"as I mentioned my local management team missed my last few reviews" Surely they haven't got a leg to stand on then? I have had some dealings with our office sick policy (council housing - same triggers as yours I think) and I know that managers have to dot every t and cross every i 'cos if they don't then the union rep will declare the process invalid (geddit!) and they have to start again. And managers really do not want to have to be filling in a 9-page sick form twice (or even once in my case). Unfortunately the cumbersome nature of it has protected a couple of utter skivers of my acquaintance; on the other hand a couple of people with long-term absence due to genuine industrial injury have had to go through the rigmarole only because they've reached that point on HR's chart. But that's the public sector all over - make sure you fill in the forms, don't worry about whether it actually helps anything or anyone.