Absence Manager is a complete solution to manage all types of unplanned absence in real time, including sickness, carer and dependent leave. This will be the new method of logging an unplanned absence for all Mersey Care employees.
- Staff will be able to self-report an unplanned absence quickly by either ringing the absence management line on 0330 818 6439, or via the online system.
- The absence management line is open 24/7 so unplanned absence can be reported immediately without the need to wait until the start of the working day.
- Managers will receive instant alerts via email and SMS about the absence when a new absence is logged.
- Managers will be able to engage promptly with their employees from the start, and throughout the absence until the employee is fit for work.
We recognise the introduction of Empactis may represent a significant change for some divisions. However, it is crucial for this system to be in place for all areas across the Trust as it is an essential part of our commitment to effective unplanned absence notification and management.
If you have any queries regarding the roll out of the absence manager system please contact absence
We are planning to commence roll out of the Absence Management system with a Pilot group starting in October 2022 with the full trust rollout coming early 2023. Any further updates will be posted here.
Logging an absence
- Employee logs unplanned absence, reason and expected return date by calling Absence Line on 0330 818 6439 or by using absence portal.
- Email notification & SMS sent to manager about new absence.
Managers call back
- Manager notified of new absence! Calls the employee via call back line 0330 818 6440
- Manager updates absence manager portal to add or update absence type and reason
Managers return to work discussion
- Manager notified the employee has reported they are fit to return!
- Manager arranges return-to-work discussion with employee
- Manager updates absence manager portal and records details of the return-to-work discussion.
Q: What is Absence Manager?
A: Absence Manager is the agreed system for recording and supporting the management of all unplanned absences (excluding annual and study leave). The system is already in use at several other trusts within the North West and is now in the process of being rolled out across Mersey Care.
Q: What does Absence Manager do?
A: Absence Manager:
- Gives you a single telephone number (0330 818 6439) to report absence
- Captures the absence information you provide and automatically notifies your line manager
- Guides line managers and employees through the absence process in order to support you to return to work
Q: What type of absence do I need to call the number for, is it just sickness?
A: You need to call the number for any unplanned absence. This includes:
- Sickness
- Planned surgery or medical procedure
- Carers Leave
- Dependents Leave
- Bereavement Leave
- Compassionate Leave
Q: Where do I find the link to the Absence Manager system?
A: You will be sent a link to the Absence Manager system with details of your user account when your department goes live on Absence Manager. It will also be available as an icon on your desktop of your PC or laptop and in the IT Systems pages of the intranet.
Q. I am a Line Manager but I don’t have access to Absence Manager; how do I get access?
A. The system is being rolled out in phases across the Trust. The Project Lead for Absence Manager will be in contact with you prior to introducing the system in your area and will let you know when you have an active account. You will be offered training on the system before going live.
Q. How will the system notify me when a member of my staff is absent?
A: You will receive an email notification whenever an employee you are responsible for reports or updates an absence using the Absence Manager ‘phone number. There is also an option for you to set up a text message notification.
Q: What do I do if someone contacts me directly about their absence rather than calling the Absence Manager phone-line?
A: You need to ask the employee to report their absence using the Absence Manager phone-line and advise them that you will call them back via Absence Manager to ensure the appropriate information regarding their absence is captured. Reports of absence should only be accepted through the Absence Manager phone-line once your department has gone live on Absence Manager.
Q: What if there is an extreme event that happens to the employee, e.g. they are incapacitated/hospitalised, which means that they cannot contact Absence Manager?
A: In these cases, the employee’s relative or friend should still call Absence Manager, giving the name of the employee and the employee’s work location, and if possible, the name of the employee’s line manager. This will create a pending call which will allow your HR Advisor/Empactis Project team to create the absence in the system and the line manager will then be notified by the system.
Should the relative or friend telephone the line manager then the line manager should notify the HR Adviser of the details and they will create the absence in Absence Manager.
Q: Can the employee call retrospectively to the system to log an absence?
A: Yes, they can ring 7 days either way of the absence.
Q: What if the employee is having planned surgery?
A: The employee still needs to ring the system and can do so up to 7 days before the planned surgery starts.
Q. A member of my staff is absent, but I did not receive a notification, why is this?
A: This may be either because they have not reported the absence using the Absence Manager number, or because they are not identified in the system as one of your members of staff. The Project Team will work with you before you ‘go live’ to ensure that the management structure for your team is correct in the system. However, if you do find people missing or in the wrong place at any point, please notify the ESR admin team. Any changes to your hierarchy should be directed to esradmin
Email Subject: ESR Supervisor Hierarchy
Email content:
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Employee No. |
New Supervisor Name |
New Supervisor Employee No. |
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Q. Why can I see employees that no longer work in my team?
