Training: Managing Absence
Gain the tools, knowledge, and confidence to manage sickness absence effectively empowering managers to balance compassion with clear expectations.
Today was very informative and thought provoking especially for issues that we would normally be scared of tackling. Thank you for today, I was looking forward to the training and it surpassed my expectations due to the subjects covered and making everyone review our processes and consider how to make positive changes.
Are frequent absences disrupting your business, increasing workloads, and frustrating your team?
Mishandling absence - whether through inconsistency, legal missteps, or avoiding difficult conversations can lead to disengagement, resentment, and even costly claims.
This course equips your managers with the confidence and skills to manage absence fairly, legally, and effectively - keeping your business running smoothly while supporting your employees.
Really good session, good relatable examples and case studies. Jenefer is great, really informative and open to questions.
Why Neurodiversity Changes Everything About Absence Management
Traditional absence management often fails because it assumes everyone experiences illness, stress and recovery the same way. They don’t.
Neurodivergent employees may have:
- Patterns that look “suspicious” but are actually predictable (Monday absences due to weekend recovery needs)
- Mental health fluctuations tied to specific workplace triggers you can identify and address
- Conditions that traditional fit notes don’t capture properly
- Adjustment needs that prevent absence before it happens
Understanding these patterns doesn’t just help you support neurodivergent team members, it makes you better at spotting patterns, asking better questions and creating preventative solutions for your entire team.
This is what separates good absence management from great absence management.
Course Overview
You get that phone call, “I won’t be in today”. The impact is felt immediately as projects slow down, workloads shift, and the team feels the strain. As a manager, you may feel trapped. After all, if they’re sick, they’re sick so what can you really do?
Our Managing Absence training is here to show you what you can do. This course equips you with practical skills to understand, manage, and reduce unplanned absences effectively. We cover everything from investigating the root causes of absence to handling sensitive situations with confidence. Balancing compassion with clarity, you’ll leave ready to support your team while reducing the operational impacts of absenteeism.
What You’ll Learn in the Course
By the end of the course, you’ll be equipped to:
- Understand Absence Triggers, including neurodivergent patterns: Identify what drives absence, from seasonal illness to ADHD medication adjustments to autistic burnout. Learn to spot patterns others miss.
- Improve Attendance: Develop strategies that build a culture of attendance and accountability in your team.
- Investigate with Compassion and Clarity: Develop questioning techniques that uncover root causes without making assumptions about disability, neurodiversity or mental health.
- Navigate Medical Evidence Confidently: Understand fit notes, Occupational Health referrals and Workplace Needs Assessments. Know when to request each and how to use them effectively.
- Support Employees with Disabilities: Confidently navigate disability-related and neurodiverse absence cases, ensuring fair treatment and compliance with the law.
Course Introduction
In this video Jenefer introduces the course and explains a little bit about how she approaches training delivery. Towards the end of the video we include a number of course reviews from those who have attended training sessions with Jenefer.
When Absence Management Meets Workplace Needs Assessments
Patterns of absence are often the first signal that an employee needs adjustments. This course teaches you when and how to suggest a Workplace Needs Assessment - a specialist assessment that identifies the specific workplace changes that can prevent future absence.
Real Absence Scenarios You’ll Confidently Handle
- An employee with ADHD has frequent Monday absences - is this a pattern you should address or accommodate?
- Someone returns from mental health leave - how do you support them without overstepping?
- A team member’s fit note says “workplace stress” - what’s your next move?
- You suspect dyslexia is causing performance issues that lead to stress-related absence - how do you broach this sensitively?
- Attendance is perfect except around annual reviews - what’s the connection and how do you address it?
On-site Training
£2,250
- One Day - in-house, at your workplace
- Maximum of 14 delegates
- Interactive workshop
- Comprehensive workbook for each participant
- CPD certification for all attendees
- Plenty of opportunity to discuss your real life experiences and cases with our expert trainer
All prices are exclusive of VAT.
Prices are correct for courses delivered on your site in Essex, Kent, London and Suffolk. Courses can be delivered outside these areas, please call 01245 910500 for a quote.
Really enjoyed the session and glad the engagement was high from the group which is testament to the quality of content and delivery.
Who Will Benefit from This Course?
This course is ideal for:
- Team Leaders and Managers facing high absence rates and wanting to take proactive steps
- HR Professionals who play a role in supporting absence management
- Employers Embracing Inclusivity who want to handle absence related to disabilities and neurodiversity thoughtfully and compliantly
All our courses, whether live or recorded, are delivered by Jenefer Livings who has 20 years experience in HR, having designed and delivered training on the whole range of HR topics for organisations across industry sectors. As Jenefer also provides hands-on consultancy work with her clients she maintains an up to date knowledge and experience that shines through with engaging stories in her training.
