Job summary
- Main area
- Human Resources
- Grade
- Band 5
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time
- Flexible working
- Job ref
- 203-C539
- Employer
- South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Human Resources C26110
- Town
- Warwick
- Salary
- £31,049 - £37,796 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 28/10/2025 23:59
Employer heading
People and Workforce Adviser - Sickness and Absence Management
Band 5
South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust is one of the top performing organisations within the NHS. Our staff think this is a great place to work and we hope you will agree. We have recently been rated as 'Outstanding' by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following our most recent inspection.
We provide services across Warwickshire and beyond ranging from Hospitals in Warwick, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Royal Leamington Spa and Shipston-on Stour to Community Services across the whole county. This includes our Community Teams in North Warwickshire.
We are a progressive, expanding organisation with great ambition around improving quality, integrating pathways and delivering high levels of productivity. Over 6000 people work for the Trust and many of them have been here a long time. People find they don’t need to go elsewhere to find a fulfilling career in healthcare.
The first thing you will notice about us is how we take our values seriously. We believe that our values underpin everything we do. If you are interested in a role with us you need to make sure our values match your own.
Our values can be summed up in one sentence. We are ‘Trusted to provide inclusive, safe, effective and compassionate care’. Throughout the recruitment process you will be asked to think about how you demonstrate these values and how they impact on your work. It doesn’t matter what role you do, whether it is patient facing or not, we are all working in the same way with our values at the core.
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Checks
Many of the roles we advertise have a requirement for a DBS check to be carried out. If you are successful for a role and it requires a DBS check the Trust will carry out the initial check and subscription to the DBS Update Service, however successful candidates will be expected to cover the associated costs . Details of this will be sent to successful candidates in their offer letter.
Probationary Period
All new staff to the Trust will be subject to a standard 6 month probationary period, the details of which will duly follow in your contract of employment.
Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion
South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust is committed to creating and sustaining a positive and inclusive working environment for all our employees. Our aim is to ensure that employees are equally valued and respected and that our organisation is representative of all members of society. We define diversity as valuing everyone as an individual – we value our employees, job applicants, students, patients and visitors as people. This is reflected within our values of being Inclusive, Safe, Effective, Compassionate and Trusted.
As part of our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion we encourage all applicants to complete a short survey. This can be accessed via the link below:
https://forms.office.com/e/ahWY3eAGM2
We appreciate you completing the survey.
Agile and Flexible Working
All our staff will have a work base. However the Trust operates as an Agile Working Team therefore staff may be working from home on a regular basis as required by the service. However, occasionally travel around Warwickshire and into your base will be required so access to your own transport would be helpful.
The Trust also welcome staff to work flexibly and we would welcome the conversation at interview regarding flexible working.
Staff Benefits
The Trust offer a wide range of additional benefits to staff. Anyone who joins us on a substantive basis can assess things such as the Lease Car Scheme, Electronics Scheme, Discounted Leisure and Travel, Cycle to work scheme amongst many others available.
Car Parking
The Trust currently have limited availability of car parking spaces, as such are operating a waiting list for new starters joining the organisation.
To keep up to date on our latest recruitment activity follow us on twitter @swftrecruit or look us up on Facebook (Recruitment - South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust).
Job overview
This is an exciting opportunity to join our People and Workforce Teams at South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust and George Eliot NHS Trust and play a key role working across both organisations as People and Workforce Advisor focusing on sickness absence management and promoting a healthy working enviroment.
Appointees will join established teams, providing a specialist HR advisory service across the Trust in relation to sickness absence management and improving attendance. The role helps to increase the awareness of the policy for line managers through working with divisional management teams, Occupational Health and the wider People and Workforce teams. As such, the postholder will have a solid grounding in generalist HR and absence management and a passion for supporting staff and mangers, whilst maintaining a compassionate and person-centred approach.
This role will work across both Trusts being based at Warwick and Nuneaton, although we make full use of agile working and operate with a combination of home and office based-working
Main duties of the job
To provide a highly professional specialist HR advisory service across the Trust with a particular focus on reducing sickness absence and improving attendance.
