Balancing Compassion and Business Needs: How to Handle Extended Leave Requests in a Small BPO?

Hi All,

I need your help and advice in dealing with a situation at the office. Ours is a small BPO company with strict targets and deadlines. We are considerate and generous while granting SL or EL. One of our female employees took leave a couple of months ago for about 1 month to undergo some treatment. We approved her leave on a Loss of Pay basis. Unfortunately, her treatment was not successful. Now she wants to leave for 3 more months for the same reason. She is not undergoing any operation but will be on some medication that will make her feel tired. If the treatment is not successful this time as well, then she may need more leave. While she is a good employee, as a small company, we cannot afford this inconsistency, and it would put pressure on the other employees. A significant company effort, in terms of providing refresher training, etc., will be required.

How do you think we can handle this situation so that the company is not affected, and at the same time, we don't appear unsympathetic?

Looking forward to your advice.

Lakshmi

Dear,

In my view, you can counsel her on the same matter as you have explained in your query. Please share your complete problem with her; she should understand your situation.

Regards,
J. S. Malik

Hi,

Since your colleague requires a long leave, which will affect your work as well, please process her Full & Final settlement and inform her once she finishes the treatment. If a vacancy exists, she is welcome to return. In the meantime, you can hire another person to ensure the work gets done. If the new hire performs well, they can continue. If you are able to accommodate your colleague upon her return from leave, that would be great. Otherwise, you have already completed her Full & Final settlement.

Regards,
Harshad

Dear,

In my opinion, you have to refer to the policy of your BPO. After consulting it, you either have to counsel the staff in the light of the policy, and if it permits, you have to help her.

Nadeem

Hello Lakshmi,

Harshad is right. Anyway, she is willing to go on Loss-of-pay. So you have 2 options. Either:

1) You make her F & F settlement now, with an assurance - NOT a commitment - that she can return after her treatment.

OR

2) Make some sort of amendments in your leave policy to handle such extreme cases - to be handled on a case-by-case basis. In the long run, this could be more employee-friendly.

Regards,
TS

As you mentioned, yours is a small company, you can follow the advice of Harshad and J.S. Mallik. You should not hurt the employee, and at the same time, you need to protect the company's interests. In this situation, you need to have a good relationship with the employee while also avoiding any legal interference.

Hi Lakshmi,

You seem to be in a situation very much similar to what I am facing. Ours is also a small BPO company, and we too are very lenient in terms of approving leaves. Just like you, we recently had a case of an employee taking multiple medical leaves for treatment.

While we normally give consideration for medical leave, in this particular case, the senior management decided to have a direct talk with the employee. We explained the situation and requested her to submit her resignation against full pay. We also assured her that we will be happy to re-employ her once she finishes her treatment. Additionally, we assured her that if she rejoins, we will not consider the absence as a break in service, and she will receive full benefits due to her.

After understanding our position and offer, the lady was happy to submit her resignation. While she is not on our rolls at the moment, she has confirmed that she will be rejoining us in August.

So, we have effectively resolved our issue without losing a good employee.

Hope that helps.

Regards,

Gaurang

Dear Dada,

This type of decision will always encourage the employees to give their best to the company because the company will always support the employees.

Thank you.

Hello everybody,

One of my friends has faced the same problem. The employee had accepted a full and final settlement, but now she has filed a case against the company regarding the termination. In reality, she had submitted her resignation, and the company cannot locate the employee's resignation letter. What should be done?

Prasad

Hi Lakshmi,

Greetings!

The problem is really understandable, but try to think by putting yourself in her shoes as well. She may be undergoing some kind of serious health issues, which can affect her future professional career or personal life. I am not suggesting that you compromise with the company policies.

Here is what you can do: counsel with her, explain the whole situation, and try to find a possible way for her to come to the office when the company needs her the most. You can also explore an alternative approach by gathering information about the project she is working on and how crucial her presence is for its success. Consider hiring someone on a contract basis for a specific period to cover for her while granting her the requested leave without pay.

Given that the IT market situation has not improved significantly, you should be able to find plenty of candidates willing to work on a contractual basis for 3 or 6 months. I hope this idea may work out.

Kindly acknowledge!

Regards,
Ram K Poddar
HR

Hi Mr. Prasad,

Greetings,

Termination due to leave may not be the foolproof solution to any problem; it should have been resolved through analysis and counseling. Otherwise, it depends on company policies.

Regards,

Ram K. Poddar
HR

Hi Lakshmi, I agree with Ram. If you are terminating the person, you are losing the confidence of the other good employees as well. Good employees give their best performance for the company, so when it's essential, the company should reciprocate in the same way. Tell the employee that a maximum number of months can be given as leave. Put the employee on leave and take a person on contract for some time. I feel that would be fair.

Regards,
Suman

Hi Prasad,

The resignation might be missing, but the F&F settlement statement, which is duly acknowledged by the employee, may very well be in the Accounts/Finance department. You might have paid the F&F settlement amount through the bank, and she might have withdrawn the same. The relieving letter and service certificate might have been issued by you, which she might have acknowledged and received. All of the above can be produced as proof of her acceptance. Additionally, consider the possibility of sabotage; somebody may have purposefully snatched the resignation letter, informed her, and instigated her to take action against your organization/you. I could be wrong as well.