A: Again this may mean that you ESR Hierarchy is not correct. If an employee has left the Trust or transferred to another department, you will need to update the line manager information within the absence manager system under the employee’s tab on the top right-hand side. Within the list of employees, you can select ‘current’ and ‘non-current’ to show only those staff who are currently in post in your team.
Q: What happens if I get a message about a member of staff that I do not manage?
A: Please notify this to absencemanager
Q: After I receive the notification about an employee’s absence, is there anything that I need to do?
A: Yes. Engagement with absent employees is essential to ensure that you fulfil your duty of care and that employees are supported to return to work as quickly as possible. The absence notification will prompt you to call the employee back to clarify the reason for absence, understand any support that might be needed, and establish their anticipated return date. At the end of the call, you will need to stay on the line and follow the instructions. You will also need to edit the absence online to confirm the absence type and reason. Details of how to do this are in the user guides that you will receive when your department goes live with Absence manager.
Q: What happens if I call an absent employee back, but they are not available?
A: It is important that the employee receives a call from a manager to discuss their absence as outlined in the question above. The system does capture attempted calls to the employee, although the task will show as fulfilled only once contact has been made with the member of staff so you will need to try to contact them again later that day.
Q: Would we be notified if the employee doesn’t return to work on the expected return date?
A: Yes, the system would email the manager to advise that the individual hasn’t returned on their expected return date. If the individual amends their expected return date you will also receive a notification.
Q: What happens if there is on-call in my department, who would receive the notification?
A: A bespoke plan may be needed for areas with on call or complex arrangements. Where this is the case, the team leads are encouraged to make contact with the Absence Management team during the data gathering process to agree how Absence Manager can be configured to support management of absence in their area.
Q: Do I need to ‘close’ the absence when an employee returns to work?
A: No, it is the employee’s responsibility to call the Absence Manager phone-line to close the absence on the day that they are fit to return to work (even if this is a non-working day).
Q: Will the system manage the employee’s absence?
A: No—the system will record the absence and prompt managers and employees to follow the agreed absence process. As a manager it is your role to ensure that you support and manage employee absence effectively.
Q. What happens if I am on annual leave or unavailable and therefore don’t receive the notification of absence?
A. You will need to set up delegate cover in the system so that if you are unavailable for any reason all the notifications will be sent to a deputised authority whilst keeping you copied into emails relating to the absence. Details of how to do this will be covered in the training and available in the user guides issued to your department when it is live on the Absence Manager system.
Q: Can you have more than one delegate for your manager account?
A: Yes, that’s fine to set up – you can have an unlimited number of delegates; however, delegates should be of equal grade or above and not somebody that you manage.
Q: Can I record return to work details on the system?
A: Yes— once the employee has returned to work, you will receive an email notification prompting you to carry out the return to work interview. There is an on-line RTW form for you to use during this interview and once the return to work is completed, the completed form is saved on the system and captured as a finished task which is available for the manager to review at any time.
Q: Do we hold any of the documentation in paper format as well as on the system (e.g. in the event that we were to change supplier?)
A: That is a local decision; however, you should print a copy of the Return to Work form to share with the employee and also include a copy in their personnel file.
Q. What training is available for Absence Manager?
A: An eLearning packing is available by using the following link
http://www.nwyhelearning.nhs.uk/elearning/northwest/Liverpool/packages/test_area/empactis/
The Absence Manager Team will also arrange several virtual demonstration sessions which will be bookable on the L&D prospectus under section 8. We will also be issuing user guides and learning packs for managers.
Q: How can I report any issues or feedback?
A: You can log any issues or submit feedback using the following link: https://forms.office.com/r/i1C1BSdmx0. If you require any immediate support you can contact the absence manager team on absence
Q: What is Absence Manager?
A: Absence Manager is the agreed system for recording and supporting the management of all unplanned absences (excluding annual and study leave). The system is already in use at several other trusts within the North West and is now in the process of being rolled out across Mersey Care.
Q: What does Absence Manager do?
A: Absence Manager:
- Gives you a single telephone number (0330 818 6439) to report absence
- Captures the absence information you provide and automatically notifies your line manager
- Guides line managers and employees through the absence process in order to support you to return to work
Q: What type of absence do I need to call the number for, is it just sickness?
