According to the
US Department of Labor, it is not mandatory for companies to offer sick leave to their employees. Sick leave is an optional benefit companies can offer to employees to give them time to recuperate if sick.
If your company does offer sick leave, it is important to set requirements for when sick leave is and isn’t allowed to be taken. Some reasons to grant sick leave to employees include:
- Employee suffers from an illness that will not let them function at work for the day
- Employee’s family member suffers an illness and they need to stay home and take care of them.
- A medical appointment is scheduled during work hours.
A sick policy should be spelled out to guarantee employee’s are not taking advantage and are using the time off for what it’s meant to be used for. Some guidelines companies should follow to ensure that things run smoothly and employers don’t take advantage of sick leave include:
- Requiring employees call in to their boss before the start of the work day to ensure work coverage is provided.
- If an employee has a medical appointment, have them alert their boss well in advance do they can provide adequate coverage.
- Require a physician’s note if the employee is out past a certain number of days.
Most companies agree that sick leave is important but policies vary across the board. It’s important to evaluate the type of employees your company has, how much cross-training your company has for man-coverage and how your company’s bottom line is affected when employees call out sick, to determine the sick policy that’s best for your company.
