Recording both the dates and the reason for the sickness absence allows you to monitor attendance at work, to spot any patterns in absence, for example adjacent to holiday or immediately before or after a weekend, and gives you the evidence you need to be able to address the matter informally at first and then formally if necessary.

You are provided you have a clause in either your Statement of Terms and Conditions of Employment (also called a Contract or Particulars of Employment) or in your sickness absence policy. The information is classed as sensitive so you must also comply with Data Protection rules in keeping the information secure and confidential.

You should record the date and time you were notified, who notified you and how, the reason for the absence, the expected duration of the absence, any information relating to work or appointments that need to be redistributed or rescheduled and a phone number that you can call the employee on if you need to get in touch.