Creating absence policies

As an employer you should make it clear what's expected of you and your employee if they need time off work. Having policies about different types of absence is a good way to do this.

It's up to you whether you have one policy or separate policies to cover different types of absence.

What your absence policies should cover

Your policies should cover how you deal with planned absence that you will authorise in advance. For example:

You should also include how you deal with absences that cannot be planned in advance. For example:

What to consider

In any policies about absence, you should consider including:

For some areas related to absence you must follow what the law says. For example:

Get more advice and support

If you have any questions about absence policies, you can contact the Acas helpline.

Acas also provides:

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