NFIB

Curb Absenteeism With Formal Policies
10/ 06/ 2003

by Jeffrey Moses

Because many small businesses have only a few employees, excessive absenteeism can place a considerable financial burden on a company, as well as an undue burden on other employees. The financial and emotional costs associated with unnecessary absenteeism may be wide-ranging and severe, including:

Decreased productivity;
Customer dissatisfaction;
Overtime costs;
Reduced employee morale.

To avoid these problems and others associated with employee absenteeism, small businesses should consider implementing an absence policy and include it in the employee manual.

The absence policy should contain the following:

Valid reasons for absence (medical condition of employee, an immediate family member or a dependent; doctor's visit or other required activity during workday; individual or family emergency; severe weather conditions; general emergency conditions; voting; funeral; etc.);

Number of non-vacation day absences allowed annually without salary adjustment;

Paid vacation days allowed annually;

Definition and consequences of "excessive absenteeism";

Procedure for notifying supervisor of an excused absence (example: by telephone a day in advance, or as early in the missed workday as possible);

Policies and procedures for specific types of extended absence, such as maternity leave, jury service or military leave. Provisions for these types of absences should include policies on pay during absence, length of absence allowed annually and terms of reinstatement in greatly extended absences.

It is important to write down and distribute your absence policy. Otherwise your business might become vulnerable to lawsuits related to disciplinary action and wrongful termination. Once you have a formal written policy, you will have taken an important step in protecting your business from these types of lawsuits.

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