Kicking “sickies” in to touch

As many readers can no doubt testify, one of the most frustrating problems facing employers today is the growing level of sickness absence, particularly intermittent absences which may not be for a genuine illness and which disrupt working patterns and hamper productivity.

In a recent survey of employers by the CBI and AXA Insurance, three-quarters of those questioned admitted that they suspect staff of extending their weekends by "throwing a sickie" on a Friday or Monday. Another survey – this time by Norwich Union – found that GPs suspect that more than a third of sick notes they issue each year may not be legitimate.

The cost of unauthorised absence to British businesses is huge. It has been estimated that "sickies" accounted for 15% of all absences last year, at a cost to employers of £1.75 billion. Faced with such alarming statistics, it is little wonder that many employers are concerned about how the progress of the England team at Euro 2004 will affect the productivity of their businesses. Will employees who have overindulged after another England victory (such optimism!) decide to throw a ‘sickie’ rather than face the prospect of working with a hangover the size of Becks’ wage packet? How can employers deal with this?

In an effort to tackle (no pun intended) the rising tide of ‘sickies’, Tesco is conducting trials in 20 stores as a result of which employees will not receive sick pay for the first three days of absence. Whilst such a course of action may be draconian, it shows how significant a problem Tesco believe unauthorised absence to be. Many employers, however, will consider Tesco’s response to be too harsh. Will employees have to visit their GP any time they have a cough, cold or tummy bug which forces them to take a day off?

Kicking “sickies” in to touch

If the Tesco approach is not for you, what steps can you take to deal with the problem of ‘sickies’? Here are our suggestions:

• In the first instance you want to deter absence. You can raise awareness. For example send a memo or email to all employees, to issue a pre-emptive warning that unauthorised absence will be regarded as a serious disciplinary matter, which may result in dismissal.

• Check your contracts/sickness policy to see whether you can lawfully withhold pay.

• You should ensure that your absence reporting procedures are adhered to across the business. Consider the use of return to work interviews in specified circumstances. Depending on your resources you could consider this in all cases of absence. Monitor absence patterns carefully and make sure you identify any trends.

• If the deterrent doesn’t work and there are any breaches of the absence reporting procedures or suspicions that reasons for absence are bogus, these should be investigated promptly in the return to work interview. If necessary, you should seek medical evidence to ideally check the reason for absence.

• If your investigations support your suspicions, consider whether the matter should be dealt with under the disciplinary procedure. Ensure that the disciplinary procedure is followed – failure to do this could make a subsequent dismissal unfair and expose you to Tribunal claims.

• A strong note of caution though. It is important to ensure that employees are treated consistently. An employee who is dismissed when, in the past, colleagues have only received warnings for similar offences, may well succeed in a claim of unfair dismissal or, worse still, unlawful discrimination.

By following the suggestions, you should be able to demonstrate that future inappropriate absence will not be tolerated. Potential skivers think twice before pulling a "sickie", even if England bring the trophy home!

If you have any queries, or require more detailed advice on any of the above matters, please contact:

Michael Gillespie

Cobbetts

39 Newhall Street

Birmingham

B3 3DY

Tel: 0121 237 2510 Email: mike.gillespie@cobbetts.co.uk

Ron Drake

Cobbetts

Trafalgar House

29 Park Place

Leeds

LS1 2SP

Tel: 0845 404 1523 Email: ronald.drake@cobbetts.co.uk

Judith Watson

Cobbetts

Ship Canal House

King Street

Manchester

M2 4WB

Tel: 0845 165 5202 Email: judith.watson@cobbetts.co.uk

The content of this newsletter is merely informative and should not be relied upon as a substitute for legal advice.

Copyright 2004 Cobbetts - All Rights Reserved - June 2004