How to Handle an Employee Taking Frequent Sick Leaves: Seeking Advice and Solutions

Hi,

Any suggestions on what are the proper actions should be taken toward an employee who is always sick and has taken too many sick leaves? I have an employee who has taken at least 2-3 days of sick leave every month since starting the job. What should we do about it?

Thank you.

Best Regards,
Fanny

Dear Fanny,

When an employee goes on sick leave, ask them for a medical certificate. Talk to the employee and inquire about the issue; request a medical certificate. Try to determine whether the employee is genuinely ill or being dishonest. If they are indeed suffering from a medical condition, ascertain whether they disclosed this information to you during the hiring process. Gather all the necessary information before making a decision.

Thank you.

Dear Fanny,

In the case of Sick Leave, it should be properly communicated to the respective person (HR) in writing. Every sick leave should be supported by a medical certificate; it is as per the law. In case of employees availing sick leave very frequently, then you can ask the employee to produce treatment details certified by a doctor. This way, you will have an idea of how much time the employee will take to recover.

For authentication purposes of the certificates and reports, you can cross-check with the doctor who issued the certificate. In most companies, in-house or visiting doctors are available. If this is not the case with your company, you can hire a visiting doctor to check the certificates and other documents. By doing this, you can ask the employees to first consult with the company's doctor, and if he suggests, then they can go for Sick leave.

In case of failure to produce the certificate, you can consider it as unpaid leave. If the unpaid leave exceeds 10 days a month without approval, then you can terminate the employee. It is always a policy for new hiring that the company should ask for a medical checkup of the employee to prevent these kinds of activities. If you don't have such a policy, you can amend it and ask the current employees to undergo a medical checkup (charges should be borne by the company).

To take action in this regard, you have to talk to the employee in person. Even if the same issue continues, send him/her a warning letter stating the issue and the policy against it. And you know what to do next if the employee is on the same track...

Thank you all.

Eventually, I have talked to her and found out that she has a very serious migraine. She always has medical certificates to support her sick leave, but it is happening too often every month. This month she has already taken 5 days of sick leave.

Is there a proper way or letter to give to her since I have talked to her and understand her condition? She is still under the probation period, this being her 2nd month.

Dear Sharma, what should be the content of the warning in this kind of case?

If the employee is able to provide evidence of sick leave with proper supporting documents, and from the statements given, it is understood that the reason is genuine, even though the leave is availed repeatedly. No "warning" will serve the purpose. The option could be to see if the employee is an asset to the organization. If so, proper counseling should be done to retain the employee and to make it clear that the purpose of taking leave should not be repeated and that medical treatment may be provided with the company's assistance.

When the company cares for the employee's welfare, the employee would naturally tend to continue working. There are corporate examples where they genuinely care for employees, and it is no wonder that many corporations exist today.

KB

"Thanks to you all. Eventually, I have talked to her and found out she has a very serious migraine. She always has medical certificates to support her sick leave, but it is occurring too often every month. This month, she has already taken 5 days of sick leave. Is there a proper way or letter to give to her since I have talked to her and understand her condition? She is still under the probation period, and this is her 2nd month.

Dear Sharma, what should the content of the warning be in this kind of case?"

Employee took leave as she was sick. Later, she informed us that she was not going to report for duty. We had asked her to produce a medical certificate for the same, but the certificate she provided was not relevant. Now we are planning to send a letter to her.

What Type of Letter Can We Send to the Employee?

Regards

Any suggestions on what the proper actions are to be taken toward an employee who is frequently sick and has taken too many sick leaves? I have an employee who takes at least 2-3 sick days every month since starting the job. What should we do about this? It occurs too often every month. This month, she has already taken 5 sick days. Is there a proper way or letter to give to her since I have discussed and understand her condition? She is still under the probation period, and this is her 5th month.