With our in-person course we'll work through case studies and discuss real life examples to ensure your managers get learning relating to the types of cases they'll be dealing with.
Why Silk Helix?
All our training is prepared and delivered by me, Jenefer, because you're not getting someone who just reads you the slides. You're getting stories, passion, my energy and engaging discussion. I don't deliver long lectures and use a range of activities to encourage everyone to engage with small and whole group discussions, this is how I ensure your business reality is reflected in everything we do.
My promise to you! There will be no role plays, no embarrassing icebreakers where you have to reveal information about yourself and no one is picked on to speak. In my experience these are the things people dread about training and I see the collective sigh of relief when I start the session with this promise.
I recognise that to get discussion going you need an inviting environment. For in-person training this means a room set up, which includes a supply of fidgets and sweets, usually this in itself creates instant discussion as people enter the room. This sets people at ease and creates an ice breaker of its own.
You get a little hint of my style on our YouTube channel. In-person training is like that just with lots of interaction interspersed. And if you're looking at my webinars or digital courses, they're just like my YouTube channel but with a lot more specific detail and backed up by examples, templates and guides. Webinar sessions also include discussion and interaction to encourage everyone to get involved.
Trusted by Leading Organisations
Frequently Asked Questions
If anyone attending our training sessions has a specific need we should be accommodating we ask that you tell us in advance so that we can plan the training accordingly. We will do our best to accommodate any need for whatever reason that need exists.
There are also some common ways we develop our training to take into account the wide variety of learning styles and needs. We know learning styles are not limited to visual, auditory, reading and writing, and kinesthetic. Learning is impacted by a whole variety of things, including underlying medical conditions (diagnosed and not), comfort/ safety in your environment and your past experiences of learning. Our training by design takes this into account, including:
- a welcoming environment for learners to enter
- stress balls or other fidget resources
- workbooks with place for personal notes if the learner wishes
- minimal need to read long pieces of text
- noone is called out or picked on (even to go first)
- no icebreakers that require you to reveal personal information (we do use activities but always related to the learning and with a specific goal)
- no role plays (we find for too many people the issues around acting get in the way of learning)
- regular breaks
- no lengthy period of lectures by the trainer - it's about discussion of your real life cases or activities that make you think or develop skills
Whilst our webinar/lunch and learn sessions cannot provide all of the physical support we’ll still do everything we can to accommodate. We encourage individuals to access their own supports, join the session from somewhere they are comfortable, use their own fidget tools or take notes and camera on or off is a personal preference.
Yes, we've worked with many clients where we've delivered multiple courses to allow everyone to attend. We don't recommend more people in the session for many of the reasons listed above, our courses are designed to be interactive and a safe place to discuss real life situations. Once the groups get much bigger than 14 it starts to become difficult for everyone to participate in these discussions.
With webinar sessions the different nature means we can accommodate much more than 14 people. We still suggest 30 to allow people space to ask questions and join in the chat, however, it is more flexible for these sessions. In managers sessions we do suggest a smaller group to help with discussion.
Yes, we're happy to adapt and design sessions to suit your needs. Book a FREE, no obligation, consultation to discuss your needs and get a quote for bespoke training.
Yes, our in-person training is provided at your venue. Some clients use meeting rooms in their buildings, others book venues. There are a couple of things to consider - we need space in the room to move around. We won't get you running about but being able to move into smaller groups for discussion, sometimes brainstorming around a large piece of paper are examples of the activities that need space.
In addition, our trainer will need parking as training comes with a lot of kit, plus somewhere to plug a laptop in and either a screen or projector. We don't use loads of slides (Jenefer isn't a fan or either producing them or remembering to switch slides) but there are a few occasions where a diagramme or video for example help make the point.
Our full day sessions are 6 hours, including 30 minutes for lunch and 2 coffee breaks. Our half day sessions are 3 hours with a coffee break. Exact times may vary slightly, training courses are interactive with plenty of opportunities for discussion built into the day, this can impact the end timing slightly.
Most of our webinar sessions are designed to be an hour in length, except the managers sessions which are 2 hours. However, we will stay on line to answer questions beyond this point if needed.
Yes.
We are a registered provider with The CPD Certification ServiceIf you're ready to go ahead then either book a consultation or email training@silkhelix.co.uk with your requirements and we'll get dates booked in.