Extended Sick Leave Dilemma: How to Handle Employee Absence Without Impacting Work?

Addressing Extended Sick Leave Issues

I have an employee on a long sick leave (2 months now); he is in my headcount but non-productive. A recent discussion with him revealed that he needs another month's leave (which is not possible as departmental work is suffering). Please suggest how to address such an issue with the employee.

Regards,
Nitin Pathak
Ahmedabad

Nowadays, you have to follow some rules when removing an employee. You cannot terminate an employee without a valid reason or without conducting an inquiry. Therefore, please explain the role of the employee, whether they are a confirmed employee, probationary, trainee, or casual labor. The rules will vary according to the cadre. Only then can we provide you with the correct answer and advise you on the next steps.

Regards,
Alphonse

He is in the IT department (System Support Engineer), part of a 10-member team responsible for 100% uptime and running of PCs in a BPO setup. He is a permanent employee. Please let me know if any other details are needed.

Thanks for your quick response.

Regards,
Nitin

Though one should be empathetic about the issues an employee may be facing in their personal life, it is important to ensure that it doesn't lead to any adverse effect on the official responsibilities of the employee. I suggest taking the views of the employee's manager and team members before arriving at any conclusion. Refer to the trend that is being followed in your organization as well.

In this regard, I strongly suggest that this employee should be given a long rope and extended help. There are many benefits to this: demonstrating to employees at large that the company does care for its employees, the company will not put additional stress on the employee when they are under tremendous personal trauma or sickness, etc., and thereby gain employee loyalty (and score some brownie points on the employee engagement front).

Having said this, an employee may be asked to move on by referring to the Appointment Letter clauses with respect to notice pay/termination of employment, etc. You may pay them their notice period salary (in gross) and release them.

Regards,
Shashank

If you go by the rules, then if the employee concerned is sending timely information about the extension of leave on a valid medical certificate, then taking harsh action of termination of services is not correct on the part of management. However, if only some written or verbal communication is being sent, you may ask him to give clarification/explanation in writing supported with a medical certificate, failing which action as per the provisions of Standing Orders applicable to employees in your establishment may be taken. You may also talk to the employee concerned over the phone and judge the reasonability of his absence.

On his reporting for duty, you may send him for re-examination by your Company Medical Officer if in practice/as per rule. Taking action for termination should be the last resort.

Regards,
AK Jain

As per my view, first of all, check the genuineness of the leave. If the employee requires leave as per the medical practitioner, then check whether the extension is valid and assess their fitness for the job. Lastly, discuss the matter with your management team and decide whether to hire the employee temporarily or permanently. If the employee needs to be hired permanently, inform the existing employee of the situation, explain the facts, and request them to resign on good terms.

There are no strict rules in this matter; it depends on the management of the company and how they handle such issues. In government organizations, if management suspects that an employee is using a fake certificate, they may ask the employee to visit an appointed doctor designated by the government or set up a medical board to verify the authenticity of such cases. The board then submits its report to the management, which subsequently makes a decision based on the findings.

If he is a permanent employee, you can reject his leave application. What is the reason he is citing for the leave now? If he is suffering from a long illness, counsel him to resign and take proper treatment because management cannot grant so much leave. Still, if he proceeds on leave without pay unauthorizedly, you can issue him a charge sheet for habitual absence without leave or leave exceeding 10 consecutive days, as per standing orders, and conduct an inquiry. After completing the inquiry, send him a copy of the findings and terminate his services.