Coughing. Sniffling. Nose blowing. Those sounds quickly set off a silent alarm causing coworkers to grab hand sanitizers and keep their distance. But for managers, keeping the sick home while maintaining productivity is a much bigger challenge than warding off germs.
Human resources consultant Christine Kramer of Kramer Management Group in Exeter once spent the equivalent of a full week with one client over a six-month period drafting a new time-off policy. Thatís because there are so many factors to consider, including, in the case of sick time, preventing the spread of disease, ensuring continued productivity and deciding whether sick time covers caring for a sick family member.
Kramer says many of those questions boil down to economics. But there are also legal issues, and Kramer says any discussion should (but usually doesnít) start with philosophy.
Employee Relations
How a company crafts its leave policy, Kramer says, should stem from its employee relations philosophy. Are employees treated like adults who can take sick time when needed, or have past abuses forced stricter rules? Digital Prospectors in Manchester offers unlimited sick time, something rare but not unheard of. "Our sick policy is really very simple: If you're sick, please stay home," says Jessica Catino, president and chief executive officer of the 20-person IT recruiting company. Since the business is sales based, Catino says people have a strong incentive not to abuse the policy, and they havenít.
Some companies go to the other extreme, offering no paid sick days. But one of those companies, which asked not to be named, is looking to add sick days. There are also companies that allow employees to donate unused sick time to colleagues. Measured Progress, an education assessment organization in Dover with 400 employees, offers such a program to help those dealing with an extended illness in their family.
Employer Costs
Structuring sick time policies involves examining the financial implications of a given policy and the level of risk a company is willing to take on.
She says employers need to have a policy that is clearly articulated and takes into account all potential costs. It is increasingly common to lump all paid time off into one bucket. But that has risks when employees leave a company, as businesses that have a policy of paying for unused vacation time then also end up paying for potential sick time as well.
Then there are the costs of coming to work sick. A survey by the Public Welfare Foundation, a national foundation focusing on workersí rights, health reform and criminal and juvenile justice, found that 68 percent of workers without paid sick time came to work with the flu or some other contagious illness compared to 53 percent of workers with paid sick time. Not only can that spread illness, but such ìpresenteeismî does not necessarily increase productivity. If an employee canít concentrate well because they are sick, how much are they really contributing by coming in?
Some companies also pay employees for unused sick time, a policy Kramer suggests against as it can lead to people coming to work sick and spreading germs. "It's that much more money in [employees] pockets, so how many of them come to work sicker than a dog and spread it to everyone else?" she asks.
Legal issues
Clearly worded sick time policies are also important for legal reasons, says Jim Reidy, an employment attorney with Sheehan, Phinney, Bass + Green. State law requires that any salaried employee who works during a pay period and can provide proof that he or she was sick must be paid for that time if the company policy does not dictate a certain number of sick days. "The state does not view sick time as being voluntary," Reidy says. ìIf you can prove you were sick, you must be paid."
Another key area is the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, which grants up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to people who work at companies with 50 or more employees. Kramer says companies need to be explicit regarding that leave, including whether employees must use all paid time off first. Kramer suggests they do.
Just as employees debate how sick they are when deciding whether to come to work, employers need to decide how to balance employee health and business productivity when designing sick leave policies.
