Sick Leave Abuse

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Sick Leave Abuse, is there a Cure? Sick leave is a privilege, not a right. Sick leave is considered an important benefit when looking for a career, however blatant abuse of sick leave policy is leaving companies wondering if it is as beneficial for them as it is the employee. Unlike using the Family Medical Leave Act jobs are not protected when using sick leave. When sick leave is regulated correctly it can benefit both employee and employer. Abuse of sick leave is problematic, but there are many solutions to resolve it. Sick leave causes many problems. When an employee calls in sick another employee has to give up their time off to accommodate the sick employee eventually causing conflict between staff. The staff that is doing the coverage …show more content…

If there is no one willing to cover the shift for the sick employee, coworkers must adjust to cover both their work flow and the missing employee’s work flow. This is bad for the employee, customer, and the company. The whole work routine is interrupted. Employees also use sick leave unethically, wanting to save vacation time or having used all of their vacation time they call in sick to attend activities or for a “mental health” day when they are not actually sick. On the other hand, there are also employees that refuse to use sick leave. No matter how sick they are they still come to work. Moreover, employees that come to work sick are less productive, often contagious, and tend to take longer to get well. This type of employee thinks that co-workers should never miss work and they have an attitude when they do. Their expectation is that every absence should be dealt with by discipline, even when there is no abuse. They push themselves to the point of having medical issues that result in long term sick leave. Equally both types of employees are abusing sick leave policy. However, there are many solutions for the abuse of sick leave. Clear cut sick leave policies must be in place to protect the employer and to act as a guide for the employee. Some of the guidelines in place that can help prevent call ins are: Dr. note after so many days absent, the employee must call in eight hours prior to shift, phone call must be placed to your boss or immediate supervisor, and some larger companies have gone as far as only allowing a certain number of spots per shift for call ins and they are on a first come first serve

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