staff problems....HELP

[Fitness Bug]

Hi people,

Im hoping you guys can help me out with some advice??

To cut a long story short, My wife has a hair salon, herself and 4 staff, one member of staff is contracted to 16 hours per week, (obviously family tax reasons etc)
worked at the salon for 18 months, she has always been a bit of a problem, throwing sickies here and there etc, over the past 5 weeks she has missed 4 fridays and the odd saturday, She aways gets her mum to ring with some excuse or another, Anyway, she has been off again today! no call, txt and at 4.30 today she txt the wife to say sorry, she is feeling low! and wont be in tomorrow either! she is going docs on monday.
we know for a fact that she is out on the town most thursdays(facebook) so we are obviously getting to think, out on a thurs, rough on a fri.
anyway, my main question is....what can my wife do about this? im thinking she cant just sack her??
also, we are thinking she is going to go down the "depression" route, how is sick pay calculated etc, Please, any advice is more than welcome.
thanks again guys

 

[butterflytraining]

Has she had any verbal warning or written warning up until now? I would gather your evidence, a file, of her absences, she has not rang to even say she was turning up and when she has rang its been her mother, which i assume goes against your sickness policy? and let her go. I doubt she can so much about it even if she tried, which she probably wouldn't she wouldn't get very far.

Also screen shots of her facebook if possible.

 

[cwbolton]

isn't this known as a form of misconduct? A girl at my workplace has been sacked because she did EXACTLY the same, didnt turn up for shifts, people from work had seen her drinking the night before and she had posted it on facebook, so out GM sacked her. Your not in the wrong for sacking unreliable employees. Especially part time ones.

 

[butterflytraining]

very true, just let her go. She won't have a leg to stand on.

 

[matt.h]

I'm sorry but she shouldn't be employed if she isn't capable of ringing up sick for work herself. Unless you are seriously ill, it is possible to do this.

She is being disrespectful, and as long as you go down the right channels and do it "by the book" get rid.

 

[Beachcomber]

I'd guess much of what you need to do will be determined by her contract of employment which should outline disciplinary procedures.

Maybe have a one to one, ask her about her attendance and the reasons for the absence - then present her with printouts of her facebook entries detailing her boozing and see how she reacts.

To a certain extent you have yourselves to blame for letting it go on for so long unmanaged - but now's the time to grasp the nettle and deal with it - or your other staff may feel they can start taking liberties as well.

 

[Liite]

Where i work you have to phone up an hour before our shift starts. Basically so management can arrange suitable cover. If i get my partner to phone up for me it counts as an unauthorized absense.

I as take evidence from her Facebook and take the appropriate action and sack her

 

[Fuzzy]

Depends on her CofE , but to be honest she's not worth the hassle. Phone ACAS and get some good solid advice from them to cover your actions

 

[Indigo Cherry]

At the end of the day, she isn't fit to do teh job you employed her for! She is taking (obvious) sickies cos she can't be bothered to come in as she is hungover!

The is misconduct (prob not GROSS misconduct) and if I was you I would give her a written warning and then next time she does it, get rid!

 

[Fitness Bug]

Thanks for all the advice guys, your'e all really helpful, STAFF, who'd av em????lol

 

[PBDPConsulting]

Thanks for all the advice guys, your'e all really helpful, STAFF, who'd av em????lol

Well, I hope you can distinguish between the good advice given so far, and the bad advice!

There is a lot of simple and clear guidance on the net so you have no excuses for getting it wrong. Even in a small business. For example, have a look at the ACAS online guide http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=2179 Have a look also at all the other advice on employee rights, dismissal, etc. e.g. http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/RedundancyAndLeavingYourJob/Dismissal/DG_10026692 for information on unfair dismissal. Have alook at http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/layer?topicId=1074209970 for how to manage absences and sickness.

etc.

If you get this disciplinary and dismissal issue wrong, then you may well be stuffed with an unfair dismissal suit. And if you did it wrong, you will lose.

