Absence managementWhat it means, in plain English

Absence management is the process of recording, monitoring and responding to employee absence, including sickness, lateness and unauthorised absence. A typical UK approach combines self-certification for the first seven days of sickness, fit notes thereafter, return-to-work interviews and trigger points that prompt a formal review. Done well it reduces cost and rota disruption while supporting genuinely unwell staff and staying on the right side of disability discrimination law.