Absence management

Absence management is the process of managing employee sickness. It can also refer to when an employee fails to show up for work at the agreed time or date.

Staff absence can come in many forms. For instance:

  • Short-term sickness. ‘Short-term’ refers to sickness absence of four weeks or less, usually due to mild to moderate illnesses, stress, and other mild-to-moderate mental health issues, as well as injuries that prevent the employee from working.
  • Long-term sickness. Sickness is generally referred to as ‘long term’ if the employee is continuously absent for a month or more. This can be due to serious illnesses or injuries, worsening of existing chronic health conditions, or recovering after an operation.
  • Unauthorised absences and lateness. Staff going AWOL, even if it’s only for the first few minutes of their shift, is a big problem. Absences of this type often become disciplinary issues.

For managers — and their teams — unplanned staff absence can have an enormous impact on productivity and morale. It can also affect the quality of service customers receive, so it’s vital that managers are able to record and respond to staff absence as quickly and smoothly as possible.

For budgetary reasons, too, managers need to be able to accurately log staff absence, ensuring that payroll for that period is accurate and doesn’t just replicate what’s on the staff rota.

In RotaCloud, managers are automatically notified whenever an employee is late or fails to clock in for a scheduled shift. Staff absence can also be marked directly on the employee rota, including any notes for the reason behind it.

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