Skip to main content

Is sick leave a target at your company?

Managers joke about sick leave being a target, and it is not for most of us, but people who think sick leave is an annual entitlement are a problem.

Why?   It is built into company overheads, isn't it?   Well, no, not really.   Its more of an actuarial risk calculation taking into account that most people will not take their 30 day allocation every 3 years.

The individuals who ensure that they get their full entitlement are often quite indignant if they are questioned, but it does have a downside for them.

When something really serious occurs, there is bound to be less flexibility from management, who are now more likely to "work to rule", too.

In addition, a growing number of companies are ring fencing the perks that go over the BCOE rules ie additional leave days for long service are aligned with attendance over the period.

Extra days for paternity leave are following a similar pattern.

You should be able to take guilt free sick leave when you are ill but "throwing a sickie" or "having a duvet day" when you just feel like time off, can come back to haunt you.

So here are some of the side effects of taking an unauthorised sick day:

  1. All the work will still be there tomorrow, plus..
  2. You can't really leave the house, because you are bound to be spotted, illegal sick days are always the time when you bump into the boss's spouse at the local coffee shop.
  3. Anxiety - what if they ask for a doctor's note?
  4. Your colleague who has to field your work gets really annoyed with you
  5. Its hard to take just one day in the middle of the week, because you don't look or sound ill the next day, so Fridays and Mondays are best, but then you need a doctor's certificate............
It is so important to build trust between employer and employee around leave.   Employers need to build some flexibility into the model, and employees need to use time off responsibly.

Doesn't that sound sensible and practical but extremely difficult to implement?

One problem is that the employees who are using sick leave as an addition to their holiday leave are not ready to admit that they are at fault, instead they frequently blame the company's unreasonable demands on their time!

Some ideas

A focus on sick leave, monitoring those who consistently take a day per month, as well as looking for other patterns in individuals or groups, draws attention to the issue, and starts to drive the right behaviour in both staff and management.
                                     
There are companies who reward low sick day usage, and this can be a good idea.  Of course, the genuinely ill may seen to be disadvantaged by this model.

As mentioned above, align "extras" with attendance, it can make a difference.

And ending with the wonderful aunty acid.   



Don't we all?


Links, References and Notes

Throwing a Sickie  (very interesting input from respondees to the question)

Accsys (Pty) Ltd

BCOE - Basic Conditions of Employment

www.auntyacid.com

Note


Thank you for reading Teryl@Work.   Should you wish to use any of the material, please acknowledge this blog as the source.



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

3 things to do BEFORE you resign

or sign a new contract… 1.         Confirm your notice period ·          A lot of companies allow 30 days from date of resignation, but many ask for a calendar month 2.        Check your restraints ·          If you are joining a competitor ·          If you are joining a client 3.        Find out when your last payment will be transferred ·          Companies have been burned by paying over on the 25 th , and people not returning, so they may delay payment transfer until the last official working day, or even the first day of the following month.  You may need to make special arrangements regarding debit orders …. Both your current company and your new one deserve to be fairly treated.   Knowledge of ...

When did having it all become doing it all?

Or being all things to all people… Ruth Bader Ginsburg , U.S. Supreme Court Justice: “You can’t have it all at once. Over my lifespan, I think I have had it all. But in different periods of time, things were rough.” As a mother, a wife and a business woman, I have thought a great deal about this.    My article about #OutsideWork generated some personal mail that asked me, inter alia: “How?” “What do I need to do to satisfy everybody that needs my full attention when I am with them?”  My children, my boss, my partner – they all need me to be the best that I can be, and I am barely keeping my head above water.” “I don’t want to be selfish, but there is no time for me.” And a poignant comment: “This article made me remember that there must be time for “self” but I am not finding it.  I am mentally and emotionally exhausted and nobody seems to care” There is no one answer.  It’s different for those in a committed partnership, compared to sing...

Employment Tax Incentive Bill (ETI) - Q & A (3)

The last part of the article on ETI, and we are still waiting for some finalisation, which I will post when I receive it. How does an employer deal with part pay periods? The incentive must be pro-rated to match the calculation of remuneration.  For example, if an employee starts on the 15 th of the month, and earns R2000 in the first month with the company: His remuneration must be grossed up to R4000 per month The ETI on this value calculated (R1000 in the first 12 qualifying months of employment) This results in a R500 ETI for the employer on this employee for this month Does it run for 24 Months from Date of Employment? Confirmation of this is required, but it appears that the Employer may claim for each employee for up to 24 months, even if they are not consecutive (ETI qualifying months, not months of employment) What happens if an employee leaves the organisation? Assuming all other qualifying factors are in place The next employer can start ...