Background

An Advance member was called to a First Attendance meeting after meeting Santander ‘review measures’ of 3 episodes of absence within a 12 month period.

Upon reviewing the paperwork, the Advance Representative observed that the 1st and 2nd absences occurred very close together – a matter of 2 days apart – and were for the same documented illness. Only one return-to-work assessment was completed to cover both periods, and there was a reference to the timeline, indicating that the same or similar condition may have caused the absences.

It was further noted by the Rep that the Return to Work document for the  3^rd absence, which had ‘triggered’ the meeting, had been completed 20 days after the date of return. This should have been completed within 14 days of the date of return to work.

In addition, the letter inviting the member to the hearing was issued 23 days after the last return to work document was completed by the TL and the Advance member.  This also should have been sent to the employee within 14 days.

These were points noted by the Advance Rep even before meeting with the member and discussing details of the absence.

On meeting with the member, through discussion, it was then found that the 3^rd absence was for a medical condition, which the member had had since their childhood, but had managed very well and had no previous absence. It had been disclosed to the Bank at the initial interview, but had not been noted as an Underlying Medical Condition.

What happened next

Advance raised the following points for the Chair to consider.

Absence 1 – 4 days

Absence 2 – 2 days (commenced 2 days after returning from absence 1)

Absence 3 – 2 days

Total of           8 days

Review points are 3 occasions and/or 12 days

•  Absence 1 & 2 should be considered as 1 absence only, as they were very close together and documented by the TM as the same illness. The TM had documented on the RTW document that ‘it was clear that the Advance member returned to work before having fully recovered’.

This would therefore mean ‘review points’ had not been reached, and therefore an attendance meeting was not necessary.

• Absence 3 was for a lifelong medical condition for which the member had been on medication for many years.  A recent change in medication had caused a flare-up of the condition, which was now once again under control and unlikely to cause future absence.
• A number of areas Santander Attendance policy had been breached by the line management – i.e., return to work, and letter of invite to the meeting was sent well outside the laid down and documented timescales.

Therefore, absence 3 could not be included in the review points on this or any future absence meetings and should be discounted.

• This would therefore reduce the absence occasions and days to 1 occasion and 6 days – and review points had not been met.

The Outcome

• The Chair fully agreed with all points raised by Advance and agreed that review points had not been met and agreed that there was no case to answer.
• The Chair also acknowledged that documentation had not been completed correctly and apologised for any stress this may have caused the Advance member.  They further noted that this was a learning point for the management team, as they had also failed to note this.
• A recommendation for an Occupational Health assessment was made to ensure the member is given the appropriate support with their medical condition in the future.

The member was very happy with the outcome and said that had Advance not been present to support, the likely outcome would have been a formal outcome – and that the only person in attendance who knew the correct process was the Advance Rep.

This is in no way a criticism of the TM, as they are not experts on Santander Policies and Procedures.  Advance Representatives, however, are trained and experienced in these areas and deal with cases of this nature on a daily basis.