Managing Sun, Sickies, and Staff Issues

Employers may have more than just the heat making them sweat amidst the current UK heatwave. For some, the sunshine may be nothing more than a HR headache, with many businesses already experiencing a rise in absenteeism, lateness, performance issues, last-minute holiday requests and staff reporting in for work under the influence. After all, we wouldn’t be in Britain if the beer gardens weren’t packed at the first sight of sun!

So, here are our top tips for tackling some of the issues you may be currently facing or expecting to see as the temperatures rise.

Be clear with your team about your expectations – Try and get ahead of issues by acknowledging that we all want to make the most of the sunshine, but this should not impact our ability to get into work and do our jobs! Being hungover and/or staying out too late is not an acceptable reason for being late, missing work or poor performance.

If someone is unfit to attend their shift, then they must notify the appropriate person as outlined in your absence policy. “Not knowing who to contact” will not be accepted as a valid excuse.

Hold return-to-work meetings –We always advise clients to conduct return to work meetings, ideally face-to-face with their staff, on their first day back to work. This gives you an opportunity to ask about their illness, what treatment, if any, was given, and if any reasonable adjustments are required for them to continue working. Not only does this build a paper trail of evidence to support future decisions around this individual, but it will hold them accountable for their absence. Typically, these meetings will also help you separate those who were genuinely ill from those ‘trying it on’.

Calling staff out on social media posts – If an employee does call in sick and checks-in online at their local pub, it’s fair to say that they are probably faking it. If your employee is well enough to head out to the pub, then this can be used as evidence for an investigation.

Use your policies – you should have a set of policies already in place for managing issues relating to absence, lateness and misconduct; these will help you identify what approach the business needs to take. Once this is established, you will need to follow the procedures set out. If in doubt, seek advice first!

If you do not currently use trigger points for managing absence and lateness, it is advisable to seek advice from a HR professional and add these to your policies.  If employees know there are consequences for poor attendance, they are less likely to take time off sick or show up late to work.

Manage holiday requests around your business needs – You are not obliged to approve a holiday request, especially a last-minute one, if it will impact the operational needs of the business. That said, if you are in a position where you can approve last minute requests, then it’s advisable to do so on a first-come-first-serve basis.

Take immediate action if you suspect an employee is under the influence of alcohol or drugs in work – Not only is this a misconduct issue but also presents a significant health and safety risk. If you suspect an employee is under the influence, then you should stop them working immediately and follow the procedure set out under your drugs and alcohol policy regarding testing and next steps.

If you want to find out more about how your business can effectively manage these issues, then why not get in touch with one of our expert HR consultants today.