It is not uncommon for organisations to have to arrange cover for absent employees in a very short time scale. Where this is the case, employees usually report into a central location where cover is arranged immediately, negating the need for the manager to get involved at the reporting stage.

Absence Line can also be implemented in a way that suits this type of organisation in the following way. Employees continue to report into the central location within their organisation and the in-house operators arrange cover as necessary. All of the day's absence reports are collated and distributed the relevant managers at the end of the day's reporting period. The absence reports contain information including the expected duration and details of any work in progress which may need attention before the employee's return. The manager (or nominated person) then updates the Absence Line database directly via a set of customised electronic forms. They can also run their own reports to show current absentees and outstanding return to work interviews.

When the employee returns to work, the manager updates the system and they are then sent an email with a partially completed return to work form and a twelve month absence history attached. The manager then confirms that a return to work interview has been carried out, thus closing the absence.

If required, a nurse is available to call absentees at pre-defined times. This is proven to be a valuable part of the return to work process, and can be scheduled to suit specific requirements within your organisation.

Customised statistical reports are produced at predefined intervals, detailing the absence situation for both the organisation as a whole, and for individual departments.

If an individual has breached any of the agreed thresholds, then both the Line Manager and Occupational Health are informed. This system works extremely effectively, either when IMASS provides the Occupational Health service or when the organisation has it’s own Occupational Health provider. The system can also automatically inform an organisations Health and Safety team when an absence is likely to become RIDDOR reportable.