Legal
Issue No. 18 - August/September 2004
Another Sickie!
by Michael Hegarty
Absenteeism is a major problem for employers. It has been reported that almost half Australian workers have taken ‘sickies’ — days off work — without a genuine excuse.
The key reference here is to ‘genuine excuse’. Sick leave is an entitlement to be used when a person is unable to attend work because they are genuinely ill. Some workers take time off for other reasons. Their absence, although unrelated to the employee’s own health, may nevertheless be for a serious purpose, e.g. because of illness of a child or other family member. Parents often give first priority to caring for a child or family member.
Conversely, many workers feel the need to attend even when they are ill. Pressured to perform at work, an employee who has taken time off work to care for a sick child might go to work when they themselves are genuinely unwell.
This problem, dubbed “presenteeism” creates its own set of concerns for employers. If an employee is genuinely ill they should not be at work. Their productivity will be low and they could spread illness to other workers.
An employee has a contractual obligation to provide services to their employer. If they are genuinely ill they do have a limited entitlement to take time off. Many employers would regard the taking of sick leave for other reasons as an abuse of the system.
Both employees and employers face pressures that did not exist one or two generations ago. Single parent families, globalisation and privatisation all affect people’s lives. Parents increasingly juggle work and family. Today’s social arrangements are complex.
Existing legal rights and obligations do not always suit the circumstances. Employers may need to be more flexible in order to get the best out of their employees.
If employees can legitimately take time off work they will be under less pressure to misuse their entitlements, and will reserve them for occasions when the need to m...
