With Australia Day around the corner, the opportunity to turn it into a four-day weekend might be tempting for those who like to chuck the occasional “sickie”.
However, absenteeism is no laughing matter when you can't afford to be short-staffed.
Sickies could cost employers in Australia up to $32.5 billion in lost productivity. It can lead to increased stress on other employees, unhappy customers and lost business opportunities. In short, too many instances of staff chucking a sickie can result in serious damage to your bottom line.
So how can you deter sickies while still keeping employees happy? Here are five tips for improving your staff's attendance.
1. Allow flexi-time
Flexible work arrangements are an option to consider. This is when you allow staff to accumulate overtime hours that can then be exchanged for the equivalent amount of time off.
It can be the ideal arrangement for employees who have personal duties that they need to perform during the 9-to-5 workday, and might take a sickie because they feel there's no other option.
Requiring that they give reasonable notice before using flexi-time will allow you to plan ahead – and where possible, offer overtime to other staff who are looking to clock up additional hours.
2. Track employee attendance
Are you finding that certain employees are more likely to chuck a sickie without a good reason during summer months and the holiday season?
While it may not be possible to scout the local beaches and pubs, make sure you keep a history of sick leave absences. That way, if you notice any particular sick day trends emerging, you can communicate them to the employee and motivate them to change their behaviour before it escalates.
Human resource management software packages such as Xero and Kronos Workforce Ready can help to streamline this task by cutting much of the paperwork around approving leave and tracking absenteeism.
3. Have clear leave policies
Make sure you have a clear process for managing sick leave that has been communicated to all employees. For example, you can make it mandatory that the employee or their carer call in sick by phone rather than by email or text message.
When an employee takes a sickie, it can be helpful to have someone with HR experience speak with them directly. This will help you to find out whether they need any assistance getting back to work, or if it's possible to get them to work reduced hours, or to log in from home that day.
If the staff member is genuinely unwell, finding the root cause of their problem can help in addressing any core issues.
4. Support healthy lifestyles
Healthy and happy employees are also a great return on investment. A Comcare analysis found that employee health programs decrease sick leave absenteeism by 25.3 percent, and save $5.81 for every dollar invested in employee health and wellbeing. You can encourage work-life balance for employees by supplying them with healthy snacks or organising outdoor lunchtime activities such as soccer or ultimate frisbee.
By the same token, presenteeism – which is employees coming to work when they're obviously unwell and might spread germs to others – should be discouraged.
5. Know your rights
While all employees are entitled to sick leave, employers are also entitled to take sanctions against anyone who abuses their leave privileges.
The current Fair Work guidelines allow employers to ask employees to give evidence for their absence, typically a medical certificate – even if they have only been absent one day. Such a rule should be included in your workplace leave policy.
Take the lead before staff chuck a sickie
Having a clear sick leave policy doesn't just make good legal sense – it can curb sick leave abuse by communicating to employees that you take good attendance seriously.
Regardless, the best way to prevent undue absenteeism – as well as excessive staff turnover – is to provide your employees with a workplace that is safe, supportive, and open to flexible working.
