Absenses for Medical Reasons

1.8 Absences for Medical Reasons

Any employee who is absent for medical reasons must submit either a medical certificate or, for the first seven days of absence, a self certification form.  Where such absences occur on three or more occasions in any period of 12 weeks commencing with the first day of the first period of absence, the employee may be given a formal written warning (within one week of the ending of the third period of sickness absence) that in the event of any further period of absence due to illness occurring within 12 weeks of the date of the warning letter, the employee will be required to provide to his employer a medical certificate from either doctor or hospital to cover that period of absence.

Employers will, notwithstanding production of such certificates, have the right, upon there being an absence due to illness following the formal warning letter, to require the employee concerned to be medically examined by either a doctor commissioned by the employer or by the employee’s own medical adviser, with a report being sent to the employer.  In the latter case, the terms of the Access to Medical Reports Act 1988 will apply (see Appendix 3 for the form of consent to be used).

Any cost occasioned by such examinations will be borne by the employer.

None of the foregoing precludes individual companies instituting their own arrangements providing those arrangements are within the parameters of this rule. For persistent problems with absence refer to Section G 5.4.