And as for "STAFF, who'd av em?" where would the business be without them? Surely, in hairdressing they ARE your business, so it is worth managing them properly, and this includes having a proper system for discipline and dismissal.

 

[ADW]

Be very careful how you proceed. You need to do everything correctly to protect yourselves. This is where membership to the FSB pays for itself. You have right to take action but please make sure you get "proper" advice on the best way to do it. We all know the simple answer is "just sack her" etc. but it can come back and bite you.

Does she just get statutory sick pay or full pay for days off?

 

[LicensedToTrade]

Well, I hope you can distinguish between the good advice given so far, and the bad advice!

A valid point and I dare say you are the only one who has given any advice worth listening to at this stage in the thread. [EDIT] ADW has since made some helpful comments that I didn't see before posting.

You can simply dismiss someone because they pull sickies all the time, you can also dismiss someone just because you don't like the colour of their hair, but remember this... if you dismiss someone incorrectly, or rather in a way that contravenes employment laws then you can wind up in a very messy (and costly) situation. You wouldn't hire someone on a whim so don't fire them on one.

Check your current sickness and absence policy. If you don't have one, get one. There are plenty of free templates online.

A few key areas to cover are: Sick pay, notification, return to work interviews, absence monitoring, disciplinary procedures.

One of the easiest (and perfectly legal) ways to reduce 'sickies' is to introduce a sick pay policy that for example states that company sick pay will not apply on the first three days of absence. This will cut down the amount of mondays and fridays that you lose.

For frequent offenders you can inform them (back it up in writing) that you will be monitoring their absences over a set period of time. Stick to your word and carry out return to work interviews on the first day that they arrive back. Carry this out formally, sit them down in a quiet environment away from everyone else. fill out the forms with them, ask them the same questions each time, do not be tempted to just rush through it after you get sick of doing it.

Look back at the results of your absence monitoring. If the person has had what you deem to be an unacceptable level of absences over this period then sit them down formally and advise them that you are issuing them with a written warning. Again, you can find templates online. Set a time period for reviewing their progress

Continue the monitoring, requesting doctors notes each time they are off for long enough to warrant this. At the end of the monitoring, if it hasn't improved issue a final written warning. Repeat as before.

If no progress is made after this period of time and you have no evidence of an ongoing illness of disability then terminate their contract.

Keep all of the details and evidence for at least one year after the dismissal to cover yourself.

 

[Indigo Cherry]

Before firing this person, you need to talk to ACAS! Not people (even people with the best intentions) on this forum! There are many factors that you need to consider!

Has she had any warnings? Have you spoken to her about her absences? And lots more.......

If you fire her and you do it the wrong way, you will cause yourselves a whole lot pain if she decides to contest it.

Do yourslef a favour and speak to ACAS or one of the many HR consulting firms out there.

Matt

 

[Employment Law Clinic]

anyway, my main question is....what can my wife do about this? im thinking she cant just sack her??

You’re right about that!

The first thing you have to do is manage this employee. As suggested above, you could just sack her, but contrary to some opinions, she would have a leg to stand on – it would be an unfair dismissal.

Given the conduct & attendance issues, a dismissal could be a reasonable action, but only after you’ve tried to address the issues & discussed these with her.

Subject to the policies you have in place regarding notification of sickness, you may (should) have a disciplinary offence for her not following the notification procedures when sick. At the moment, it wouldn’t be serious enough to dismiss on its own, but if it occurred repeatedly & after warnings, ultimately it could be.

You also have the poor attendance that you can take disciplinary action for. As part of your disciplinary process, warnings will also be necessary for this if you want to avoid an unfair dismissal claim, but done properly, you should either see an improvement in attendance or have grounds to dismiss.

You can phone anyone you want, but advice (as here) will only be generalised – we would need to see your attendance & disciplinary procedures to give specific advice on what action to take & when.

 

[Fitness Bug]

Thanks again guys for all the help, I went to the pub today for a drink and low and behold.....................she was actually working her other part time job.....................BEHIND THE BAR!!!!!!