Regards,
Kameswarao

Whenever an employee submits their resignation, upon acceptance of that resignation by their HOD, the HR department has to issue a resignation acceptance letter to the employee. If you remember the date of submission of the resignation, you can simply issue a letter acknowledging the acceptance of the resignation. This letter can serve as evidence that there is no termination, but rather that the employee has voluntarily submitted their resignation.

Dear Lakshmi,

You can appoint another person with immediate effect; the terms of employment of the worker would be "Badli," which is approved as per Indian law. Whenever she regains full fitness, you can replace her with another "Badli" worker/staff. The appointment of the "Badli" worker/staff would be temporary.

Best Regards,
Sajid

Hi Lakshmi,

I feel the following options may work out:

As you said, you cannot invest money/time in training a new employee, you can provide her with all the facilities like a laptop, phones, and other tools relevant to her work. This way, the work can be completed even when she is away for treatment.

Alternatively, you can recruit a less experienced person (not a fresher) on a contract basis. Have the employee provide training for a few days and then go on leave. Once she returns to work, you can terminate the contract.

Another option is to follow the advice given by others - sit down with her, explain the situation, and proceed with the F&F settlement. You can then welcome her back after she completes her treatment.

Regards,
SitaS

If it is a health reason that a good employee needs support for, we can assist them. Most employees tend to overlook their health while focusing on company development. Providing this support costs nothing and sends a positive signal to the rest of the team. It instills a sense of security that the company will care for them in difficult situations. It is essential for the company to convey the significance of having dedicated employees. This is just my perspective from the other side of the coin. Thank you. Heyram

Here are my 2 cents:

1. Never ever do F&F settlement the way it's been said above, because in a situation like this you will demoralize her, which will impact her from coming out of her illness, especially in the situation when she needs the HELP the most.

2. You said she is a GOOD employee. The word "GOOD" is very important here because these are the people who become the PILLARS of the company over a period of time. Being with them in a situation like this will set up MORAL values amongst others.

3. Folks, do remember the SOCIAL aspect of business because without that, the company can slide through the roof in one day. It's because of people's morale and rigidity to fight everything that keeps the company alive.

My suggestion is, as long as the lady wants to take leave, let her (you are not paying anyways, so it does not affect your Financial Books), but if things turn around, she will come back with FULL POWER that you will never be able to believe. Support her, she will go a long way...

We have many options available to resolve this issue.

1. If the employee is confident that he or she will return to work after the extended leave period, then the company should extend the leave period.

2. If the employee is not confident, then the final settlement and rejoining process will be necessary.

In my opinion, you should talk to your employee regarding this. You need to explain your problem and assure her about rejoining. In the meantime, you can hire a trainee or contract staff to handle the company's work.

Dear friends,

I encourage all of you to read a book called "Maverick" or "Seven Day Weekend" by Semler, chairman of SEMCO, a Latin American company.

Anyway, coming back to this problem. Three issues:
1. YOU are a small company.
2. Work pressure does not allow employee absenteeism.
3. A person is good in work but requires treatment.

Do not add further wound to her pain she is suffering if that is really true. Ask her if it is okay for talking to her doctor and ascertain how long she requires leave. GIVE HER THAT BENEFIT OF LEAVE and employ someone from college or anywhere on a temporary basis, say 2-3 months. If business grows, retain both. When your employee comes fully recharged after her treatment, she will be one of your best employees. While she is going through the treatment, let her proudly say what a company she is working for, and this alone will bring so much goodwill and many to work for you. This is the human side and business side mix. YOU WILL always get someone who is interested in working part-time. Ask your existing employee if she can come in between for a few hours and take responsibility to train. This is a win-win situation for all.

Dear Lakshmi,

One of you from the HR Department can visit the ailing employee, and while conversing with her, you can counsel her that she should resign from the services of your company. Whenever she thinks she is fit for work, she must approach the company for rejoining with an assurance that she will be considered on a priority basis. I had personally performed the same with one of our employees and had been re-hired after she got fit to resume work. This will go a long way in generating confidence and loyalty towards the organization amongst your employees and will help in building brand equity.

Regards,
Amit Anand Gera

Hi, HR has to maintain a balance between the human face of the organization and commercial/business aspects as well. I would suggest the following:

1. There is no harm in giving long without pay leave for a genuine reason. But at the same time, the organization has to make sure that the leave asked for is absolutely necessary, unavoidable, and cannot be shortened.

2. Under such circumstances, employees should not be given the impression that, since it is without pay leave, they can take it even for not so serious reasons. It needs to be clearly communicated to all employees that, as an employee, they have to manage their job, their family, their health, and their home. The organization can help them by going out of the way sometimes, but not always, as such benefits can be asked for by other employees in the future based on precedents.

3. Make sure the reason and duration of without pay leave asked for is genuine. Get copies of medical reports and have them vetted by another doctor before sanctioning leave. Also, check if the illness/treatment will require further leaves in the future as well.

4. All the above precautions will help in avoiding the misuse of considerations given to employees and prevent other employees from claiming similar considerations in the future by citing precedent.

Thanks & Regards