Tag: sick leave

Ever noticed that one employee who keeps chucking a sickie on a Monday or before or after a public holiday (a sneaky move so that they can enjoy a long weekend!)?

While your employee may very well be sick if you believe they’re being dishonest, what can you do as an employer? If you receive that inevitable call on Monday or Friday morning, here are some tips to help you understand your employer rights and obligations.

When can an employee take sick leave?

 Employees may take paid personal or carer’s leave where the employee is:

1. Not fit for work because of a personal illness, or personal injury, affecting the employee; or
2. Required to provide care or support to a member of the employee’s immediate family, or a member of the employee’s household because of a personal illness or injury affecting the member or because of an unexpected emergency affecting the member.

What notice is an employee required to provide?

 An employee taking paid personal or carer’s leave must advise you of the period, or expected period, of the leave as soon as practicable. This may be as simple as a phone call, SMS or email informing you that they will not be attending work either because they are unfit for work or because they are required to provide care and support to a member of their immediate family/household.

When providing notice of their absence, employee’s must comply with any company policies or procedures when calling in sick. For example, some employers may have a policy that states that employees must call, rather than sending a text message.

How can you stop workers chucking a sickie?

 While some employees may take the opportunity to score themselves a long weekend, employers should be aware of their ability to request evidence for any of these ‘sick days’. Employees who are game enough to enjoy a four-day weekend need to be able to prove that they are absent for a legitimate reason.

Employers may require the employee to produce evidence that would satisfy a reasonable purpose that the leave is being taken for a permissible occasion – that is, the leave is taken for one of the reasons outlined above.

Employers should implement a clear policy in relation to employees taking paid personal / carer’s leave, including how they are expected to inform the workplace and any evidence they are required to provide.

What can you do if your employee goes on a bender?

 It’s no surprise that you probably have some concern for the day after a public holiday or possibility even the weekend. Just like any other day when an employee is chucking a sickie, you have the right to request medical evidence that the employee was absent for a legitimate reason. Whether a doctor will provide a medical certificate to an employee who is hungover or not is ultimately a call for a qualified practitioner.

If you have any doubts over any medical certificates provided, you may seek further clarification from the doctor who signed it.

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Who saw an increase in sudden onset sore backs, gastro and migraines last Friday 27th January due to the Australia Day public holiday? If so, you may need a new sick leave policy.

If you did, you are not alone. Let’s face it though, who wouldn’t desire an extra day off to make a very long weekend to bask in the amazing Gold Coast sunshine. However while thousands of employees couldn’t resist the temptation to to take this well positioned day off as a sickie, you as the employer suffered with short staff and important work that had to be postponed.

Under the National Employment Standards, full time employees are entitled to 10 days personal leave per annum to deal with personal illness, caring responsibilities and family emergencies. Part time employees are entitled to a proportionate amount according to the hours worked.

So what can employers do to better manage employees taking illegitimate sick leave “The great Aussie sickie”?

Since the Fair Work legislation was introduced back in 2009, the sickie has been a tough one to manage. There are risks for the employer if disciplinary action is taken against an employee for a temporary absence due to illness or injury. While the balance of power does seem to sit with the employee in this space that doesn’t mean the employer cannot introduce strategies to reduce the amount of illegitimate personal leave an employee takes.

The number one strategy any employer can rely on is to implement a company sick leave policy, which outlines clearly the expectations for taking all types of leave, including personal leave. The sick leave policy might outline areas such as procedures for calling in sick (when to call, who to call), in what circumstances a medical certificate is required and who to contact for questions about the policy. Where the employee is in breach of the policy, the employer may have the right to take action. It is recommended that employers seek professional assistance to draft such a policy and when considering disciplinary action.

An indirect strategy for reducing illegitimate sick leave is to create a work environment where employees enjoy coming to work every day. It seems simple but so many employers fail to see the connection between an engaged employee and their sick leave balance. It is proven time and time again that a highly engaged workforce will have fewer illegitimate sick days than one which is disengaged. Employers can adopt simple strategies such as regularly recognising employees for their work, offering genuine flexible work practises, listening to and involving employees in meaningful work, and generally making them feel valued on a day to day basis.

For any questions about the above article, or to discuss how Industryus HR could assist you with developing a sick leave policy or better engagement strategies, call 07 5655 4047 or visit industryus.com.au.

Q: My employee has submitted a sick leave application form for a recent unplanned day off work she took. At the time, the employee advised that she had needed to urgently visit her solicitor in relation to a private matter. However, now she has put in for sick leave for the time off and that doesn’t seem right. Can you assist with how I handle this?

Therefore in these circumstances and provided the employee does not have entitlement to any other applicable leave types (such as emergency leave within an Enterprise Agreement), you are within your rights to advise the employee that personal leave is not appropriate for her circumstances and process the time off work as leave without pay. Alternatively, if you both agree, the employee could also use any accrued annual leave entitlements as an alternative to leave without pay.

Industryus HR offer a telephone based HR advice subscription where employers who sign up can call as many times as needed with questions just like this one. The service is like having your own HR Manager, but without the associated costs. Call us on 07 5655 4047 or message us for more info.

Note, any advice provided in Industryus Q&As is general, and should be confirmed with a specific discussion with your HR professional prior to proceeding.