Employees filing for sick leave is common, but what happens when it becomes too common and can't you do anything about it?
What’s the threshold for employers suspecting staff are ‘pulling a sickie’?
Employees filing for sick leave is common, but what happens when it becomes too common and can you do anything about it.
An article by HRDs Coann Labitoria discusses how much sick leave is reasonable and what employers can do to minimize the absenteeism.
How many sick days are allowed in New Zealand?
In New Zealand employees can agree to any amount of sick leave, some employers offer unlimited sick leave. If you don’t have unlimited sick pay, employees can accumulate up to 20 days of sick leave per year and carry over 10 unused sick days per year.
What to do with a sick leave request beyond their leave credits
Sometimes situations arise where employees have severe illness or injury that leads to excessive sick leave being taken, over and above what is statutorily required. In this situation an employer may advance sick leave, provide unpaid sick leave or decline the request.
If an employer is skeptical, they are entitled to enquire and request a medical certificate or undergo a medical assessment.
How to handle extended sick leave situations
Below are some helpful of handling an employee taking sick leave past their threshold
- There should be obvious reasons to doubt the employee’s request
- Document every absence
- Review and update company policies
Watch out for legal complexities on dismissing an employee
Be mindful of potential legalities termination due to medical can cause. Termination should be held as a last resort. If termination is the only option make sure your process is thorough, potential discrimination and negligence legal proceedings loom if your investigation isn’t robust.
