Managing Absenteeism, Ill Health and Return to Work

Unmanaged absence quietly drains productivity and morale. This programme gives HR practitioners and managers practical tools to measure absence, manage chronic and long term ill health fairly and run structured return to work processes. It addresses African workplace realities including high disease burden, sick note abuse and the balance between compassion and operational needs.

What you will be able to do

Measure and interpret absence patterns and their cost.
Distinguish casual absence from genuine chronic ill health.
Conduct fair return to work and absence review interviews.
Manage long term incapacity and accommodation options.
Handle suspected sick note abuse without unfair treatment.
Build an absence management policy that managers can apply.

Course outline

01The cost and drivers of absenteeism
02Measuring and analysing absence data
03Return to work and absence review interviews
04Managing chronic and long term ill health
05Reasonable accommodation and incapacity
06Handling suspected sick note abuse
07Building an absence management policy
08Manager toolkit and case discussion

Who should attend

HR practitioners, line managers, supervisors and occupational health coordinators responsible for managing employee attendance and ill health.

Dates, venues and fees

Dates	Venue	Days	Fee
17 to 18 Aug 2026	Mauritius	2	US$1,100
24 to 25 Aug 2026	Dubai	2	US$1,100
31 Aug to 1 Sep 2026	Lagos	2	US$1,100
7 to 8 Sep 2026	Harare	2	US$1,100
14 to 15 Sep 2026	Kampala	2	US$1,100
21 to 22 Sep 2026	Dar es Salaam	2	US$1,100
28 to 29 Sep 2026	Pretoria	2	R10,000
5 to 6 Oct 2026	Cape Town	2	R10,000
19 to 20 Oct 2026	Online	2	US$900
26 to 27 Oct 2026	Mozambique	2	US$1,100
2 to 3 Nov 2026	Cairo	2	US$1,100
9 to 10 Nov 2026	Accra	2	US$1,100
16 to 17 Nov 2026	Lusaka	2	US$1,100
23 to 24 Nov 2026	Kigali	2	US$1,100
30 Nov to 1 Dec 2026	Nairobi	2	US$1,100
7 to 8 Dec 2026	Durban	2	R10,000
14 to 15 Dec 2026	Johannesburg	2	R10,000

Fees are per delegate. South African venues are priced in rand; other locations and online in US dollars. Fees exclude 15% VAT where applicable. Group bookings of three or more delegates from the same organisation qualify for a reduced rate; contact us for a quotation.

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Training a whole team?

We can run Managing Absenteeism, Ill Health and Return to Work privately for your team, on your dates and built around your own systems. Group delivery is usually more cost effective from about six delegates.

Run this in-house