Conducting Return To Work Interviews
Return to work interviews are held following any length of absence. These meetings essential to ensure members of your team are fit and safe to return to work, capturing any adjustments that may be required to support this.
This video will demonstrate what good looks like in order to complete this process robustly and providing a balanced view on supporting individuals to attend work regularly whilst also tackling instances of poor attendance levels.
This resource is for managers and is applicable to all NWAS staff following a period of absence.
The Trusts return to work interview documentation and guidance can be found here Sickness absence management – NWAS Green Room.
The site above also contains further resources relating to the wider management of sickness absence.
A transcript of the video and step-by-step information can be found below the video.
“A return-to-work interview should be conducted on the first day back, when an employee has returned from an absence, ideally, before they are due commence work.
Return-to-work-interviews are crucial to ensure that the employee is welcomed back, are updated on any changes that may have occurred whilst they were away, and to see if they are fit and well enough to carry out their role.
The meeting should be held in a private place, away from any disruptions to ensure you both get the most out of the meeting.
Firstly, the discussions should start by asking about the employee’s overall wellbeing and how they are feeling. Conversations can then begin around the specifics of their most recent absence. The discussion should focus on the nature of the absence and the reasoning for them not attending work.
Question if the employee feels fully fit to resume their duties and explore if any additional support is required to do their job –This is especially important in roles that require driving.
Next, identify if there is a need to utilise Occupational Health advice (This will usually be in cases of long-term absence) to explore whether adjusted duties or a phased return is required. If they are needed, the alternative duties should have clear timescales (which are usually no longer than 3 months).
The duties should build stamina towards their substantive role – they should not be job creation. In this case, temporary or permanent redeployment into a more suitable role may need to be considered.
If it is likely that the employee could be disabled, reasonable adjustments should be considered. In this instance, seek occupational health advice to aid these discussions, however conversations can begin without their input initially. Further advice around making reasonable adjustments can be found on the Greenroom.
You should then agree any appropriate further referrals such physio, counselling or occupational health and signpost to any other support services through the wellbeing pages on the Greenroom, or on our occupational health providers wellbeing page.
The final part of the interview is to determine if there are any patterns of absence that can be identified, or inappropriate levels of absence and explore potential underlying reasons for this. Consider if they occur preceding or following Annual Leave or overtime, or at similar times of the year.
Ensure to discuss this openly with the employee and set expectations, where required.
Finally, confirm to the employee if they have triggered a sickness review. Plan for this meeting to be held with the appropriate level manager depending on the level of review that has been triggered.
Once the interview is over, ensure that you both agree what has been documented and sign.
Record and save on GRS and add any additional supporting notes on the system, giving as much detail as possible.
If you need further advice or are unsure on a process, please reach out to your local HR Team.”
