Fostering an attendance culture
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Last updated: 22 June 2006
Fostering an attendance culture: A guide for APS agencies
Section 2: Types of absence
Employee absence from the workplace can be divided into two main types, either planned or unplanned. For the purposes of this publication unplanned or unscheduled absence is referred to as ‘workplace absence’.
Planned or scheduled absence
Planned or scheduled absence (such as annual leave) provides employees with regular breaks from work and opportunities to pursue personal life commitments. This leave is typically approved in advance.
| Absence | Definition | Categories |
|---|---|---|
| Planned or scheduled | Refers to leave planned or approved in advance, and is provided to give employees regular breaks from work and opportunities to balance work and personal life commitments. |
|
Workplace absence
A service-wide definition will only provide a broad understanding of workplace absence across the APS.
The causes, trends and patterns of absence will vary in each agency. To be effective, interventions and strategies must be tailored to meet the needs of that agency.
There is no universally agreed definition of workplace absence in either the private or public sectors. Currently in the APS, agencies use such a wide range of definitions that any attempt at comparison is difficult and produces inaccurate results.
Adopting a service wide definition of workplace absence and consistent reporting practices will provide the basis for meaningful benchmarking across agencies. It may also be useful for comparisons with other public sector and/or private sector organisations, nationally or internationally.
After extensive consultation and in collaboration with a range of agencies the Commission has developed the following definition for reporting in future State of the Service reports:
Refers to absence from work6 in recognition of circumstances that can generally arise irregularly or unexpectedly, making it difficult to plan, approve or budget for in advance, and which is inclusive of planned medical procedures.
The intention was to find a definition that was not only practical but also suited the greatest number of agencies. The agreed definition differs slightly to, but is not inconsistent with, the definition used by the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) in the 2003 audit report Absence Management in the Australian Public Service.
As part of the definition, workplace absence is divided into a number of categories (sick, carer’s, compensation, miscellaneous and unauthorised), which reflects those existing in the Australian Fair Pay and Conditions Standard (see www.workchoices.gov.au). To report against these categories it may be necessary for some agencies to make minor changes to their human resource management information system
| Absence | Definition | Categories |
|---|---|---|
| Workplace absence | Refers to absence from work in recognition of circumstances that can generally arise irregularly or unexpectedly, making it difficult to plan, approve or budget for in advance, and which is inclusive of planned medical procedures. | Sick leaveIs an absence, regardless of duration, whether paid or unpaid, resulting from an employee being too sick or injured to work or to undergo a planned medical procedure. This category excludes absences related to accepted compensation cases. Carer’s leaveIs an absence, regardless of duration, whether paid or unpaid, resulting from a member of the employee’s immediate family or household, for which the employee has caring responsibilities, being sick or injured and in need of care. CompensationIs an absence resulting from personal injury or disease sustained out of, or in the course of, employment (i.e. work related) and accepted by Comcare. The leave includes the total number of days or part–days an employee is absent from work due to incapacity. It excludes time spent at work on rehabilitation programmes, where rehabilitation takes place at the workplace in paid employment. Specific types of miscellaneous (other) leaveIs an absence, regardless of duration, whether paid or unpaid, resulting from a personal, family or household emergency, or loss of a close family member or friend. Unauthorised absenceIs an absence, regardless of duration, whether paid or unpaid, that given the circumstances is not supported or approved by management. For example an absence due to participation in workplace disputes. |
6 Absence from work is defined as the failure of employees to attend work, see the CCH Macquarie Dictionary of Employment and Industrial Relations, 1992, CCH Australia, Sydney, p. 2
