BLUF: An employee calls out sick (legitimately sick) more than HR policy deems acceptable and I don't want to punish the person for being unhealthy. What can I do?
I've got someone that was transferred to my team a few months ago. Since July, he has had 5 instances of calling out due to a variety of reasons (different sicknesses several times (so, non FMLA protected for the american managers), elderly parents having emergencies, household damage issue, etc).
I spoke briefly to my boss, who had been in contact with my new direct's old boss, and that person said they had attendance issues under them that they chose not to document because they thought he was just unhappy with the job and wanted to work for me, and if the corrective action process had taken place, this person would not have been able to transfer to my department. I was, of course, not informed of the attendance problems prior to receiving this employee.
My company has a documented HR policy that allows 6 call-outs over the course of 6 months, and on the 7th, the corrective action process takes place. Subsequent unscheduled absences result in harsher punishments, eventually leading to termination.
Due to the fact that in 2 months he has accumulated 5 unscheduled callouts coupled with that it seems like he has the immune system of an infant, if this pace keeps up and I document it appropriately, I'll be required by policy to terminate employment by the end of the year. He's a good employee who is very chipper, loves working on my team, and helps morale when he's around.
How can I give feedback on attendance when this person has no real control over the reasons their attendance is so poor? Do I avoid feedback in this situation and do something else?
Good performer?
This is where policy and reality don't always work well together. Is this person a top performer? Are you doing O3s?
First - for a top performer, I'm willing to bend rules to the point of ignoring them when they don't make sense. If the person is one of my best, does it makes sense to the company to loose them over some personal emergencies? Also, 6 sick days in 6 months seems unreasonable to me. People have lives outside of work & they don't always line up perfectly. If you are satisfied with the employee's reason that they couldn't avoid the absence, I'd ignore it.
In an O3 setting, you need to make sure they know the HR policy & how close they are to violating it. The last boss didn't make an issue of the absences so he may feel entitled to take as much time as is needed? Check, don't assume. It could be a shift in schedule would allow him to attend the "life happens" events while still attending work as deemed acceptable by the company.
Michelle
is the work getting done?
5 unscheduled absences in 2 months sounds like a LOT. But the real question is, how does this person's work get done? What is the real impact to the team/company if there are excessive absences? Let that be your guide.
If it's a situation where each person's work is self-contained, and the work can get done during off hours or from an alternate location, then maybe the company policy should be adjusted for your team (whether that adjustment would be public or private, I can't say). Offering flex time or occasional WFH could be a win-win: the work gets done and the team enjoys a little flexibility, which is good for morale. The caveat here is that people have to use it responsibly or the privelege will be taken away. My team is structured like that - I don't care so much how, or what time of day, the work gets done...as long as it gets done well and by the published deadlines.
On the other hand, if it's a situation where your team works set hours and everyone else has to scramble to get through the day when you are short-staffed, like in a call center or restaurant or something, then I think you have to take the other road: reiterate company policy TO THE WHOLE TEAM, and give them fair warning that you will be following it, no exceptions. In a case like that, the policy makes sense. It's not fair to the rest of your team who has to pick up the slack, regardless of whether the person has valid reasons for being out, or how good he is when he's there.
Some more info
Michelle:
I do O3's, every week, for all of my 9 directs. This person is relatively new, so they haven't gotten to a point of being a top performer, but his work is solid and he works well within my team's culture. It's not really 6 sick days in 6 months... if he calls in sick on Monday and is out for a week, that only counts as 1 sick day, not 5. It is also over the course of a rolling 6 month calendar, and only counted if they call in the day they are supposed to be there. If he tells me at 5:00 in the afternoon he is feeling ill and won't be in the next day, that counts as scheduled time off. The policy is much more reasonable than it first sounds.
The last boss made an issue out of it and had chats with him about it, but didn't document it because had the documentation been in his employee file, he would not be able to transfer to my team.
Maura:
Funny you should mention that-- it's close to call center work (help desk support). I've got 9 directs working staggered shifts to cover a 12 hour work day. Working from home isn't an option and he is one of my two late shift people/closers, so when he doesn't show, someone else has to rearrange their day to cover for him. I allow flexing time and the team is pretty flexible and will do what they have to do to make sure that our customers are taken care of, but that might mean some days one of my team working a 10+ hour day in order to cover.
Nobody's seemed bitter about his absences, so it's not really creating a morale issue as far as anyone's communicated to me (and they would tell me, I have a great relationship with my directs).
Different angle
What do all of your other directs that come to work all the time think about the special treatment that you are giving the new guy? Does that come up in O3?
In my experience when you give different treatment to one of the team members the rest of them resent it, and keep that bottled up inside.
RC
Make it a part-time job?
If he's worth keeping around, then maybe you can work out a part-time employment situation where he can more reliably commit to a certain number of shifts. And, if you raise that subject with him, you simultaneously send two messages "I want to have you around" and "You're not working the number of days expected from full-time staff."
Got it
Ok, I think I understand your sick policy better now. So your problem really isn't about the number of sick days taken, it is about the last-minute "I won't be at work today" phone calls.
That impacts the team, whether they are bitter about it yet or not. It's one thing if you have a culture of "everyone covers for each other" & he isn't abusing that. It's quite another if you are asking people to shuffle daycare, personal responsibilities (scheduled after work) etc. too often. That causes resentment at home, in my experience, faster than it does at work. So be prepared for a backlash to come.
I agree with Maura - let the whole team know you are going to start following the policy. Maybe you could say "effective today" - meaning any previous absences are ignored? This gives everyone a level playing field & doesn't pick on anyone in particular. I find September is a great time to implement change - with summer over & back-to-school in full swing, people are more prepared to try something new.
Good luck.
Clarification
I appreciate the responses, thank you everyone.
I wanted to make sure I clarified a bit further.
I am not giving this person special treatment and I have been following the policy since day one, so this should not be news to anyone. The guy with the attendance problems has not reached the corrective action threshold yet (I act on the 7th call out and he is at 5) and as HR policy dictates, I'll follow procedure and the CA process if it gets to that point. However, I want to let him know that he is very close and if he continues having absences at the rate he has since July, he's going to be getting written up pretty soon. Nicka, that is a possibility and I may suggest it to him, but that will mean losing benefits, which I doubt he is willing to do.
Let me know if you think this approach is the most delicate way to address this:
As Michelle said, in my next O3, review the attendance policy and make sure he understands that 2 more gets him his first warning. Focus on the attendance, not the reason for the absences. If he brings up health issues, suggest looking into FMLA. For future absences, follow policy as stated.
Sound reasonable?
The approach sounds good
I think you stick with the policy as you have suggested. You can't ignore the policy for this person and then expect to be able to enforce it later for someone else.