It's All About People - 25th September 2025

READ TIME - 5 minute read (longer than usual as so much to cover!)

This week I got to tick off one of the bands on my “bucket list” of bands to see live. I have been a huge Deacon Blue fan for over 35 years, and seeing them live was brilliant.

Of course I had to buy a t-shirt and I thought it was perfect for this email - with one of their new songs being “People Come First”!

In this week’s email we are going to be taking another look at sickness absence, as the HR team are certainly spending a lot of their time helping clients to manage this better.

If absence has crept up in your team lately, you’re not alone. UK employees were off for nearly two working weeks on average (9.4 days) in the last 12 months — the highest we’ve seen in years (Source - CIPD/Simplyhealth 2025 Health & Wellbeing Report).

Good news: with a few evidence-based tweaks to policy, conversations, and identifying underlying issues - you can cut avoidable absence.

Actions To Make a Difference

• Check your policy: is it clear, current, and applied consistently? Check trigger points, self-certification windows, management responsibilities, and escalation paths.

• Train your managers: the first five minutes of the return-to-work chat set the tone. Give managers a simple conversation framework and train them on how important they are and how to have the conversation.

• Track what matters: separate short-term vs long-term trends; monitor hotspots by role/shift/team; intervene early.

• Support, then challenge: signpost EAP/occupational health; agree a plan; follow up.

• Compassion + consistency beats “policy-only” every time.

Free watch any time webinar: “Absence Management, Made Practical”

In this webinar I walk through the essential policy elements, manager conversations, fit notes, and data you need to track. Based on over 20 years experience of helping organisations reduce absence levels.
➡️ Watch the free webinar 

October HR Masterclass — Put it into practice (live)

In October we’ll take your policy from “tidied up” to “working on the floor”. Bring your scenarios and we’ll workshop:

• Return-to-work conversations (live demos + scripts)

• Handling recurring short-term absence fairly

• Long-term absence: OH, adjustments, and capability routes

• Proactive approaches to wellbeing

Clients: 1 free place included - if you need a reminder of your code just reply to this email
Newsletter readers (that’s you) : 50% off with code IAAP50 (£75 instead of £150)
➡️ Book your place for October

Why act now: what’s changing next year (and likely costs)

Two big shifts are on the horizon, expected from April 2026 (subject to legislation under the Employment Rights Bill). Start preparing now:

1. SSP from Day 1 (no 3-day waiting period)

2. Wider eligibility (removal of the Lower Earnings Limit) and a new payment basis (the flat SSP rate or 80% of weekly earnings, whichever is lower — detail to be confirmed in final regs).

   These changes will likely increase SSP spend and the number of employees eligible — so having strong triggers, early intervention, and manager capability becomes even more important.

The business case: Long-term sickness can run to £20,700 per affected employee once you factor cover, lost output, and management time — early, structured management pays for itself.

And as always, if you’ve got any questions, just hit reply.

Until next week…

Best wishes,
Emma

P.S. There are all the resources you need to manage absence in the HR Hub - policy, guidance, template letters and more. Why not try the HR Hub free for a month here.

Events to Join in the coming weeks

🎥 Free Webinar- Managing Conflict - — coming in the next few weeks, the next in our series of free webinars. Click on the title to join the waiting list.

🎥 LinkedIn Live on Sexual Harassment Legislation and How to Be Complaint - Click on re-watch it.

🌟 Our Referral Program!

Do you know someone who would benefit from reading this weekly newsletter? Once a quarter we do a prize draw with all those who have referred this newsletter in with the chance of winning a £250 voucher! The more referrals you make, the higher your chances of winning – let’s spread the word and help even more people navigate HR with confidence. 💌🎁 NEXT DRAW IS ON 2nd OCTOBER SO GET REFERRING TO INCREASE YOUR CHANCES.

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