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By law, companies don't have to provide it, but without it, morale can lag
By Joyce M. Rosenberg
Associated Press
Published on Monday, Jan 05, 2009
NEW YORK: At the checkout counter of a Manhattan office supply store, there is a rack stocked with disinfectant spray, throat lozenges, tissues and vitamin C supplements — reminders to small business owners that a new season, the flu season, is upon us.
Flu season inevitably means employee absences. And so the beginning of the year is a good time for company owners to think about their policy not just for sick time, but for time off in general.
Before formulating a policy, owners should be aware that they're not required under federal or most state laws to grant employees paid time off when they're sick, but the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, known as the FMLA, might require that companies give workers unpaid sick leave. However, not granting any paid sick time at all is probably a bad idea — not only is it a morale buster, but it also will make it harder to recruit good workers.
Rick Gibbs, a senior human resources specialist with Administaff, a Houston company that provides human resources outsourcing, said owners need to decide ''how many days a year can they afford not to have people working from a productivity standpoint.''
But they also need to be sure that their policies will make them competitive with other employers in the same industry and community.
He also noted that typically, companies link sick time to tenure — the longer workers have been with a business, the more time they are likely to get.
Sick time gets more complicated when employees use up their allotment. Should the boss dock their pay? Make them dip into vacation time or personal days? Borrow from next year? Or should the owner just shrug and keep paying them?
This can be a thorny issue, but generally, the advice from human resources consultants and small business owners alike is to be flexible, but also fair to the entire staff.
One solution that many companies are turning to is to grant employees paid time off that in effect lumps together sick time, personal days and vacation.
One advantage of paid time off that doesn't differentiate between sick, personal or vacation days is that no one needs to keep track of why an employee is taking a day off.
In cases when a staffer seemed to abuse sick time, a boss is allowed under the U.S. Americans with Disabilities Act to require an employee to get a doctor's note that states the staffer has been under medical care.
NEW YORK: At the checkout counter of a Manhattan office supply store, there is a rack stocked with disinfectant spray, throat lozenges, tissues and vitamin C supplements — reminders to small business owners that a new season, the flu season, is upon us.
Get the full article here.
Comments
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akron, oh
Posted 09:24 AM, 01/05/2009
It would be nice to have at least 1 or 2 sick days. Our boss gets mad at us for coming in sick. It's either come to work sick or lose a day pay. What choice do we have. NONE
This Place, 32
Posted 08:57 AM, 01/06/2009
There should ALWAYS be a work from home option. It is amazing how many companies do not take advantage of the technology that allows people to work from home.
I sometimes wonder with the cost of heating, cooling, electric, water/sewer, etc... more business's would want their employee's to work from home to save costs. Then again, that is a logical approach, so why would that work.
