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EMPLOYERS ADVISED ON MANAGING WORKFORCE OVER “SICKIE SEASON”
Thanks to the post-Christmas slump, continued recession and winter pressures, this coming Monday (Feb 7th)has been dubbed ‘National Sickie Day’ according to research by employment law experts at ELAS – making this time of year a difficult one to be running a business.
With absenteeism costing businesses significant amounts of money, employers in Swindon are being advised to show their support to employees this month, as well getting to grips with their rights if an employee calls in sick.
Lauren Harkin, solicitor at law firm Lemon&Co said: “This is a difficult time of year for everyone. Employers are looking to maximise efficiency from their businesses and looking for people to really perform at their best due to the continued economic climate and associated commercial impact that has had.
“On the other hand, workers have been hard at it through a difficult winter with January’s pay packet probably not going very far and people recovering from illness or just general malaise that winter can bring.
“However, there are really serious problems that ‘sickie season’ as it has been called, can have on the local economy and so it is key for businesses to be prepared for these potentially tough times.
“For example, line managers need to be well prepared, ideally having planned in advance of the sickness season. It is useful to have rules about sick pay and procedures in place for dealing with absenteeism or unauthorised absences, and employers should also make sure staff are aware of how much annual leave they have already taken, or need to take, to meet their allocation. If they have plenty of holiday leave left it may be useful to encourage them to book time off or encourage them to work from home by prior agreement.”
Lauren added: “However, if employers do experience a sudden rise in sickness absences or suspected ‘sickies’, there are steps they can take to safeguard themselves - obviously having a procedure in place for reporting sickness absence as well as dealing with unacceptable levels of sickness absence is the priority.
“Unauthorised absences are quite different to an alleged sickness absence, and an employee would only be taking an unauthorised absence if they simply did not turn up for work without explanation. In the case of an unauthorised absence, employers would certainly be entitled to take disciplinary action against the employee. Employer’s should be more careful when an employee reports a sickness absence and they suspect that employee is feigning illness, commonly called “pulling a sickie”. Employer’s should not accuse employees of feigning illness without a thorough investigation and process.
So turning to the big question, how can employers prevent or discourage employees from pulling a “sickie” or having a “duvet day”? Lauren explains “As an employment lawyer, I find myself advising employers time and time again that flexibility is often the key to ensuring good working relationships, harmony in the workplace, and, most importantly, a more productive workforce. A more productive and harmonious workforce tends to be a happier wokforce, meaning that the employees are less likely to feign illness to take a day off. In addition, having a policies and procedures in place that limit the amount of fully pay absent employees receive or disciplining employees who have unacceptable levels of sickness absence are also good deterrents., Flexible options regarding time off and home working will also help reduce the risk of employees pulling ‘sickies’.”
Peter Mooney, head of employment law at ELAS, commented: “The first Monday in February is traditionally the day Britons are most likely to ring in sick due to a combination of winter blues, Christmas credit card bills and the long wait for the next holiday.
”This year, we expect even more workers than normal to grant themselves an extra day off thanks to the stress caused by the faltering economy, together with the convenient ‘alibi’ of having recently seen the worst genuine flu outbreak in a decade.”
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<p><strong><a href="http://www.lemon-co.co.uk/article_sickie-season.php">EMPLOYERS ADVISED ON MANAGING WORKFORCE OVER SICKIE SEASON</a></strong><br />
Thanks to the post-Christmas slump, continued recession and winter pressures, this coming Monday (Feb 7th)has been dubbed ‘National Sickie Day’ according to research by employment law experts at ELAS – making this time of year a difficult one to be running a business...</p>
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