FOI-03902

Request   I am submitting a Freedom of Information (FOI) request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.   I am requesting disclosure of the following information held by the organisation in relation to NHS staff absence management:   Absence Management Formulas & Weighting Please provide:   All formulas, calculations, scoring systems, or trigger mechanisms used to monitor, assess, or escalate staff absence   The weighting applied to short ‑ term absence compared with long ‑ term absence   Any points ‑ based or trigger ‑ based systems used within the organisation’s absence management process   Any internal HR or managerial guidance explaining how these formulas are applied in practice   Recent NHS Policy Change – Informal to Formal Review Process Please provide:   A copy of the recent communication issued to managers instructing them to depart from the previous process of three informal absence reviews before formal action, and instead move to a system of one informal review followed by formal action   Any supporting documents, guidance, or rationale provided to managers regarding this change   Equality Impact Assessment (EIA / EHIA) Under NHS England’s Equality & Health Inequalities Impact Assessment (EHIA) requirements, any policy change that may disproportionately affect staff with disabilities or long ‑ term health conditions should undergo an Equality Impact Assessment.   Therefore, please provide:   The Equality Impact Assessment (EIA/EHIA) completed for the above policy change   Any internal discussions, reports, or assessments relating to the potential impact on staff with long ‑ term health conditions or disabilities   If no EIA/EHIA was completed, please provide:   A written explanation outlining why an Equality Impact Assessment was not undertaken   Any documentation or reasoning used to justify proceeding without one   The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) received your request on 11 June 2026.   We have handled your request under the  Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).   Our  response   I can confirm that the NHSBSA holds some of the information you have requested. Please note that there has not been a recent policy change, meaning that much of the information requested is not held. Please see below for further details.   1. Absence Management Formulas & Weighting All formulas, calculations, scoring systems, or trigger mechanisms used to monitor, assess, or escalate staff absence   Any points ‑ based or trigger ‑ based systems used within the organisation’s absence management process   The NHSBSA Sickness Absence Policy does not apply any scoring, weighting or formulas when managing absence, and neither is a points or scoring system adopted. Therefore, this information is not held by the NHSBSA.    The requested information on triggers is held by the NHSBSA. Information on triggers is contained within the NHSBSA Sickness Absence Policy.   The policy sets out the following absence trigger points:   Three or more absences periods in a rolling 12-month period.   Eight or more days’ absence in a rolling 12-month period (pro-rata if you’re part time).   Any unusual timing or identifiable pattern of absence (such as the day after a bank holiday).   Further details regarding the management of sickness absence are available within the Sickness Absence Policy document, which is found on the My Hub page (staff intranet). T he weighting applied to short ‑ term absence compared with long ‑ term absence   Any internal HR or managerial guidance explaining how these formulas are applied in practice   I am writing to advise you that the information you requested is not held by the NHSBSA.    There is no weighting applied to short-term or long-term absence, and no formulas are used when it comes to staff absence.   2. Recent NHS Policy Change – Informal to Formal Review Process Please provide:   A copy of the recent communication issued to managers instructing them to depart from the previous process of three informal absence reviews before formal action, and instead move to a system of one informal review followed by formal action   I am writing to advise you that the information you requested is not held by the NHSBSA.    The NHSBSA Sickness Absence Policy was last updated in 2019 and t here ha ve  been no recent change s .   Communication was issued to line managers ,  to clarify the Sickness Absence Policy and how this should be applied when staff absence arises. No instruction has been issued to managers to change or depart from the requirements set out within the Sickness Absence Policy.   Any supporting documents, guidance, or rationale provided to managers regarding this change   I am writing to advise you that the information you requested is not held by the NHSBSA, as there has been no recent change to the NHSBSA Sickness Absence Policy   The guidance available to line managers can be found on the My Hub page (staff intranet). 3. Equality Impact Assessment (EIA / EHIA) Under NHS England’s Equality & Health Inequalities Impact Assessment (EHIA) requirements, any policy change that may disproportionately affect staff with disabilities or long ‑ term health conditions should undergo an Equality Impact Assessment.   Therefore, please provide:   The Equality Impact Assessment (EIA/EHIA) completed for the above policy change   Any internal discussions, reports, or assessments relating to the potential impact on staff with long ‑ term health conditions or disabilities   I am writing to advise you that the information you requested is not held by the NHSBSA.   As outlined above, there has been no recent Sickness Absence Policy change.   The most recent EIA was a Wellbeing and Inclusion Analysis, completed when the policy was last revised on Wednesday 11 December 2019.    If no EIA/EHIA was completed, please provide:   A written explanation outlining why an Equality Impact Assessment was not undertaken   Any documentation or reasoning used to justify proceeding without one   Please see the above explanation as to why the requested information is not held.   Data Queries   Please contact  [email protected]  ensuring you quote the above reference if you have any specific questions regarding this response; or, if you feel you may be misunderstanding or misinterpreting the information; or, if you plan on publishing the data.   Reusing the data and copyright   If you plan on producing a press or broadcast story based upon the data please contact  [email protected] . This is important to ensure that the figures are not misunderstood or misrepresented.   The information supplied to you continues to be protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and is subject to NHSBSA copyright. This information is licenced under the terms of the Open Government Licence detailed at:   http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/     Should you wish to re-use the information you must include the following statement:  “NHSBSA Copyright 2026”.  Failure to do so is a breach of the terms of the licence.   Information you receive which is not subject to NHSBSA Copyright continues to be protected by the copyright of the person, or organisation, from which the information originated. Please obtain their permission before reproducing any third party (non NHSBSA Copyright) information.