Tips on Dealing with Employee Attendance at Work

1. Kathryn Kissinger HR Services 2013
Dealing with Attendance
Management Issues

2. Attendance Management
One of the biggest headaches that employers face is
dealing with employee attendance issues.
Monitoring and dealing with sick leaves and the required
documentation is very confusing and complicated.
Worse, you risk violating Employment Standards or Human
Rights legislation if you don’t handle the situation
correctly.
Today I will answer some basic “Q&A’s” for employers with
less than 50 workers.
Kathryn Kissinger HR Services 2013

3. Leaves of Absence
Personal emergency leave:
This leave is only available to organizations with
50 or more employees. It provides up to 10 days
off to deal with doctor’s appointments, sudden
illness, a house fire or things like bereavement
leave.
If your organization has less than 50 people, no
emergency leave provision exists for your
employees.
Kathryn Kissinger HR Services 2013

4. Leaves of Absence
Family medical leave is available to anyone covered
under the Employment Standards Act (check the
“Special Rule Tool” to find out who’s not).
This leave provides up to 8 weeks off to deal with
the illness and death of a family member.
Since this leave is subject to Employment Insurance
claims the same certificate used to claim EI is used
to confirm eligibility for the leave, even if the
employee chooses not to file for Employment
Insurance benefits.
Kathryn Kissinger HR Services 2013

5. Types of Absenteeism
What is “culpable absenteeism”?
This term applies to an employee who is guilty
of habitual neglect of duty, defined as persistent
lateness or leaving early without permission or
abuse of sick leave as mentioned above. If your
employee fails to provide proper documentation
after repeated warnings, you may have “just
cause” to terminate their employment.
Kathryn Kissinger HR Services 2013

6. Types of Absenteeism
Innocent Absenteeism, like the name suggests, occurs
when an employee is not able to fulfill the obligations of
their employment contract due to some circumstance
beyond their control, illness or otherwise, that prevents
them from attending work on a regular and productive
basis. This situation must be a long-term ongoing issue,
with no hope of positive resolution for either side, if the
employer wishes to terminate. This is likely the most
complicated area of the Attendance Management
process, especially if the cause for absenteeism is an
illness or disability as defined under the Human Rights
Code.
Kathryn Kissinger HR Services 2013

7. WSIB Claims
Fortunately, WSIB has clear cut rules and people to
ask (adjudicators) when it comes to dealing with
illness and injury related to work.
There are forms to be filled out by both worker and
employer, and physicians provide most of the
documentation.
Employers are required to stay in contact with the
employee to determine updates and opportunities
to return to work as soon as possible.
Kathryn Kissinger HR Services 2013

8. WSIB Claims
The WSIB also has re-employment criteria: If
your organization employs more than 20 people
and/or the employee has worked for you for
more than one (1)year, you must hold a job for
the ill/injured employee to return to for up to 1
year after he/she is medically cleared to return to
work; or two years from date of injury; or age 65,
whichever comes first
Kathryn Kissinger HR Services 2013

9. What is “Suitable Work”?
What is “suitable work? Whether on WSIB or
not, if temporary modified (light) duties or a
complete change in permanent job is required,
“suitable work” means the job is safe and within
the workers physical capabilities; the worker has
or can easily learn skills for the new job; and this
job restores pre-injury earnings as much as
possible
Kathryn Kissinger HR Services 2013

10. Other “Sick Leave”
Employees on sick leave for an illness or injury
not compensable by WSIB are required to
provide “evidence that is reasonable in the
circumstance” to prove their illness/disability.
If you see a pattern where an employee begins
taking “sick days” off, you have the right to ask
for a doctor’s note to confirm the illness.
Vague notes stating “Joe is unable to work for
four weeks” with no other supporting
documentation are not enough.
Kathryn Kissinger HR Services 2013

11. Other “Sick Leave”
Basically, if you have less than 20 workers in
your organization, in cases where the illness is
not covered by WSIB then the workers have no
protection under the Employment Standards
Act.
Employers have the right to ask for proper
medical documentation, similar to what you
would get with a WSIB claim.
Kathryn Kissinger HR Services 2013

12. Other “Sick Leave”
You should not ask for a diagnosis of the employee’s
illness or injury.
Employers need only to determine what tasks the
employee is physically capable of performing, and
whether or not this situation is likely to be
permanent, in order to properly comply with any
human rights issues.
You are not required to offer modified duties to the
worker, since they can claim Employment Insurance
medical benefit.
Kathryn Kissinger HR Services 2013

13. The Employer’s Rights
Employers have the right to expect honesty and
integrity from their employees when it comes to
attendance in the workplace.
If an employee’s use of sick time or absenteeism is
determined to be dishonest, the Supreme Court has
ruled that such dishonesty “violates an essential
condition of the employment contract, breaches
the faith inherent in the working relationship, or is
fundamentally or directly inconsistent with the
employee’s obligations to his or her employer”
(McKinley vs BC Tel, 2001).
Kathryn Kissinger HR Services 2013

14. “Documentation is Your Friend”
In all cases of employee absenteeism, please
remember this rule!
Make notes of the dates/times/length of
absence, any “patterns” you see developing (i.e.
something in the workers personal life affecting
attendance), and especially document any
discussion (s) you have with the employee
regarding this behaviour.
Kathryn Kissinger HR Services 2013