Managing Sickness Absence in Hospitality: Six Tips

You just got into work and already have three texts from an employee saying they can't make it into work today.

You're going to need that extra cup of coffee this morning.

Last-minute no-shows don't have to wreck your service. CIPD's Health and wellbeing at work 2025 report puts average UK sickness absence at 9.4 days per employee per year. That is the highest level in more than 15 years. For hospitality managers running cafes, restaurants, and bars, it shows up as empty stations on the rota and a scramble for cover. This guide covers managing sickness absence in hospitality with clear policy, better records, return-to-work chats, preference-aware rotas, approved shift cover, and consistent manager habits.

Key takeaways:

• Write a simple sickness and no-show policy your team can follow on a busy shift

• Record every absence, then review patterns so you can act early

• Use short return-to-work conversations to support people and stay consistent

• Build rotas around availability and use approved swaps to fill gaps fast

Set a clear sickness and no-show policy for your venue

First things first. You need a policy your front-of-house and kitchen teams can actually use.

Treat your employee handbook as the source of truth. Acas guidance on creating absence policies stresses clear rules on reporting sickness and evidence. It also covers how you handle unauthorised absence. Your hospitality absence policy should say what happens when someone misses a shift without contact.

This information is general only. It is not legal advice. Check current GOV.UK and Acas guidance, and get professional advice for your situation.

What your hospitality absence policy should cover

Keep the policy short enough that a new starter can understand it in induction. Spell out:

• How to call in sick. Who to contact, by what time before a shift, and which channel counts (phone, app message, or both)

• Evidence rules. When medical evidence is needed, who provides it, and where managers should look for current GOV.UK and Acas guidance rather than relying on memory

• No-show steps. What you do after a missed shift, including follow-up and any staged response you already use for conduct issues

• Payroll and records handoff. Who logs absence for payroll, where records live, and how sick leave is marked in your system

• Fair treatment. How you handle disability-related absence and adjustments, with specialist advice when needed

How to keep the policy alive with your team

A policy only helps if people remember it when the dinner rush hits. Use these habits:

• Share it with new employees. During orientation, walk through the no-show and sickness rules. Allow time for questions and be as clear as possible

• Keep your team updated. Even if the policy hasn't changed, remind the team. In your workforce management app, send a message and request read confirmation so important updates don't get lost in group chats

• Chat face to face. If someone is calling in more than usual or not showing up, meet them in person. Something personal may be going on, and a calm conversation can help. You can often adjust the rota together and cut last-minute changes

Store the latest policy where managers and staff can open it on a phone. Train every shift lead the same way so rules don't change by who is on duty.

Record every absence and review the patterns

Accurate records support payroll handoff and help you make better staffing decisions. They also back the monitoring approach the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) describes for managing sick leave and return to work. Is someone missing work often? Only on certain days? Only when they work with certain coworkers? Use your records to spot trends and reduce future no-shows.

Acas guidance on recording and reducing sickness absence recommends consistent recording so you can see patterns early. For multi-site groups, the same fields at every venue make comparisons fair.

What to capture when someone calls in sick

• Ditch messy paper timesheets. Use time and attendance tools that create a clear timesheet and mark sick leave as its own leave type

• Log the basics every time. Date, shift, who took the call, and whether cover was found

• Separate planned holiday from sickness. Leave management workflows help you keep sick leave distinct from annual leave so payroll and rota views stay clean

• Train your managers. You and your managers should apply your published policy consistently. Show them how to enter absence the same way every time

Use trends to cut repeat no-shows

Once records are in place, put a recurring review on your calendar. Look every other week or every other month, then act on what you find.

• Fridays before bank holidays stacking up for one person

• One site with higher short-term absence than the others

• Shifts that are hard to cover because only one person holds a key skill

Trends should prompt supportive conversations and rota changes first. If you later consider formal steps, follow your published process, take advice where needed, and remember that the right next step can depend on the circumstances and applicable requirements.

Run a simple return-to-work conversation

A short return-to-work chat after sickness can help you stay consistent and support the person coming back. Acas guidance on returning to work after absence and HSE both discuss keeping in contact. Focus on health and wellbeing, and talk through any support that may help someone return safely.

You do not need a long form. You need a consistent five to ten minute conversation so every manager handles absence the same way.

Keep the chat supportive and consistent

Use the same outline for cafe, bar, and kitchen returns:

1. Welcome them back and check how they are feeling about the shift ahead

2. Confirm the absence dates against your record and fix any gaps while details are fresh

3. Ask what support would help, such as a lighter first shift or temporary duty changes, where your operation allows it

4. Restate how to report sickness next time so expectations stay clear without turning the chat into a lecture

5. Note agreed actions in your system so the next manager on duty can see them

If someone returns with agreed temporary changes to duties or hours, note those changes so the next manager can follow them. Keep the conversation focused on support and a safe return to the floor. Deputy is designed to support absence and leave workflows and does not provide legal advice. Customers remain responsible for configuring the platform appropriately and for following applicable laws, regulations, and their own policies.

