An Update From The UNISON Branch Secretary
Dear colleagues
Following on from the debacle that was the recent release of the notice regarding sickness absence during the world cup, I can report that UNISON Regional Fulltime Officer John Toomey and I met with Chief Exec Hayden Newton and Director of Business Transformation Lesley Bradley yesterday (22nd).
We had a very forthright and robust discussion where we covered areas such as, the legality of the document, its practical implementation, the damage this has done to staff/management relations and the fact that local managers have been left to pick up the pieces of a very disgruntled workforce.
For his part Hayden expressed his very real concerns at the level of sickness absence the Trust is currently experiencing and the impact this is having on staff and patients. He also felt the need for the current Sickness Absence policy to be reviewed as a matter of urgency.
I responded by stating that I felt unable to discuss any such review until we had dealt with the current situation and that the sickness notice should be withdrawn immediately.
Hayden conceded that the release of this notice had been a mistake and that he had been ill-advised. He therefore agreed to release another bulletin today, retracting the earlier notice with an added formal apology to staff. On our part we agreed to discuss the current sickness policy at an early point in the future.
I hope that staff will take some confidence from the fact that when crisis issues such as this and the recent cancellation of the SAP course occur, that UNISON reacts, we react quickly, we speak to the right people and we often get results.
I would also like to reassure our members that if any of them run into difficulties regarding sickness and are treated outside of the current agreed policy, that they will receive the support of this Branch.
Thank you as always for your continued loyal support.
Kevin Risley
UNISON Branch Secretary
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