So yet again, it’s Monday morning and one of your team has called to say that they were playing rugby over the weekend and they’ve twisted their ankle. Their absence may last for a few days. It’s the fourth time this has happened this year, and for you as a manager, it’s now having a real negative effect.
So how do you tackle it?
Now, you and your organisation are fully supportive of people keeping fit, being healthy, and making the most of their life outside of work. But, you can only go so far.
For cases like these, here are some things you could ‘try’ to put into practice:
1. At the end of the day, this would still be classed as sick absence, so the first thing is to make sure that you deal with this through the normal steps you would take with anyone who is off sick. (If you don’t have a policy for dealing with sick absence generally, then take steps to develop one!)
2. Being the great manager that you are, as a matter of course you will always have return to work discussions with employees who have been off sick. With this guy, you’ll be doing exactly the same. However, your usual discussion may have to change. Think about taking the following approach:
– Make sure he’s fit and well enough to come back to work
– Explain your overall concern about his absence levels, and talk him through the formal process for absence management if you haven’t already started him down this route (i.e. the formal warnings he could get, and that ultimately he could lose his job if things continue)
– It’s more than reasonable for you to ask him to stop putting himself in the position where he can end up with yet more injuries, and yet more time off work. (We’re not suggesting you tell him how to play rugby, we are suggesting you explain that any further absences could lead to his dismissal.)
– Finally, explain the following to him: He is knowingly putting himself in a position which could lead to him having to take more time off work. If your policies allow you to do this, then tell him he will no longer receive any company sick pay when he is off because of a sports injury.
It’s important to make sure your Human Resource Policies make provisions for situations like this one. As is the case with all types of sick absence, many employers pay some form of occupational sick pay, yet they get little or no real return for it.
Taking all steps possible to reduce absence, and the impact of absences should be seen as a priority.
If you have an absence management issue and want to discuss it with one of our HR experts then please feel free to contact us.