To be the first point of call for all managers across the Trust in relation to sickness absence management offering:
· Lead Specialist in management of sickness absence in relation to particular cases of sickness absence;
· Support to managers in sickness absence meetings with employees and their staff side representatives;
· Develop and produce reports using Trust systems to ensure effective monitoring of all sickness absence cases across the Trust
Overall, it is intended that the post holder will provide an enhanced level of support to the management of sickness absence within each division and service.
To support the People and Workforce Team in maintaining a professional, comprehensive, timely and accurate HR service to the Trust and to contribute to strategy formulation and implementation. Ensuring that HR policies and processes are well integrated into business planning, service management and Trust objectives.
Working for our organisation
Come and join a Trust rated Outstanding by the CQC. South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust have been rated as outstanding following our latest inspection by the CQC and we are recruiting new staff to come and help us improve even further. In addition our staff survey results have placed us 4th in the country for recommended place to work.
We provide services across Warwickshire and beyond ranging from Hospitals in Warwick, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Royal Leamington Spa and Shipston-on Stour to Community Services across the county. We are a progressive, expanding organisation with great ambition around improving quality, integrating pathways and delivering high levels of productivity.
Our values can be summed up in one sentence. We are ‘Trusted to provide safe, inclusive, effective and compassionate care’. Throughout the recruitment process you will be asked to think about how you demonstrate these values and how they impact on your work. It doesn’t matter what role you do, whether it is patient facing or not, we are all working in the same way with our values at the core.
As part of our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion we encourage all applicants to complete a short survey. This can be accessed via the link below:
https://forms.office.com/e/ahWY3eAGM2
We appreciate you completing the survey.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
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Provide narrative and statistical information for inclusion with HR Reports covering sickness management. |
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Liaise with Occupational Health in managing individual sickness cases. |
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If appropriate, the post holder will escalate issues to the relevant Divisional General Manager and/or H Manager where managers are not properly engaged with the process. |
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Frequently deals with distressing or emotional circumstances involving short/long term sickness absence. |
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Providing and receiving complex, empathic information and being able to put oneself in a position to sympathise with another person’s situation. |
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Provide HR advice to managers and staff in the application of the Trust Sickness Policy. |
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Implement the sickness absence policy and makes recommendations on changes to this and other Human Resources Policies. |
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Analytical |
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Assist in the review and development of robust and clear sickness monitoring and management procedures, covering both short and long term sickness, in line with the latest HR Policy arrangements and national best practice. |
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Monitor overall Trust sickness levels against Trust, SHA, Commissioner and national targets, and provide monthly data for inclusion within the HR Key Performance Indicator dashboard. |
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Use workforce data analysis to monitor issues on a regular basis, identifying trends and working in partnership with other members of the HR team to identify improvements to meet service needs. |
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Regularly benchmark data and performance against other Trusts and other comparator organisations using Key Performance Indicator dashboard information which is presented promptly and accurately to HR colleagues, Trust managers and the Board of Directors. |
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Provide support to managers in undertaking Sickness Absence Hearings as necessary, and routinely within formal sickness meetings held under the Trust policy. |
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Develop a rolling programme of trigger and review meetings with employees in liaison with managers, prioritised as necessary to ensure that sickness absence is managed consistently and in accordance with Trust Policy.
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Responsible for the delivery and training contribution with regard to sickness management. |
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Work with Occupational Health, Trade Union representatives, HR and Learning & Development colleagues to explore Trust wide issues (e.g. work related injuries; presenteeism etc.), comparisons in terms of sickness levels and related issues between divisions, best practice and any new initiatives to address sickness reduction targets. |
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Explore how to maximise the contribution of the Occupational Health and any other relevant clinical services to reducing sickness levels. |
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Manage the redeployment process as necessary in individual cases, in liaison with HR Administrator colleagues and line managers, including supporting departments in redeploying displaced staff, identifying and ‘holding’ vacancies where necessary, and undertaking staff displacement casework as required.
Design and deliver training for managers on absence management, return-to-work interviews, and wellbeing support.
Support senior HR colleagues on complex employee relations matters where absence is a factor. |
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Person specification
Qualifications and Expereince
Essential criteria
- Please see detailed Job Description and Personal Specification
Desirable criteria
- Please see detailed Job Description and Personal Specification
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Nick Rees
- Job title
- Associate Director of People and Workforce
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07436 911519
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