Absenteeism Policy

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SOME DAYS ARE FOR LIVING. OTHERS ARE FOR GETTING THROUGH

Malcolm Forbes, Publisher

KEY FACTOR:

In this business, as in most service businesses, there is nothing worse than an employee (say nothing of 2 or 3) that calls in absent or is too rude to even call and just does not show up for work one day. If you do not have a policy in place covering this ‘no show’ action the same employee might show up for work the following day. Employees will take as many days off as they feel they want or feel they need if you do not have a specific policy in place covering absenteeism.

ACTION ITEM:

Clearly state your company policy on absenteeism to a new hire on their first day of work and then give them a copy of the policy in writing. Be specific with your guidelines regarding calling in when an absence is necessary, giving advance notice when it is possible, state specific absence and tardy days allowed. Be sure your employee understands the rules. When a policy is broken or not honored be sure to deploy the appropriate disciplinary action in a timely basis. Never treat one employee differently from another in this area because it is very easy to track. Never allow a single absence to slide that should have been followed by disciplinary action.

IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS:

Create an absenteeism policy for your company. Be sure to document all of your policies in your employee handbook and be sure to be specific. Below is a great and court tested absenteeism policy:

• Allow 4 absences every 6 months-no differentiation between excused and unexcused absences (Very specific and it is impossible to discriminate if you do not know the reason-You are not judge & jury)
• 3 absence days in a row count as 1 day for tracking purposes (Allows for major illnesses, funerals, weddings, emergencies, etc. without having to terminate. With most of these you will receive notice of the expected absence and advance notification of an absence is much easier to manage)
• 3-1/2 days count as 1 day-Must clean 1/2 of homes scheduled (This encourages employees to not take a whole day off for doctors’ appointments. It is generally easier to manage if they work at least half the day, especially if they have a ‘special’ client that day)

When an employee has only worked 30 days and they have an absence day, give them a verbal warning (if they keep up this level of absenteeism, you will need to fire them in 5 months.). If they miss their 2nd day in 60 days give them a written warning. And so on. Terminate on the 5th absence regardless of the reason. In fact, you DO NOT want to know the reason. Never accept a doctor’s excuse, funeral notification, etc. You do not want to differentiate and you cannot if you do not see their proof.. (Remember, you can always rehire them in 30 days)

You will never lose an unemployment case, you will never lose a discrimination case and, best of all, your absenteeism rate will reduce drastically if you follow this process with each and every absence occurrence at your company. What a GREAT way to start a day with no one calling in sick or for ‘whatever’ reason. (There is one last benefit to not asking why a person is not coming to work. Who has time to listen to that long sob story when this person has just started a fire that you need to put out!?!)

Always have your absence logs next to your phone in the morning. When an employee calls in sick look at their log. If they have 3 absences and have only been working there for 3 months you might want to remind them that this will be their 4^th and they only have one more left for 3 more months or you will need to terminate them. They should be on a written notice so they should know this but they forget.  You will be surprised how many times they decide to come to work after you say that. Using the absence book in the morning will save 25% of your absences.

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