Build rotas around availability and preferences

As a manager, you juggle a lot when you build a rota. Who is on holiday, when sales peak, and who has the skills for each section all matter. When someone calls in at the last minute, a fragile plan falls over fast.

It does not have to.

Talk to your employees about preferences and hard limits on working hours. Someone may only work evenings, or they may prefer opens. You cannot always accommodate everyone. When you know ongoing restrictions outside work, you can plan better and reduce avoidable absences.

Deputy's UK Shift Pulse reporting points to instability in shift scheduling as one factor that cools enthusiasm among shift workers. Deputy's UK Big Shift Report also shows Gen Z making up a large share of the hospitality shift workforce. Many of those workers expect clear mobile processes for availability and call-outs. Capture availability in your staff rota software before you publish the week. Revisit it when courses, caring duties, or second jobs change.

By managing our labor costs and scheduling better, we've been able to retain more staff. Baristas are getting the schedules they needed and I'm able to provide the business what it needs as well.

Gonzalo Aurelios-Solis, Cafe Manager, Partners Coffee

Preference-aware rotas will not remove every sick day. They can reduce the "I never wanted this shift" call-outs that hit hospitality hardest on weekends and late closes. For more rota habits built around food and drink operations, see Deputy's hospitality retention strategies.

Cover sick shifts with approved swaps and open shifts

When messages arrive that someone is sick, their car broke down, or they overslept, you need a calm path to a replacement.

When employees cannot make an assigned shift, let them offer it or swap with someone who can, under rules you control. That cuts the frustration of hunting for cover and gives other staff a fair shot at extra hours.

• Set it up. Use a workforce app with built-in shift swapping so offers and swaps sit on the same rota your team already checks

• Revisit your policy. Make sure the team knows when they can swap, how often, and how much notice you expect when they are unwell

• Approve with eyes open. Keep manager approval on by default. Check overtime risk, rest gaps, and the right skills for the section

Guardrails managers should check before approving cover

• Does the replacement hold the skills for bar, pass, or floor?

• Will the change push someone into excessive hours or cut required rest?

• Is the person already rostered elsewhere in a multi-site group?

• Has the original shift owner followed your call-in rules so the absence is recorded?

Open shifts work well when several people could take the hours. Swaps work well when two people want to trade. Either way, the goal is the same: fill the gap without a chain of phone calls during prep.

Train every shift lead on the same absence process

In hospitality, the person who takes the 7 a.m. sick call is often not the person who runs payroll on Monday. Gaps appear when each lead invents their own process.

Build a one-page playbook for shift leads and practice it in manager huddles:

1. Take the call or message using the channel named in your policy

2. Log the absence against the right person, site, and leave type before service starts

3. Trigger cover with an open shift or approved swap instead of a private text chain

4. Hand off notes for return-to-work so the next manager continues the same story

When every lead follows the same steps, your records stay cleaner and your team sees fair treatment from open to close.

Make last-minute absence easier to handle

Whether your staff really have the flu or they need a day to recover from a late night out, someone will call in sometimes. Filling shifts can be a pain, but a clear policy, tidy records, a short return-to-work habit, smarter rotas, and approved cover make the day manageable.

How you handle sickness and absence at work can be the difference between a boss your team respects and one that drives higher turnover.

Make planning rotas and addressing last-minute changes easier. Try a free trial of Deputy to see how you can be a better boss on the floor.

FAQs

How can Deputy help when a hospitality employee calls in sick?

Managers can update the rota, mark the absence, and use shift offers or swaps so eligible teammates can pick up the hours. Team messages keep the conversation in one place instead of scattered texts.

Can Deputy track sickness absence for rota and payroll handoff?

Yes. Depending on how you configure Deputy, you can set up sick leave as a leave type, capture it against timesheets, and export approved attendance data to support your payroll process. Always check totals before you pay.

How do shift swaps in Deputy help cover last-minute absence?

Employees can request a swap or offer a shift to suitable colleagues. You keep approval rights so you can block changes that break skills mix, rest expectations, or cost limits.

Does Deputy replace our sickness absence policy?

No. Your handbook and local employment rules remain your source of truth. Deputy helps you operationalise call-outs, records, and cover once the policy is clear.

How does Deputy support return-to-work follow-up after sick leave?

Shared notes and consistent leave records help the next manager see what was agreed. The conversation itself still sits with you as the employer.

Can multi-site hospitality groups use Deputy for consistent absence records?

Yes. Standard leave types and shared rota views help groups compare sites fairly and coach managers to the same process.