Sickness and absence

Sickness absence review meeting invitation letter

Invites an employee with a pattern of short-term absence to a formal review, and says what the meeting is for.

The return-to-work conversations have happened, the pattern has continued, and your absence policy's trigger point has been reached. This is a supportive meeting first: find out what is going on, agree what would help, and set out what you expect. It is not a disciplinary hearing, and if the absences turn out to be one underlying condition, it becomes something else entirely.

Before it goes

  • You have the absence record: dates, durations, reasons given, and the return-to-work notes.
  • Your absence policy names the trigger and the meeting you are now holding, and you are following it.

The letter

[COMPANY NAME] [COMPANY ADDRESS] [DATE] [EMPLOYEE NAME] [EMPLOYEE ADDRESS] Dear [EMPLOYEE FIRST NAME], Sickness absence review meeting: [DATE] I am writing to invite you to a meeting to review your sickness absence, on [DATE] at [TIME] at [LOCATION]. The meeting will be held by me, and [NAME] will take notes. In the [12] months to [DATE], you have had [NUMBER] periods of sickness absence totalling [NUMBER] working days: [LIST: dates, duration, reason recorded, e.g. 4 to 5 February (2 days, stomach upset); 3 March (1 day, migraine); …] Our absence policy provides for a formal review when absence reaches [TRIGGER, e.g. three separate periods, or eight working days, in a rolling 12 months]. That point has been reached, which is why I am writing. The purpose of the meeting is to understand what is behind these absences, to discuss whether there is anything the company can do to support you, and to agree what happens next. If there is an underlying health condition, or something outside work, that is affecting your attendance, this is the place to tell me, and I would encourage you to. We may discuss whether a referral to occupational health would help; that would need your consent. This is not a disciplinary hearing. However, I want to be open that if attendance does not improve and there is no underlying reason for it, further action under the absence policy could follow, which I will explain at the meeting. You are welcome to bring a work colleague or trade union representative. If the date is not possible, please tell me and we will rearrange. Yours sincerely, [MANAGER NAME] [JOB TITLE] [COMPANY NAME]

Filling it in

The record
From the absence system, with reasons as recorded at the time. Work-Lynx's absence module produces the list; do not reconstruct it from memory.
The trigger
Quote your policy. If you have applied it to this person but not to others with a similar record, expect that to be raised.

What the law says

  • Acas guidance on managing absence: distinguish short-term intermittent absence from long-term absence; hold return-to-work meetings; act consistently against a published policy.
  • Equality Act 2010 ss.6, 15 and 20: a long-term condition may be a disability; treating someone unfavourably because of something arising from it must be justified, and reasonable adjustments must be considered.
  • Statutory Sick Pay: payable from the first qualifying day for every employee (the waiting days and lower earnings limit were removed from 6 April 2026); fit notes are required after seven calendar days of absence.
Guidance, not legal advice. Employment law moves; check the current position before relying on any of it, and take advice on anything that could end someone's employment.

What turns this letter into a claim

  • Do not treat the meeting as a telling-off. The person with a run of genuine short absences and the person swinging the lead get the same first letter; the meeting is where you find out which is which.
  • Do not ask for a diagnosis. Ask what is affecting attendance and what would help.
  • Do not count absences related to a disability, pregnancy, or a phased return in the same way as ordinary sickness. Check before counting.

Questions people ask

What are trigger points and do I have to have them?

A trigger point is a level of absence in your policy (for example three occasions or eight days in 12 months) that prompts a formal review. You do not have to have them, but they make you consistent, and consistency is what defends an absence process. Whatever your policy says, follow it.

Can I discipline someone for being off sick?

For genuine sickness, no. For a pattern with no medical basis, for failing to follow the reporting procedure, or for dishonesty about the absence, your policy may lead to warnings. The route from this meeting to any sanction runs through the evidence, and the letter you send after the meeting must say what was found.

What if they disclose a disability at the meeting?

Stop counting and start adjusting. Consider an occupational health referral, ask what would help, and record that absences related to the condition are treated separately. The Equality Act duty starts when you know, or should reasonably have known.

The letter, with the names already in

Employ AI drafts letters like this one from the employee's record, so the dates, service and pay are already right, and the disciplinary module writes the invitation and outcome letters from the case itself. All 44 letter families, 49 UK policies, GPS clock-in, rotas, leave and timesheets: £2.50 a month plus £1 per employee. 14 days free, no card.

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