When employees take sick leave, you will want to respect their rights as employees and make sure that they take adequate time to recover so they can be effective employees when they return back to work. However, while you probably want to believe that your employees are trustworthy and have the right intentions for the company, you may have reason to suspect that they are taking sick leave fraudulently.
You might be suspicious because you have noticed that a certain employee will only take sick leave around holiday seasons, or that he or she claims to be very ill yet only takes one day leave and comes back the next day feeling fine. Here’s what to do if you believe that one of your employees is taking fraudulent sick leave.
Recognize sick leave abuse early
It is a good idea for all companies of a certain size to have a process for monitoring sick leave abuse. By doing this, it will help you as an employer to identify sick leave abuse and address it before it becomes damaging for the company.
Define sick leave abuse for all employees
Make sure that all employees know what type of behavior constitutes fraudulent sick leave and that they understand what consequences they will face as a result of abusing the system.
By putting preventative measures in place, you will be able to put a stop to sick leave abuse before it becomes an issue to be solved through legal services. If you are struggling to deal with sick leave abuse as an employer, it is important to understand more about putting a stop to it.
Source: The Balance, “Sick Leave Abuse: A Chronic Workplace Ill?,” accessed June 01, 2018