Letter Confirming the Outcome of a Stage 3 Long-term Sickness Meeting

This letter is used to confirm the outcome of a formal meeting held under a company’s long-term sickness absence management procedure.

The meeting is triggered when the employee reaches the relevant level of absence identified in the employer’s absence management procedure.

What This Stage 3 Long-Term Sickness Absence Outcome Letter Covers

The letter summarises what was discussed at the meeting and confirms that personal data will be collected in accordance with the Company’s Data Protection Policy.

It is designed for use after a Stage 3 review meeting, where the employer has reached a decision on the employee’s ongoing absence and next steps.

Possible Outcomes After the Stage 3 Meeting

The letter includes three possible outcomes:

• no further action is taken for the time being, but a further Stage 3 meeting is scheduled after a specified period, for example where medical advice indicates that the employee is likely to be fit to return in the near future;
• reasonable adjustments are made to the employee’s role to support a return to work, such as changes to duties or working hours, with optional wording depending on whether those changes are temporary or permanent; or
• a decision is taken to dismiss the employee where there is no reasonable likelihood of a return to work in the near future.

Where dismissal is the outcome, the employee is given the right to appeal.

Reasonable Adjustments and Return to Work Options

One outcome under this letter is that adjustments are agreed to help the employee return to work.

Those adjustments may include changes to the employee’s role or working hours, with wording available for both temporary and permanent arrangements.

Important Legal Points Before Dismissal

Employers should be aware that, if the employee is receiving payments under a permanent health insurance scheme, they should not usually be dismissed. Dismissal would usually bring those payments to an end and is likely to amount to a breach of contract.

That breach of contract would probably be highly relevant if an employment tribunal were later considering the reasonableness of the dismissal.

An employee should not be dismissed if the absence is for pregnancy-related reasons.

Letter Confirming the Outcome of a Stage 3 Long-term Sickness Meeting is part of Employment. Just £38.50 + VAT provides unlimited downloads from Employment for 1 year.