If you are entitled to an allowance under the University Sick Pay Scheme it will be stated in your written statement of terms and conditions.
The University Sick Pay Scheme covers you when you are absent from work due to a certified sickness (either a Self-certificate or a doctor’s medical statement). During such absences, you may be granted sick leave with pay, by way of allowances provided by the Scheme. How much sick pay allowance you receive is based on your contract and length of service with the University. Any sick pay you receive will be no more than your normal calendar monthly salary. If you are not eligible or entitled to an allowance under the University Sick Pay Scheme you may be entitled to receive statutory benefits or payments as are prescribed by law.
You will only have access to the allowances under the University Sick Pay Scheme if you follow the correct notification and certification procedure. An essential condition for claiming your sick pay allowance is that you notify the University as soon as possible on the first day of absence through ill health and you complete and submit the relevant Sickness Absence Self Certification Form and/or doctor’s medical statement. Failure to do so may result in your entitlement to receive statutory and/or university sickness benefit being affected.
Procedure for the notification of sickness absence
All staff should follow this procedure, irrespective of how many hours you work, the duration of your contract or how long you have been employed by the University. Failure to follow this procedure may result in your sick pay being delayed or disallowed. If you are absent from work through sickness or injury you must notify your Head of School/Department (or a designated person within the School/Department) as soon as possible on the first day of absence. You must do this even if you are likely only to be absent for one working day. The unavailability of your Head of School/Department (or designated person, normally your line manager) is not an excuse for the sickness not being notified. You should give brief details of your illness and an estimate of how long you are likely to be absent due to ill health.
You should keep in contact with your Head of School/Department (or designated person) during your sickness absence, especially if it is a prolonged illness. Similarly, Heads of School/Department should attempt to keep in touch with staff, who may be absent for some time, at reasonable intervals. When you are aware of the anticipated date of return to work you should inform your Head of School/Department (or designated person).
On the eighth day of continuous sickness/injury absence from work (including rest days and weekends) you must submit to your Head of School/Department (or designated person) a current doctor’s medical statement (Med 3). For example, if you normally work Monday to Friday and are ill all week and you do not return on the Monday after your first week’s absence, you will require a doctor’s medical statement. This will be required even if you do not normally work on Saturday and Sunday as they are counted, for this purpose as continuous absence days. If you return on that Monday, you will not be required to submit a doctor’s medical statement.
All staff must complete a Sickness Absence Self-Certification Form after returning from any absence due to sickness. The Self-Certification Form covers the first seven days of absence due to ill health and must be submitted, irrespective of the length of your sickness absence or whether you have submitted a doctor’s medical statement. Your Head of School/Department (or designated person) will complete the Absence Reporting online form. This is automatically forwarded to Payroll, who will issue a Self-certification Form. Your Head of School/Department (or designated person), must countersign this form and will forward to the Payroll Office.
If your sickness absence is due to an accident where damages may be receivable from a third party, you should contact the Payroll Office, tel: 0115 951 5648 to inform them of the circumstances.
If for any reason you are not entitled to sick pay under the University Sick Pay Scheme, you should still report your sickness absence in the normal way and submit any doctor’s medical statements to the University.
Continuing absence must always be supported by the submission of consecutive doctor’s medical statements received at the appropriate time. If there is a period of time during a sickness absence not covered by a doctor’s medical statement, you may lose your entitlement to University sick pay and/or your statutory sick pay. Therefore you should ensure that you submit doctor’s medical statements to your Head of School/Department (or designated person) on time and covering all the period of the absence.
From 6 April 2010, your doctor can indicate on the doctor’s medical statement (‘Statement of Fitness for Work’) that you ‘may be fit for work’ with the doctor’s suggested advice. If you receive such advice then you must contact your manager as soon as practicable. Your manager will discuss the doctor’s advice with you in order to establish whether a return to work, on the basis of this advice, is possible and can be agreed. You may be referred to the University’s Occupational Health Service to obtain further specialist advice prior to a return to work being agreed. If a return to work can be agreed your manager will discuss with you the basis of this return e.g. return to work date. If a return to work cannot be agreed the doctor’s medical statements with ‘may be fit for work’ will be treated as if the doctor had advised that you were ‘unfit for work’. You will then need to submit consecutive doctor’s medical statements until you are able to return to work.
If you fall sick during the course of annual leave you must notify the University on the first day of sickness. Only then will you be regarded as being on sick leave for the dates specified on a University Self-certification Form, which must be supported by a doctor’s medical statement after seven days of continuous sickness.
If you are absent on account of sickness on the day before or the day following a Bank Holiday or University Declared Holiday (as determined by the University) you must substantiate this absence by the completion of a University Self-certification Form.
On your return to work, your Head of School/Department (or designated person) will discuss your absence at a Return to Work interview and review your sickness absence record in accordance with the University’s Sickness Absence Management Policy.
Revised April 2010
Last edited Jan 02, 2018