Worker Absenteeism and Union Concerns: Is It Legal to Visit a Worker’s Home?

Worker Absenteeism and Union Opposition

We are a manufacturing company, and a union of workers is also present. A worker remains perpetually absent and in his applications provides false reasons. To verify these reasons, we sent our representative to his home to ascertain the facts. The union opposed this action, claiming that the employer cannot send any person to a worker's home, stating it is against the law. We believe it is part of Industrial Relations to understand the worker's problems, and ethically it seems right.

Question: Legality of Sending Representatives to Workers' Homes

Is there any rule that allows us to send our representative to a worker's home?

There is no law stopping a visit to an employee's house. Due precautions are to be taken, such as going at a decent time and if the employee is a lady, sending a lady representative only. Talk to the union and show them the false reasons given justifying absence.

Dear Sandeep, rather than sending a company representative to the worker's home, you may run a counseling center for the workers and their families. This helps in understanding their personal problems. Sending someone from the company to the home, unless the worker is suffering due to dire sickness or because of some other problem, could be considered as nosiness by the labor union. HR representatives visit hospitals or even homes during sickness or accidents.

Is visiting the worker's home a regular feature?

If yes, then do you have records as to who made such visits, when they were made, and why they were made? With the records at hand, you could have explained that such visits are part of the employee welfare/counseling activities. Anyway, you may learn from this instance about visits to the workers' homes.

Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar

Do your employees and workmen reside in the company colony or make their own arrangements? If they reside in the company colony, the team led by the welfare officer or any team formed for colony management can go, but with an intimation to the workmen/employees, preferably with a lady staff as a companion.

Addressing Absenteeism

Regarding absenteeism, conduct employee counseling involving a union representative and the Head of Department (HOD). You can also discuss the issue in a works committee meeting.

Seeking External Assistance

You can seek assistance from the Central Board of Workers Education (CBWE), an autonomous body that works on awareness-building among workmen and family counseling. Contact the local office of the CBWE for such initiatives. If the results are positive, one of the main advantages is that things you may not be able to articulate can be expressed by them.

If you are still not satisfied, the workmen can be asked for an explanation for their unexcused absences, referring to the clauses of the Standing Orders.

Dear Colleague,

Nothing should stop you from visiting a worker's home. But, build a regular practice/culture rather than only for checking whether the employee is truly ill or not. Go to the worker's house during important happenings like marriage, sickness, births, and such other fitting occasions with a genuine feeling of care and concern, which will go a long way in cementing the employer-employee relationship.

Regards,
Vinayak Nagarkar
HR Consultant

Dear Sandeep,

As suggested by seniors, here you need to follow appropriate methods for conducting such visits or engaging in counseling activities. Additionally, union representatives, especially if the employee is a chronic absentee, tend to protect the employees. They might try to divert your attention by raising unnecessary queries about the actions you have taken.

Please let me know if you need further clarification or assistance.

Thank you.

As Mr. Vinayak said, as an HR representative of the company, you should develop a strategy of visiting the residences of employees occasionally so that this type of situation won't arise, and the Union won't have any right to stop you or create issues on such visits. Sometimes you need to be assertive; failing which, the Union office bearers will take advantage and create a nuisance. You can also consider delegating the task to his/her superior to make house visits so that there won't be many issues regarding that. It is evident that the employee is well, and you will ascertain the reality once you visit the house; hence, the union is trying to make an issue out of the same.

You should take a tough stand and proceed; failing to do so will prompt the Union to create issues on all the management's initiatives and prevent you from proceeding.

Thanks and regards,
Kamesh

Dear friends,

In our organization, we have been visiting absentee families to counsel them and also appraise them about the consequences of habitual absenteeism. We have even posted show-cause notices on the doors of the absentees' residences. These efforts have yielded positive results. We also inform the union representative about all these actions, and they appreciate our efforts.

G.K. Manjunath Special Officer - HR

Addressing absenteeism through HR intervention

As part of the HR intervention, we adopted a case-by-case approach to absenteeism. Labour Welfare Supervisors were tasked with visiting the families of absent workers. The results were revealing, as many workers had their meals packed but were not reporting for duty. This was mainly due to indebtedness, as loan sharks would wait at the factory gates to seize them. With difficulty and liberal help from the employees' thrift society, many families were able to be saved.

In addition to discussions in the Works Committee, it is suggested to inform the union about the absenteeism problem in the industry in detail. During these discussions, house visits could also be addressed to clear the union's misgivings on the subject. Involving the family and bringing them on board is part of the treatment process and should be attempted.