Duty of care | Top tips for supporting line managers with long term employee sickness absence

Long term sickness absence can be a minefield for the best of line managers; do they call the employee?

Will that be seen as pressure that person doesn’t need? What will they say if they do call? They’re not doctors or even confidants. But, at the same time, line managers face pressure and uncertainty when a team member is off for more than four weeks; What’s their duty of care? Should they be discussing ‘reasonable adjustments’ (whatever they are!)? And, when is it appropriate to think about a temporary or permanent replacement?

On top of all that, there’s the matter of an ongoing global pandemic of course. This brings extra day-to-day challenges for line managers. They were squeezed out last year when CEOs became the self-appointed chief communicators with the entire workforce. They’re now squeezed back in again as CEOs retreat to their engine rooms to get back to the job of steering the ship.

All the challenges that line managers faced pre pandemic haven’t gone away – in terms of lack of training and support to actually manage – they’ve just been exacerbated by a complex and, quite frankly, worrying and exhausting combination of: ongoing remote and/or hybrid working; Covid-19 related health and safety considerations in places of work; Long Covid; people getting diagnosed with – and treated for – cancer at a later and more invasive stage thanks to the NHS backlog; not to mention an ongoing rise in work-related stress and burnout.