BUSINESS

  PERSONNEL POINTERS

PROVIDE A PLAN FOR SICK LEAVE

LAY OUT DOS AND DON’TS TO REDUCE THE STRAIN ON YOUR OFFICE

REBECCA L. JOHNSON, C.P.O.T., C.O.T., C.O.E.

EVERY OFFICE manager dreads it: an early morning call from an employee saying that he or she is too sick to come to work. While having an employee out sick presents problems — he or she could account for a significant portion of the staff — having an employee working who is sick presents its own set of problems, such as risking the possible spread of germs. And then there is that employee who would like to add an extra day to his or her weekend. Whatever the circumstance, having a defined sick leave policy outlines your expectations to your employees. Below are a few tips:

DEFINE A POLICY

A well-defined sick leave policy typically has three parts:

1. Purpose: An example of this is medical need. Our associates need time off from time to time to address these.

2. Accrual: This area defines how time is accrued, differences between full-time and part-time employee accrual, if applicable, and the maximum amount of leave that can be accrued.

3. Use: This should at least answer the following questions:

• Can sick leave be used prior to accrual?

• What happens once sick leave is exhausted?

• Can sick leave be used for immediate family members?

• What is the definition of immediate family members?

• When is medical documentation required?

• Will the employee be paid for sick leave upon termination?

• How is sick leave paid if the employee is out because of the Family and Medical Leave Act? (See Department of Labor’s website for guidelines http://1.usa.gov/1zhVbpR)

CONSIDER A PAID TIME OFF SYSTEM

While most of the time employees who call in are sick or need to be home to take care of a sick family member, others see sick leave as earned time off that is owed to them. For this reason, many companies have switched from a system of separate vacation and sick leave for an integrated Paid Time Off (PTO) system.

In a PTO system, the employee accrues hours of paid time off usually on a monthly basis. Regardless of the reason for the employee not attending work, the non-worked hours are charged against the accrued PTO. A PTO system awards conscientious employees who rarely take a sick day while discouraging those who use every hour of sick time. A disadvantage is that it can incentivize employees to come to work sick to take a longer vacation.

UNDERSTAND THE LAW

It is crucial that you understand both federal and your state laws surrounding employee sick time. For example, in 2014, California implemented the Healthy Workplace Healthy Family Act Of 2014 paid sick leave law, which requires almost all workers in California at least three paid sick days per year.

ON THE CLOCK

Taking the time to plan a sick leave policy will take some of the stress out of that early morning phone call from a sick employee and help to avoid miscommunication among your employees. OM

MS. JOHNSON is the founder and president of Eyetrain4you and the executive director of business services for GPN. Email her at Rebecca@GatewayPN.com, or visit tinyurl.com/OMcomment to comment on this article.