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UK South Coast law firm member Lester Aldridge provides the following comments on long-term sick leave and the correct procedures for employers.
Following the article in the Daily Mail on Saturday June 27th, entitled, “Council staff ‘sickies’ cost us £4bn a year”, it is my belief that employers should not feel overly despondent about the sick leave situation.
Whilst “sickies” can cost employers big bucks, they are not completely powerless against the long term absentee. There is advice out there for employers to cope with staff taking long periods of sick leave and also legal procedures in place to ensure that employers can find replacements and ultimately resolve the situation.
Very often employers do not realise that you do not have to wait too long before starting procedures. It is really up to the employer and depends, of course, on how urgent your need is to have someone doing the job on a reliable basis.
These situations are not pleasant, but as an employer, you have to deal with them and you have to deal with them appropriately. Do not ignore them, but rather act promptly and consistently in each case. Most importantly you must persevere.
If you follow a proper procedure, and take account of any disability issues it will be hard for an employee to bring or succeed in a claim against you.
For further information, on this release, please contact Gemma Hart-Dyke, Lester Aldridge LLP.
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