24/7 Store Dilemma: Is Sleeping on Duty a Fireable Offense?

Hi, we are a convenience store operating 24/7. Can we consider sleeping while on duty, if caught, as grounds for dismissal?

Further to what M. Sayeed has mentioned, you might also need to keep in mind whether the concerned employee has slept on duty for the first time or if it is a habit. Dismissal is usually considered as an option if such behavior is repetitive, despite being issued warnings, both orally and through letters. From the HR perspective, it would also be good if you check the reasons for his act, especially to rule out if any work-related reasons exist.

All the best.

Regards,
TS

In addition to what has been suggested earlier, speak to the employee, and if the behavior is repetitive, warn the employee. As a last resort, dismiss him, as it will send a strong message to other employees. Replacing and training new recruits should also be considered if such incidents are frequent. You could consider implementing a short coffee/tea break of 10-15 minutes, particularly during the night shift.

Regards,
Lakshmi.

Others have given you some sound suggestions. Hence, as is my usual practice, I will ask a few questions to get the situation clarified. Is this the first time that the worker has slept? If so, have you or the manager tried to find out the reason? It is possible that due to a lack of work and boredom, one might have dozed off. For example, I know a friend who dozes off even while listening and saying the prayer aloud. If I start reading something, I tend to doze off. That was a huge problem at work while reading reports. I knew of managers who used to doze off in their rooms.

As you have not provided enough information, we all have to ASSUME things and then make suggestions.

Several good suggestions have already been posted by the members. Let me try some new ones.

Hypothetical or Real Incident?

The point you have raised—is it hypothetical or an incident that happened (or happens frequently)? Since it is a 24/7 store operation, did any customer raise this point? Or was it found by an internal supervisor? If it is internal, you have time to think and act to get the corrective action in place. If it follows a customer complaint, it is time to act immediately to restore the confidence level of the customer.

Daytime vs. Nighttime Sleeping

Again, it is not mentioned whether the person sleeps during the day (more serious) or at night (natural as one works against nature; if there is very little workload—but not desirable).

Challenges of Night Shifts

All said and done, a night shift has been a challenge and continues to be one in various service sectors and also in manufacturing. In some services, even sleeping is allowed provided the customer is not affected. The person should wake up immediately to provide the service.

Regards,
V. Raghunathan
Navi Mumbai

Very true, Sir. Some people sleep at the drop of a hat. Rudy has not mentioned if it is FORTY WINKS, the Night Shift duty, or due to long working hours. I have added my views to cover other possibilities.

V. Raghunathan
Navi Mumbai

Could you please update me on the steps taken following the various suggestions in your posting? That's what keeps this forum going, if I may say so—learning through sharing.

Regards,
TS

I guess you are an employee and are talking about your concern. Operating 24/7 does not mean you have no break or shift system in your store and that you have to work continuously without any condition. You are a human, I believe, and have fundamental rights to take breaks during work. Moreover, it is obvious that you'd fall asleep if you work 24/7, which is a natural requirement that we all know well.

Working Hours and Labour Laws

What about your working hours norms according to your National/Regional Labour Laws? Apart from all the suggestions provided by members and seniors, I would like to say that you must speak to your Boss/Supervisor/HR Personnel in this regard.

May I present some different views. In my opinion, 24*7 refers to the operation of the 'Store' only and does not indicate the employee's working time. Work and rest are part of any international system like railways, manufacturing sector, IT services, and so on. It is amusing that having set the ball rolling and setting up an interesting thread, Rudy has chosen to remain silent after that. So it is time for Rudy to acknowledge the emails and present more details.

Regards,
V. Raghunathan, Navi Mumbai

Hello Shri AniL Kumar Arora, Thanks for your feedback, and my answers to your questions are as follows. In the first place, I believe there is a misunderstanding in interpreting my views. People, wherever they work, are entitled to rest after work, and that is what I have mentioned in my emails. Working 24/7 on all days is unlawful and unjust—be it in stores or any other sector. Working hours have been extensively discussed in Cite HR and are available in the Archives. The point raised by Rudy is about sleeping during working hours and whether it can be a reason for dismissal.

Regards, V. Raghunathan, Navi Mumbai

My apologies for replying at this time. Anyway, the reason I asked for your advice is that the General Manager would like to change the policy on sleeping while on duty from a written warning to dismissal as the first offense. Although we are operating 24/7, the employee works for 8 hours only. Sleeping happens on the 11 pm-7 am shift (graveyard). Several tasks have been assigned to do during the wee hours, like cleaning, encoding, and merchandising. However, there are still employees caught sleeping on the CCTV when reviewed by the Supervisor in the morning.

I hope this clarifies my query.

Your clarifications are timely—else the interest of many members could have waned.

Policy Change: From Written Warning to Dismissal

Regarding your GM's intention to change the policy 'from Written warning to Dismissal as 1st offense,' frankly, it seems more like an emotional response than managerial.

To give an analogy, this looks more like "using a missile to kill a snake"—just because one has a missile in hand doesn't mean it can be used at will or whim, even though the snake might be dangerous (like this habit of sleeping at work—in the topic under discussion). The context, circumstances, and the possible consequences of the action have to justify the usage.

I am sure there are better and less drastic methods to handle the situation. I can right away think of the following ways (I am sure other members can come up with more) that are less drastic and effective too:

• Hold any salary raises for a specific period of time.
• Reduce the salary for that or the next month when the employee was found sleeping by a prior fixed amount.
• Suspension for a specific duration.

