Problem Staff Member Driving Me NUTS!

[mechanicmike]

Hi all,

I need some advice. I have a staff member who is always off sick, every 5 or 6 weeks and always comes up with a Doctors note. Its one day here and one day there and its driving me nuts because I am ceratin half of it is just lazyiness.

Whats the best thing to do?? Really appreciate any advice, particularly as 'sick leave' is a sensitive issue but I want to get this sorted...

Thanks
M

[LOS Design UK]

Hi all,

I need some advice. I have a staff member who is always off sick, every 5 or 6 weeks and always comes up with a Doctors note. Its one day here and one day there and its driving me nuts because I am ceratin half of it is just lazyiness.

Whats the best thing to do?? Really appreciate any advice, particularly as 'sick leave' is a sensitive issue but I want to get this sorted...

Thanks
M

How long have they worked for you?

[Indizine]

You can start to have back to work meetings after every day off sick. This puts the pressure on as they have to discuss their illness and face you at 9am the very next day. You must do this without fail each time.

You can also introduce a period of warning and say that more than 1 days in the next 6 months (or whatever) will result in disciplinary action. This may result in a verbal or written warning and if continued, leads to final warning and dismissal.

However, you may want to, during those talks, discuss if they do have a problem - is the laziness masked by problems at home or unhappy/dissatisfied with their job? Have you done a full investigation behind the matter? If not, pull them in and say you are ;looking into their sick record and can they give you a full explanation for the consistent absence before you consider what action to take. See what they say. Then leave it just 2 days and come back with a plan of action as stated above.

Have it all written down and get them to sign to say they acknowledge each meeting they attend, starting with the first one. Give them an opportunity to state anything, ensure you say it is confidential in case they are having problems. Ask them if they are happy, or how could they improve their sick record.

You could introduce no sick pay (apart from ssp) after 5 days per year and give rewards where sick is not taken, such as 1 days extra holiday the year after, as an incentive.

[LOS Design UK]

I agree with Indi's point above.

When I was managing a Dept. RTW interviews were key as they allowed us to ID what the 'real issue' was with a persistent sicky.

Managed in the right way and of course by remaining objective will allow both parties to reach a common ground.

Not sure I agree with introducing a discipline path for this as it could lead to a slippery slope.

As long as your absence policy is managed and rigid, you should get to the bottom of it.

Do not attack the individual, this will be the wrong standpoint and could lead to a long term absense that will put them out of your reach. Discuss and you will get the rewards.

Regards
Daren

[Indizine]

well thats the end if they don't improve following the action plan to improve, of course. Failing all that, you can't carry on surely.

[LOS Design UK]

well thats the end if they don't improve following the action plan to improve, of course. Failing all that, you can't carry on surely.

fair comment my dear and of course, we are only feeding off bones of info (rightly so, BTW due to DPA)

[mechanicmike]

To Indi and LOS,

Wow! Terrific... I'll start with the return to work meetings and tread softly. The staff member has only been with me a year but the RTW meeting sounds like a great way for me to start getting to the bottom of the issue... in a tactful way.

I'll also make sure I take notes of the meetings..

Anymore problems at my end and I'll drop another post!

m

[Indizine]

don't forget to record every meeting and the details. You never know when you might need to refer back to them in case of any future lapses if the initial plan does resolve.

[LOS Design UK]

don't forget to record every meeting and the details. You never know when you might need to refer back to them in case of any future lapses if the initial plan does resolve.

and get them to sign the record as proof of attendance and understanding.

[PremierPDS]

...or use a points or stage scheme whereby if someone is off sick they automatically get a stage 1 (no matter what the reason, doctors note or not) and if they're off again within 3 months they get a stage 2 which is equivilent to being called into the office, stage 3- verbal warning, stage 4 final warning, stage 5 fired! This is how some of the bigger companies do it that I've worked for in the past. Some do it on a points system and points are accumulated for sickness absenses based on the time the employee has taken off- e.g. an employee taking a day here and there will accumulate more points than someone who may have a genuine underlying medical condition and takes 2 weeks sickness leave or more at a time. There is the argument with this system that it encourages employees to stay off on the sick for longer periods however!