Employers get tough on sick leave

Employees who take excessive time off sick can expect stiff treatment at the hands of their employers. A survey of over 1500 employers and advisers conducted by www.hrlaw.co.uk (the online employment service by City law firm, Fox Williams), reveals that employees face interrogations, medical examinations and even having their sick pay withheld.

The cost of sickness absence is a major factor for employers. It is estimated by the CBI that sickness absence costs the UK economy 10-12 billion annually, and the average cost to employers per employee has risen to its highest level for 5 years. Employers typically include strict provisions into employeesí contracts to prevent malingerers from benefiting from generous sick pay entitlement. Whilst employers appear happy to provide over and above Statutory Sick Pay, they are getting tough on employees who are not genuinely ill and are hauling them in to explain their absence.

Commenting on the findings, Helen Monson, employment specialist at city law firm Fox Williams, says:
ìBased on these results, most employers seem to be taking the right steps to prevent employees from abusing the system. However, employers need to ensure that they distinguish the genuinely sick from the malingerers and take appropriate action according to the circumstances. Return to Work Interviews and the contractual right to require medical examinations appear to be the most popular means of monitoring employeesí absence.î

With UK employees getting less holiday than many other European countries, it is perhaps unsurprising that workers are using their contractual sickness absence entitlement for extra days off. None of the respondents provided attendance bonuses to employees with good sickness absence records, and without the carrot, employers are using their sticks to try to police and reduce absenteeism.

Further key findings of the survey also revealed that:
85% pay contractual sick pay over and above their statutory sick pay entitlement
Half said that their employeesí contractual sick pay was at their discretion
Nearly 60% of all employers can require employees to submit to a medical examination
Over 90% limit the period over which contractual sick pay is payable to employees.
Only 8% of respondents define in their contracts of employment what activities will be unacceptable whilst an employee is off sick.
Less than 50% of respondents use trigger events (such as the Bradford Factor) to determine whether they need to take disciplinary action because of poor absence.
None of the respondents paid attendance bonuses to employees with good sickness absence records.
However, employees with poor sickness records were required to attend return to work interviews among nearly 80% of respondents.
Just over half of all respondents define when absence will be authorised for the purpose of determining whether sick pay is payable.