"WHERE DID ALL OF MY EMPLOYEES GO?" DEALING WITH EMPLOYEE ABSENCES
august 2015 | AUTHOR: MEGAN BURKETT
The summer time can be a difficult period for dealing with employee absences. Many employees are focused on the warm weather, trips to the cottage, drinks on a patio and vacations. As a result, many companies are left dealing with lateness, employees calling in sick, and unexplained days off work. There may be a pattern where certain employees have regular absences on Mondays and Fridays resulting in long weekends. These issues can leave companies short-staffed or dealing with delays and customer service issues.
Here are some tips for managing employee absences:
Positive Reinforcement: To encourage employees to arrive for work on time and to take as few unnecessary absences as possible, companies can consider implementing a contest with prizes such as gift cards, a group lunch or additional vacation days for those employees with good attendance. The contest could run for the entire summer or monthly.
Vacation Planning: Try to make sure that vacations are scheduled with enough employees to cover the work. It may be necessary to deny certain vacation requests. Remember, it is up to the company to decide when and if an employee can take vacation. Some companies approve vacation based on “first-come-first-served”, while others have vacation shut-downs where everyone is off at the same time during slow periods.
Request Medical Documentation: For those employees who have a high number of sick days, it may be time to request medical documentation. If an employee is unable to produce a doctor’s note, then the employee can be disciplined. If the absences continue and the doctor’s notes contain very little information, then the company can request a more detailed medical report to substantiate all of the absences, to determine if the employee’s medical issues warrant such absences and steps for reducing future absences.
Discipline: It may be time to meet with employees whose lateness and attendance is at a high level. Those employees may also need to be provided with verbal or written warnings in an effort to try and reduce the problem. Remember that discipline should only be used for culpable absenteeism. If an employee is sick or taking an emergency leave day, discipline cannot be applied to those types absences. However, a company can consider implementing an Attendance Management Program to deal with non-culpable absences such as sick days.
Implement an Attendance Management Program: This type of program monitors and responds to employee absences and provides for progressive non-disciplinary responses. A certain level of absences will trigger entry into the program. An Attendance Management Program should be reasonable, communicated to employees, provide notice and consistently applied. There should be communication with employees at each step. Expectations and requirements can be set with ongoing follow-up. There is escalation at each step with meetings, counselling and efforts to reduce sick days or lateness. The end result can be frustration of contract. A company will need to comply with its obligations under the Human Rights Code if the employee has a disability. This type of program should not be used for longer term absences such as short-term or long-term disability leaves, WSIB leaves, leaves of absence under the Employment Standards Act, or other approved leaves under company policies such as jury duty or bereavement leave. In unionized workplaces, the terms of the collective agreement must also be complied with.
If you have any questions relating to any of the above, please do not hesitate to contact Megan Burkett at mburkett@kmblaw.com or 905.276.0420.
Here are some tips for managing employee absences:
Positive Reinforcement: To encourage employees to arrive for work on time and to take as few unnecessary absences as possible, companies can consider implementing a contest with prizes such as gift cards, a group lunch or additional vacation days for those employees with good attendance. The contest could run for the entire summer or monthly.
Vacation Planning: Try to make sure that vacations are scheduled with enough employees to cover the work. It may be necessary to deny certain vacation requests. Remember, it is up to the company to decide when and if an employee can take vacation. Some companies approve vacation based on “first-come-first-served”, while others have vacation shut-downs where everyone is off at the same time during slow periods.
Request Medical Documentation: For those employees who have a high number of sick days, it may be time to request medical documentation. If an employee is unable to produce a doctor’s note, then the employee can be disciplined. If the absences continue and the doctor’s notes contain very little information, then the company can request a more detailed medical report to substantiate all of the absences, to determine if the employee’s medical issues warrant such absences and steps for reducing future absences.
Discipline: It may be time to meet with employees whose lateness and attendance is at a high level. Those employees may also need to be provided with verbal or written warnings in an effort to try and reduce the problem. Remember that discipline should only be used for culpable absenteeism. If an employee is sick or taking an emergency leave day, discipline cannot be applied to those types absences. However, a company can consider implementing an Attendance Management Program to deal with non-culpable absences such as sick days.
Implement an Attendance Management Program: This type of program monitors and responds to employee absences and provides for progressive non-disciplinary responses. A certain level of absences will trigger entry into the program. An Attendance Management Program should be reasonable, communicated to employees, provide notice and consistently applied. There should be communication with employees at each step. Expectations and requirements can be set with ongoing follow-up. There is escalation at each step with meetings, counselling and efforts to reduce sick days or lateness. The end result can be frustration of contract. A company will need to comply with its obligations under the Human Rights Code if the employee has a disability. This type of program should not be used for longer term absences such as short-term or long-term disability leaves, WSIB leaves, leaves of absence under the Employment Standards Act, or other approved leaves under company policies such as jury duty or bereavement leave. In unionized workplaces, the terms of the collective agreement must also be complied with.
If you have any questions relating to any of the above, please do not hesitate to contact Megan Burkett at mburkett@kmblaw.com or 905.276.0420.
This article is provided for general information purposes and should not be considered a legal opinion. Clients are advised to obtain legal advice on their specific situations.
