HR Guide: Managing Employee Sick Leaves

As the country is healing from the global pandemic, we are now more careful when approaching our employees' health issues. We value our employees' and their health but we also do not want to be taken advantage of. 

Usually, when it comes to managing sick leaves, there are three distinct types of sick leaves:

• Normal sick leave
• Excessive sick leave
• Patterned sick leave

Normal Sick Leave

The employee should inform their supervisor or the Human Resource Department that they are taking sick leave if they're able. As the employee returns from their sick leave, they should fill the sick leave form and attach the medical certificate. 

The employee's supervisor or manager should ensure that the employee had informed the Human Resource Department that they were on sick leave. Then, the employee should be checked if they are entitled to sick leave and how many sick days they have remaining. 

The Human Resource Department will receive the approved sick leave and medical certificate and ensure the certificate is valid. The medical certificate and sick leave should be recorded and placed in the personnel file. 

Excessive or Patterned Sick Leave

Just like before, as the employee returns from sick leave, they should fill up the sick leave form and attach the medical certificate.

The supervisor should then check if they had informed the Human Resource Department. Then, see if they are entitled to sick leave and how many sick leave days are remaining. 

If it is found that the employee had taken an excessive amount of sick leaves or had a pattern to prolong weekends or public holidays, the supervisor or the Human Resource Department should talk to the employee in private and find out the reasons, counsel them on their actions and its impact towards the operations.

It's important to make sure the employee has valid reasons for the sick leave.

Then, an incident report should be filled along with corrective actions to be taken. The HR Department should receive the approved sick leave, medical certificate and incident report. Ensure the medical certificate is valid and verify the nature of sickness. 

The medical certificate and sick leave should be recorded and placed in the personnel file. The organisation should arrange for a full medical check-up on company expense to make sure the employee is not suffering from any chronic illnesses. 

If the medical report indicates illness, arrange for a specialist clinic visit or treatment based on the employee's entitlement.

If the medical report DOES NOT indicate any illness, the employee should be counselled on the abuse and warning should be issued on the progressive discipline approach as outlined in the company's policy. If they continue to abuse their sick leave, then the step by step guide of major misconduct could be initiated. 

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Source: National Human Resources Centre

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