10.1 Sickness reporting and sick pay
Your obligations and rights if you are unable to perform your duties because of sickness are set out at Regulation 27 of the Measure.
In addition to the Statutory Sick Pay Scheme, you are entitled to 6 months full stipend in the event of sickness, and thereafter at the discretion of the Bishop and any discretionary decisions will not create a precedent either for the diocese or for yourself.
You are required to inform the HR Officer (the officer of the diocese designated for this purpose) if you are unable to perform the duties of your office due to illness.
A stipendiary office holder will be required to report any period of sick leave amounting to a day or longer, and to produce a “statement of Fitness (Fit Note)” where they have been absent for a continuous period of more than seven days. These requirements are necessary to enable Church Commissioners to obtain the information that they are obliged to hold in relation to the payment of Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) under the Social Security and Contributions and Benefits Act 1992.
10.2 Cover arrangements during periods of sickness absence
All office holders are obliged to make reasonable endeavours to make arrangements for someone else to perform their duties when they are unwell and to notify the Archdeacon of the absence and arrangement.
10.3 Ill-health leave
The Bishop may, if he is satisfied that the office holder is, by reason of illness, unable adequately to discharge the duties of their office, permit the office holder to be absent from work for such a period as he thinks appropriate and may make provision for the discharge of those duties during the period of absence of the office holder.
10.4 Medical examination
A bishop, archdeacon or responsible person may, if he has reasonable grounds for concern about the physical and mental health of an office holder, direct that the office holder shall undergo a medical examination by a medical practitioner selected by agreement between the Bishop and the office holder as outlined in the document 'Occupational health provision within the Diocese of Lichfield’.
10.5 Co-operation
Should an office holder fail to comply, or fail to disclose any relevant medical records, when requested to do so, this will be dealt with in accordance with capability procedures.
10.6 Informal support or conversation
The diocese offers mechanisms for pastoral care and support. This service is headed up by the Bishop’s Advisor for Pastoral care and well-being.
Her job is to provide pastoral care to clergy and their families, offering encouragement on all aspects of pastoral ministry and personal issues, overseeing the network of diocesan approved counsellors, considering pre-retirement issues and designing well-being events. Please contact her for further information. She will also advise on the diocese’s provision of a confidential and free counselling service.
10.7 Affirmation and accountability
In all processes we will ensure that we respect the individual and their individual circumstances, and offer practical and pastoral care for them and their family.
Where an individual is part of a formal process we will ensure that:
- he/she fully understands all aspects of the processes and possible outcomes, and have the opportunity to explore these in confidence at every stage
- he/she is aware of the range of pastoral and practical support available
- he/she is made aware of timescales and next steps as formal processes are run and managed consistently, and as quickly and fairly as possible
- he/she is aware of roles and responsibilities, and of the right of representation at all stages
When things go awry with relationships both personally and in local communities, the diocese’s priority will always be to do what it can to bring people together in order to help restore relationships and will always exhaust informal ways of moving forward positively, before any formal process is instigated where this is appropriate.
We will plan to do this with the individual concerned in safe, creative and thoughtful ways which ensure respect, fair process, the right to be heard, and the right of reply. (We will of course only do this in ways which are appropriate to the individual set of circumstances, and in line with the wishes of the individual concerned).
Confident that clergy are determined to live out the commitments and promises they made at ordination, the diocese has three key expectations from those who find themselves in situations of conflict:
- That they will do all that they can to bring about a local resolution
- That where bringing about local reconciliation is a struggle, (for whatever reason), and where additional assistance, advice, and support may be helpful, that they actively seek this from colleagues, national bodies, and the diocese
- Where the diocese has become involved because of the nature of the difficulties, that clergy will fully co-operate with the diocese in its responsibility to seek and facilitate all opportunities for reconciliation (eg through mediation)