For any employer it is vitally important to have a comprehensive return to work form. The more staff you have though, the more vital it will become to the smooth running of your business.

When an employee is away due to illness, bereavement or maternity/paternity, that time has to be properly accounted for. For extended periods of time you need to be sure that it is properly documented; to benefit both the company and the staff member.

Of course this is something of a sensitive area, particularly when absence has been caused by more personal issues. Therefore, regardless of the situation, it is always best to treat any return to work situation with a certain amount of understanding. This extends beyond any formal discussion with the employee themselves, but to the return to work form itself.

Any good return to work form needs to be flexible. It shouldn't be a rigid construction as it will often have to change or adapt to various situations. In fact, you might want to have variations of a core form to apply to the main areas of illness, bereavement and paternity or maternity leave. This way you can avoid any insensitivity when it comes to dealing with each individual case.

The reason why a return to work form is so vital to an employer is that it provides a signed record of absence. Whatever the reason for being away from the workplace, the company will suffer a shortage of staffing as a consequence; so it is vital that any shortfalls are properly noted for future reference.

Whilst it might seem like unnecessary bureaucracy, it can provide vital evidence should future action be required on a member of staff for regular absences. This is particularly true when it comes to disciplining them or even removing them from their position. If somebody attempts to claim for unfair dismissal in future years, these documents could provide vital evidence in your favour.

But of course, this is very much the negative perspective of things. Essentially the return to work form is just good housekeeping. Everybody in a business should be accounted for at all times when they're contracted to be working. Members of staff may have to occasionally be away for genuine and acceptable reasons, that is just the way businesses are. More often than not they will be used to simply work out any remaining sick pay and then filed away within the employee reckons.

All official business forms are usually there to protect all parties in the future, and this is certainly no different. It is a permanent acknowledgment that time was taken off and that it has been retrospectively sanctioned (or otherwise) by the company. Where paid sick leave is limited, they can be used to monitor how much has been taken and whether the employee is entitled to full, statutory or no pay at all.

Remember this isn't an inquisition though. Your return to work form should be personable and certainly shouldn't be invasive. It should also have the flexibility for either party to make notes and provide answers that may later be required.

So for all the reasons above, this is exactly why your company should have a return to work form. It doesn't have to be huge, it doesn't have to dig too deep, it just needs to be a part of your business going forward.