policies

3.3 Is there anything which could be included in the policy to help promote equality of opportunity and good staff relations or eliminate discrimination, harassment or unfair treatment?

• A reference to the dignity at work policy.
• Frequently asked questions and a toolkit including manager guidance and template letters will be provided with the policy

3.4 Do any of your recommended actions to address any negative effects on one group of staff impact on any other groups? If so what actions could be taken to mitigate this?

• No. The policy is aimed at meeting the needs of employees whilst also ensuring the effective management of sickness absence.

3.5 Is there anything that can be done to improve accessibility and understanding of the policy amongst staff?

• Information in the Wire and Team Wire confirming the launch of the new policy.
• Inclusion in induction information for new employees.
• Training for managers in applying the policy. All HR policies are available on HR Online and available in other formats upon request.  
• Toolkits are also available including templates and guidance for managers in applying the policies.

4 - Summary

4.1 Will the policy meet the council’s responsibilities in relation to equality and human rights?

• Yes – with changes highlighted in the action plan

4.2 Have you identified anything through this EIA which should be more widely adopted in other policies or built into planning/strategy work?

• The availability of HR policies to employees who do not have computer access and therefore are unable to access HR Online at work.
• This is a wider issue that needs to be addressed by the HR Policy team for all HR policies. It was suggested that a flyer be provided to Heads of Service to distribute amongst their teams outlining the changes in the main policies and how to go about accessing further information.

5 - Action Plan

Section of EIA	Actions	Target  date	Review date	Responsible postholder
1.4 – Further research required	To look into the active monitoring and further breakdown of the data for sickness absence for the equality groups	1 January 2011	1 April 2011	Business Support Officer Senior HR Assistant for Performance and Data
2.2 – Further consultation required	Include occupational health in the HR consultation of the policy. Include Staff Disability Forum in consultation	31 October 2010 18 November 2010	31 December 2010 30 November 2010	Business Support Officer Head of Corporate Personnel
3.2 – Mitigating negative impact on different groups of staff	Manager guidance to include information on reasonable adjustments and dealing with cases that involve an employee covered by the DDA. Add a section on time off for appointments relating to a disability and recording sickness due to disability. Advice from occupational health and the staff disability forum for trigger points for employees with a disability. Reference to other relevant polices such as leave for carers, time off for family emergencies and religious beliefs and practices.	31 October 2010 31 October 2010 30 November 2010 31 December 2010	31 December 2010 31 December 2010 31 October 2010 31 December 2010	Business Support Officer Business Support Officer Business Support Officer Business Support Officer
3.3 – Promoting equality of opportunity / good relations	Reference to the Dignity at Work policy within this policy. Reference to other support available for employees such as the employee well being policy and access to work.	31 October 2010 31 October 2010	31 December 2010 31 December 2010	Business Support Officer Business Support Officer
3.5 – Improving accessibility / understanding	On the launch of the absence policy, provide information in the Wire and Team Wire for both employees and managers Information to be included within the starter packs or induction information for new employees.	1 January 2011 1 January 2011	1 April 2011 1 April 2011	Business Support Officer Business Support Officer

6 - Sign off

This policy has been fully assessed in relation to its potential effects on equality and all relevant concerns have been addressed:

• Quality sign off - Equality and Diversity partner – 3 December 2010
• Director level sign off - Service Director for Human Resources and Organisational Development – 3 December 2010

Last updated: 18 April 2011