The crux of the measures/steps is complete transparency and clarity to the employees as to what would follow if anyone is found sleeping at work. The steps have to be 'effective' and also 'fair' to both parties.

The final/ultimate step—Dismissal—can then follow if the habit repeats or persists.

Consequences of Immediate Dismissal

Looking at the consequences of your GM's present intent of 'dismissal,' I can see two possible consequences:

1) Enhanced attrition over a period of time. Would your GM be ready for it?
2) I am not sure of the existing Labor Laws in the Philippines—assuming such a facility does exist, what if any of the employees file a case with the appropriate Legal/Labor Authority? The case might go in favor of your GM in a particular employee's case, but would he/she be ready for the hassle of giving explanations for the decision of Dismissal and/or the consequences if the employee wins the case?

All the best.

Regards,
TS

Thank you for providing more information. TS has given you sound advice and also raised some valid questions. Let me raise more questions. Do employees have fixed coffee and lunch breaks? If so, what is the harm in them having a nap during such times? Just because someone was caught closing their eyes, it does not mean they were having a nap. How long does a video clip of the nap last? My professor used to close his eyes in meetings. We thought he was having a nap during the proceedings. When we asked him about it, he said, "I close my eyes to avoid distraction and concentrate on the proceedings." So, like TS has asked, will a court accept your video clips as evidence of a worker sleeping?

May I appeal to members to give more information at the outset. This will help members to give concise and sound suggestions, rather than debating about the situation.

Simhan's response actually got me thinking—on a totally different line altogether. Maybe your GM, instead of curtailing/punishing those who sleep at work, could streamline the habit to benefit your company/store.

Benefits of Napping at Work

Here are the links on why 'napping'—which is different from sleeping—at work is actually beneficial to the individual and the organization.

- [Why companies are cozying up to napping at work - Fortune Management](http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2011/08/18/why-companies-are-cozying-up-to-napping-at-work/)
- [Napping at Work is OK](http://management.about.com/cs/people/a/NappingatWork.htm)

Frankly, I know this works—but it all depends on the head of the department/division/company, on how the rules are laid out, with the 'key' being the type of control embedded into the policy—meaning where to draw the line to ensure it is not taken advantage of and the employee begins to 'sleep' rather than 'nap'.

Now I think you have multiple views of the problem. Please let the members know how the issue was handled—to ensure it's a case of 'learning through sharing'.

All the best.

Regards,
TS

The Challenge of Sleeping Syndrome During Night Shifts

Whatever you do, the sleeping syndrome occurs in the wee hours (between 3 am and 5 am). Most road accidents happen during these hours. It is advisable to have two guards during this shift; at least they can converse and avoid falling asleep. If one security guard is alone, they may fall asleep regardless of the punishment methods you implement.

Regards,
Pon

In the aftermath of the clarifications provided by you, I endorse the suggestions given by the members. You may like to consider the following as well.

Considerations for Employee Sleeping on Duty

Dismissing an employee when caught sleeping on duty, right in the first instance, could be disastrous, as pointed out. You mentioned some tasks were assigned, but they are still of no avail. Do the employees go to sleep after completing the tasks or after ignoring/leaving them incomplete? This should be reprimanded first, after careful consideration.

If the jobs are completed and then the employee goes to sleep, then increase the tasks assigned. Is the sleeping problem confronted with all the employees or a particular employee? If it is all the employees, then it is Management's turn to think of improving the work environment. If it is one or a handful of employees, then they can be given counseling.

Lastly, apart from incomplete tasks, is there any customer complaint? If there is, it should be given priority.

Regards,
V. Raghunathan
Navi Mumbai

Thank you for all your responses. Just to let you know, one of the Customer Service Representatives, who was still in her first month of employment with the company, committed this. She was terminated by her supervisor not only because she was caught sleeping but also for reading the newspaper, and the store was not kept clean during her shift. There was also an instance where she did not inform prior to her duty that she would be absent on her night shift.

After reading the report from the supervisor, the General Manager recommended her termination and instructed me to process it. I was quite doubtful about it as, in my opinion, there was still a need to talk with the employee and ask her to resign instead. However, this option was not permitted by the GM, and termination was decided upon. To add to the situation, there was no memo issued to the employee regarding other misconduct. The GM then instructed me to revise the company policy on sleeping from a written warning to dismissal. No matter what explanation I provide, it seems futile.

Thank you.

All that is said above is very true. The same case happened in one of our plants, where an employee fell asleep while on the night shift at work.

In such cases, we issued a show-cause notice to the concerned employee, explaining that the act was considered misconduct as per the model standing orders. The employee responded to the show-cause notice, but the reply was unsatisfactory. Consequently, a written warning letter was issued to the employee.

It is important to note that dismissal or termination of the employee's services may not always be the solution in such cases. Often, we need to show leniency and issue warnings to the workers.

Regards,
Avinash K.

You may look for suitable laws of the Philippines or refer to the laws as specified in ILO. ILO references can be found in Cite HR archives.

"Hire and Fire" cannot be a solution to handle a sleeping employee. It is a curious case as now the immediate challenge before you is not the sleeping person but your superior who needs to be convinced of what is just and how principles of Natural Justice have to be followed.

Regards,
V. Raghunathan
Navi Mumbai