Help with employee abscence.

Vic_Linen said:

2 weeks ago the employee took a week off, ringing in sick and claiming it was depression, that she had seen a doctor and had been prescribed medication, the week off was followed by a weeks leave she had previously booked so the employee has only returned today. She has filled out a self certificate stating depression as her reason for abscence, I've had no doctors note or any other evidence to substantiate her claim.

What can I do? Can I ask for a doctors note in this case or is the employee perfectly within there rights?

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As your absence plan has run its course, you’re back to dealing with this employee as you would any other. You can’t generally justify requiring a doctor’s note for one week’s absence, particularly if your contracts don’t provide for this.

Your only options are to continue monitoring the attendance, putting in place a longer absence plan in the future if necessary, and considering formal disciplinary action (warnings) due to attendance.


Karl Limpert

Continue to monitor attendance and get an occupational health report done on her for additional evidence whether she is truly sick, disabled or swinging the lead. With the latter you could consider dismissal.

If the employee has been with you less than 12 months you can dismiss them on notice....

If longer than 12 months then you need to make a call on whether its genuinley preventing them from doing their job..if so, you would need to raise it as part of a capability procedure and give them an opportunity to improve etc.....

really tricky and I have been in the same situation.

Vic_Linen said:

Hi,

I'm looking for some advice for an employee who we are having trouble with regarding continual abscences.

Over the course of 7 months (between March & Oct 2010) she was abscent 8 times, each of these times she filled out a self certified form for sicknesses and abscences that ranged from a chest infection to car breakdown and one instance of personal problems.

After the last day off I called a meeting with her and we established an abscence plan that would run over the next three months where her days off would be monitored, this plan ran up to the end of Jan 2011 over which time she took no time off.

2 weeks ago the employee took a week off, ringing in sick and claiming it was depression, that she had seen a doctor and had been prescribed medication, the week off was followed by a weeks leave she had previously booked so the employee has only returned today. She has filled out a self certificate stating depression as her reason for abscence, I've had no doctors note or any other evidence to substantiate her claim.

What can I do? Can I ask for a doctors note in this case or is the employee perfectly within there rights?

Any help appreciated, thanks.

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As ELC has already stated you will have to start the process again, although I am not quite sure if any formal processes have been commenced - the absence plan, this seems rather informal

In order to really tackle the problem you will have to have quite a strict process in terms of managing the employee

1) Establish what is an acceptable absence % / amount of absences for the company [not just singling this employee out]

2) After every absence - complete a return to work interview

3) Establish reason for absence / absence %

4) If absence % is triggered - then start formal process

5) Informal counselling - explain percentage, explain that the person's absence will be monitored and if it does not improve formal process will be undertaken

6) - if improves then job done - if not commence disciplinary process (as per company guidelines

verbal. first written, final written, dismissal (length of warnings will depend on company policy)

Any absences in relation to Dependants Leave will have to be discounted, you can not use these as part of the monitoring process

If at the RTWI you establish that there are underlying health problems you would be ill advised to conduct any formal disciplinary action unless you have written advise from the employee GP and / or an independant OH doctor.

The whole process is time consuming - however will greatly impact the employee absence %

If the persons sickness was only one week, and she was then well enough to be on holiday then no, she would not need a doctors certificate

If she was not well enough to return to work then the 2 weeks would be sickness and she would have to get a doctors certificate for the final week - HOWEVER she could then ask for her final week (which was prebooked holiday) to be reinstated in order that she can take holiday at a later date - so this might end up causing you more problems - I would let this one go, and just deal with it as 1 weeks holiday, and manage her absences from now

Hope This Helps
Clare