Product
Record sickness, keep the sick note private and file the return to work
Managers and HR record sickness as leave that needs no approval and does not use the holiday allowance. Sick notes are filed as medical-restricted documents, and a Return to Work form is built in. HRHive does not calculate sick pay.
What problem does this solve?
Sickness records are some of the most sensitive things you hold, and they often sit in the least careful places: a manager's notebook, an email, a spreadsheet everyone can open. The return-to-work conversation happens, or does not, and there is no record either way. When a sick note arrives, nobody is sure who should be able to see it.
What HRHive does
- Records sickness absence as leave. Owners, admins, HR and managers, for their own team, enter the dates, including half days. By default it needs no approval and does not use the holiday allowance.
- Counts working days from the person's working pattern, leaving out weekends, bank holidays and closure days.
- Files sick notes as documents of the type Sick Note, with an issue date. Sick notes are medical-restricted: only owners, admins and HR can see them, unless you mark one as visible to the employee.
- Includes a Return to Work form. It records the first and last day of absence, the reason, whether a fit note was provided, any adjustments or support needed, and a notes field that only HR fills in. Send it to the employee with a secure link, or print a blank copy.
- Keeps the record on the person's timeline and files a completed form as a PDF on their record.
- Lets HR open an Absence Concern case when an absence needs more than a record. Cases have four confidentiality levels, an access list, notes and evidence.
- Leaves recording to the manager or HR. Employees cannot book sickness in the portal, and they can see their absence once it is recorded.
How it works
- Record the absence. From Holidays, choose Record leave, pick the person, choose Sickness and enter the dates. Managers can do this for their own team. It is recorded straight away.
- File the sick note. Upload a Sick Note against the person, with its issue date. It is visible to owners, admins and HR only.
- Hold the return-to-work conversation. Send the Return to Work form to the employee as a request, or print a blank copy and complete it on paper.
- Follow up if you need to. Open an Absence Concern case, which has its own confidentiality level and notes.
What you see
On the Holidays page and on the person's Holidays tab, sickness shows with its own colour beside other leave. A manager sees their own team's absence, and HR sees everyone's. In the document list, a sick note is marked with its type and is hidden from anyone who should not see it.
The record it creates
Recording sickness creates a leave record of type Sickness, with its dates and working days, and an entry on the person's timeline. A sick note is filed as a document with its own restricted visibility. A completed Return to Work form is filed on the record as a PDF. The retention schedule has its own entry for sickness records and fit notes.
Who can do what
Health information is sensitive, so sick notes are kept apart from the rest of the record. Who can record an absence is wider than who can read the medical detail.
What happens next
Sickness shows alongside other approved leave in the Holiday calendar report, for the roles that can read it. If an absence is long or recurring, HR can open a case to record what has been discussed and agreed. When someone leaves, their sickness records stay on file under the retention schedule. See Leave for how absence and holiday sit together, and Documents for how restricted documents are filed.