Sickness Policy

[Guest]

How do others cope with high staff absence/sickness.Apealing to staff s better nature has not worked and I cant stand the stress any longer.Does anyone have anything along the lines of if you miss so much you get a warning?

[Guest]

this probably won't be much help I just wanted to say............i don't.... cope that is

i have one member of staff who for various reasons has had a total of almost 4 months off in two years, nothing long term just days off here and there that have added up.

 

the staff all know the impact it has on them when there are lots of staff off but it never seems to stop them ringing in when they have a headache and can't come in themselves.

 

we used to have 10 days paid sick leave the theory being that if you had used up your 10 days then you were unpaid and lost pay so would rarely take more than 10 days off, until two members of staff who hadn't had any time off at all realised that some of the staff had had 10 days more off than them and phoned in sick twice over a month for 5 days each each time (getting an extra 10 days 'holiday') the committee removed the sick pay entitlement at the next contract review so now all time off is unpaid unless statutory sick pay kicks in.

 

I know one of our parents used to work for a retail chain and she told me that she'd just had a warning because she'd had her third day off in 9 months and she couldn't have anymore before the year was out....as i said she used to work for the chain

 

on the other hand people do get ill especially when working with children....after all the first thing they learn to share is their germs....the second is usually their nits!!!

Edited July 16, 2008 by Guest

[Guest]

We too have just had to get on and not coped well either. We don't pay for sessions not worked unless SSP kicks in for some reason, and so we felt that if a staff member was ill they must really not have been able to cope with working. I have read in the past that it is good practice to conduct "back to work" interviews when staff are ready to come back after being ill. This is done by manager and deputy or committee and can highlight that x is off a lot. It can also be used to evidence that a certain aspect of the job or personal circumstances is leading to recurrent illness. Reasons for illness/absence form part of the interview.

[Guest]

OH MY GOD!!!! I cant believe this thread has been started 2day after the week I've had. Are you all ready for a laugh?

 

Well basically I manage a 120plc nursery with 38 staff. On a whole the staff are pretty good it has to be said and I have alot of senior staff that have done long service (i.e 5/6 yrs) and NEVER had a sick day. It tends to be juniors & trainees that think is ok to take the mick.

 

I like to think that its down to respect because I dont take sick time either, (when having an operation I wz given a 4wk sick note but only needed a couple of days) but this wk someone has shown me complete disrespect

 

2wks ago I was involved in a traffic accident and tore a ligament in my shoulder. I had to go to A&E and wz put on 3 types of pain killers. I was however encouraged to move it so continued to work. All the staff knew and gave me lots of sympathy.

On Friday one of the girls asked if she could go early for a docs appointment as she had a pain in her shoulder. I said it was fine but joked that she better be in the nxt wk as I had been in.

 

SUPRISE SURPRISE monday morning she phones in saying she has a sicknote & will drop it in..............She turns up at 10am and is pushing her two yr old niece in a pushchair (up hill by the way). Cant work for a week as she has pulled a muscle.............

 

I could go on but I'm winding myself up now and I think you all get my point!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Guest]

Have you looked at the ACAS website to see if they can give you any advice, if not Busiess Link.

Do they bring in sick notes from the doctor is it it just days of here and there. Try having a talk to them and show them how many days they have had off. If they say they have been sick for real don't forget that you have a statutory duty to have members of staff that are fit enough to do the job. Have they signed letters (Health declaration) to say they are fit to do the job. If so then you could give them a written warning stating that they declared they were physically fit to do the job and that there absent record states that they are not. Don't be afraid to tell them the impact on the other members of staff.

Good luck

Steph

[Lyanne]

We used to have a simple policy that sick time is time off without pay, you know the impact on us all, and this used to be fine. There would be the occasion day when someone would ring in with a migraine, but most sickness that you'll need to be off for, you've been mildly ill long enough to say "cough cough (croaky voice, sneeze) I don't think I can manage tomorrow" or "Child's got a tummy bug going round his school, I think I'm feeling dodgy" so cover staff can be called in.

 

The main thing we did have that was inconvenient, was our own children's sickness. And we dodn't get paid for time off for that either.

 

Then, we had the teenager from the sick room. She was a good worker & employed fulltime. But she'd had so much time off, she couldn't have maternity leave. she should have had (I worked it out twice for our interest: once her actual entitlement, the second time what she should have had if she'd not been off sick so much). She worked 1 full week in a 18 month period. She would text our boss at 9 am to say 'Ill, can't come in.' Drove us round the bend, especially as she was very good when in.

 

Committee took sickness policies from their various employers, put something together & had it checked by CAB first then PLA advice.

 

Now, sickness notes are required, disciplinary procedures may be taken, we can be sacked for too much sickness.

 

But remember the specific staff member we set it up to counter? She announced her pregnancy at the same meeting we were given the new policy. Pregnancy isn't covered. And oddly enough, since she's gone, there has been no need to refer to it.

 

Hubby works outside childcare - his company's policy is that you have a back to work interview after any time off; more than 9 periods of sickness in 36 months (ie, not calendar years) and you can be disciplined; if you go into work & are sent home ill by the company doctor/nurse/trained first aider for illness or an injury sustained at work that counts as a period of sickness. So if anyone's been ill but feeling a bit better, of course they stay off just to make sure they're fully better. Because Monday off sick, back to work Tuesday, no I really can't cope back home Tuesday lunch time counts as 2 seperate periods of sickness.

[sharonash]

I think my girls just have tooooooooooo much money, they dont get paid for being off sick unless SSP kicks in it doesnt seem to have an impact on them. I tell you something I couldnt afford to be off sick!!!!

 

WhereI used to work we had warnings etc but Im unsure how to go about this knowing my luck it would backfire on me!