A: You need to call the number for any unplanned absence. This includes:
- Sickness
- Planned surgery or medical procedure
- Carers Leave
- Dependents Leave
- Bereavement Leave
- Compassionate Leave
Q: What is the cost of the call?
A: The Absence Manager number is a local rate number and can be used as part of inclusive minutes from mobile phone providers.
Q. Why do we need Absence Manager?
A: Sometimes it is difficult to reach your line manager when you are unexpectedly absent. Having Absence Manager means that your absence can be reported at any time of day or night as soon as you realise that you are not able to attend work. The system also helps to ensure that a consistent process is used for all employees and all unplanned absence.
Q. What do I need to do if I am absent from work unexpectedly?
A. As soon as you realise you will not be able to attend work for whatever reason, you must call Absence Manager to report your absence. You can do this at any time of the day or night.
The number you need to call is 0330 818 6439 (this is a local rate number).
- You will be asked to give your assignment/employee number when you ring the phone line - please make sure you have this to hand
- For most people the assignment number can be found on your ID badge
- Your assignment number is also located in the top left-hand corner of your payslip or can be found on “ESR Self-Service” or the “My ESR” App on your mobile.
- The phone number is for reporting ALL unplanned absence and planned sickness absence.
Q. What if the system cannot understand me?
A: In the unlikely event that your voice will not be recognised, the system is designed to recognise the telephone keypad as well as voice prompts. You can press ‘1’ for ‘YES’ or ‘2’ for ‘NO’ on the telephone keypad. You can also input your assignment number and dates using the keypad.
Q. What happens after I call the Absence Manager number?
A: Your line manager will be sent an email straight away to let them know about your absence. The system will prompt the manager to call you back to discuss the absence further and clarify the details if needed.
Q. When should I expect my manager to call me back?
A: Your manager should return your call within 24 hours.
Q. What do I do when I am able to return to work?
A: When you are able to return to work (even if this is on a non-working day), you will need to call the Absence Manager number and close the absence.
Q. What happens if I need to stay off work for longer than I originally thought?
A: You will need to ring the Absence Manager number to update the intended return to work date.
Q. What should I do if the reason for my absence changes?
A. For example – Dependents Leave changes to sickness related absence:
You should close your existing absence (e.g. Dependents leave) by calling the Absence Manager phone-line and open a new absence with the new reason (e.g. sickness).
Q. What do I do if I need my manager to call me during my absence?
A: You can request a call back at any time from your manager by calling the Absence Manager phone number and following the prompts given. Your manager should call you back within 24 hours on the number you have provided. If you need your manager to call you on a different number, please specify this when asked by the system.
Q: Why is this system better than the current process for reporting absence?
A: You can ring the system:
- 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year
- The Absence Manager number is always answered promptly
- There is no need to ‘find’ your manager as they receive an automated notification email as soon as you have reported the absence through the Absence Manager phone-line
Q: What happens if my manager is on leave when I report the absence?
A: Your manager will have set up delegate cover on the system so that when you report your absence, the notification will automatically be sent to whoever they have identified as their deputy.
Before each department goes live with the Absence Manager system, each manager will have been asked to give a department phone number (e.g. a ward phone) that will also receive an automatic notification of your absence (please note that no details of the absence are shared in this notification, only that an absence has been reported and the person’s name).
Q: What if there is an extreme event that happens to the me, e.g. I am incapacitated/hospitalised, which means that I am unable to contact Absence Manager?
A: We would ask that you make every effort to call Absence Manager, but we recognise that this may not always be possible. In these exceptional cases, a relative or friend should still call Absence Manager, giving the following information:
- Your full name
- Your work location
- The name of your line manager (if possible)
This will create a pending call which will allow your absence to be created in the system your line manager will then be notified by the system.
If at all possible your relative or friend should avoid calling your line manager directly.
Q. When will I need to start using the Absence Manager number to report absence?
A: The system is being rolled out in stages across the organisation. Your managers will be notified when this is being introduced in your area and communications will be sent out to all staff with more details at this time.
Q: Do I need any training on Absence Manager?
A. No – you just need to use the Absence Manager phone number to report, extend, or close your absence. There are recorded prompts when you call the phone-line that guides you through what you need to do.
You may want to record the Absence Manager number in your mobile phone contacts, and keep a note of your assignment number as you will need this when you call the phone-line
- Absence manager - Employee guide
- Absence manager - Managers guide
- Absence manager - First time log in
- ESR Hierarchy guide
- Absence manager - insight guide
- eLearning
- Absence manager virtual demo sessions bookable via L&D prospectus under section 8