You must complete a self certificate form for every absence and have a return to work meeting with your manager which must be recorded on the return to work form.

A Return to Work Interview (RTWI) must be adopted as regular practice for each and every period of sickness absence, to ensure an effective means of reducing absenteeism. It should (where possible) be completed on the day you return to work and certainly within 72 hours of returning to work.

Obviously, if you have been absent from work due to a musculoskeletal problem and you carry out a physical job then your RTWI should be completed before you resume normal duties in case any adjustments to working practices need to be made. Where you are returning to work within one week, you should complete the self-certificate at this meeting.

The RTWI should be informal, always conducted sympathetically and held in private.

If a meeting is required to discuss absence triggers and stages of monitoring, please see the below guidance: