Sickness Absence Management Policy

14. Appeals

1. 14.1.

   You have the right to appeal against any formal action taken against you under this Policy. If you wish to appeal, you must submit your appeal in writing within 10 working days of receiving your outcome letter, clearly setting out your grounds of appeal, to the person detailed in the outcome letter you receive.

2. 14.2.Once we have received your letter of appeal, we will arrange an appeal hearing. You will be given a minimum of 14 calendar days' notice with case papers prior to a hearing to give you time to prepare. 

3. 14.3.An Appeal Officer (see table on page 6) will be appointed to hear your appeal. They will not usually have had any involvement in the process up to this point.

4. 14.4.You will receive a letter inviting you to the Appeal Hearing, at which you have the right to be accompanied. It may be necessary to conduct further investigations depending on your grounds of appeal.

5. 14.5.We will usually arrange for a designated note-taker to attend, for example, a member of HR or Democratic or Executive Services, or we may choose to record the meeting. You may also make notes (for your own purposes) but please do not covertly record the meeting, such as using your mobile phone, as this suggests that you do not trust our process or the managers who are conducting the hearing. We may decide to deal with any covert recording under the Disciplinary Policy. If you have misgivings about either the process or the managers leading it, you should tell us openly so that we can address your concerns. In turn, we will not record the meeting without your knowledge.

6. 14.6.The appeal could involve a review of the original decision, taking account of the specific grounds of appeal you have raised. Alternatively, it could involve a full re-hearing of the matter. We will decide which approach is most appropriate for your case.

7. 14.7.You should be aware that our appeal officers are not limited in their options when considering your appeal. They can, if they believe it appropriate, decrease a sanction, approve the original outcome or remove a sanction.

8. 14.8.At the conclusion of the Appeal Hearing, you will be advised of the outcome, either on the day (following an adjournment to enable the Appeal Chair to consider their decision) or by letter; we will usually aim to do this within 10 days of your appeal hearing. In any event the outcome will be confirmed in writing as soon as possible. The decision you receive on appeal is our final decision. There is no further right of appeal.