Confused about policy change...
Ixtapa99
26 Posts
Good morning all! Please bear with me, this is rather lengthy but I wanted to give you all the info that I could… We currently have the following policy in our handbook:
“XXX provides paid sick leave benefits to all eligible, full-time, hourly employees for periods of temporary absence due to illnesses or injuries. Eligible employees will accrue sick leave benefits at the rate of 6 days per year. Employees will receive one-half day sick leave benefit on the first of each month during the calendar year. Sick leave benefits are calculated on the basis of a "benefit year," the 12-month period that begins when the employee starts to earn sick leave benefits. Employees can request use of paid sick leave after completing a waiting period of 6 months from the date they become eligible to accrue sick leave benefits. Paid sick leave can be used in minimum increments of one-half day. An eligible employee may use sick leave benefits for an absence due to his or her own illness or injury, or that of a spouse or child.
Employees who are unable to report to work due to illness or injury should notify the Company by following the following procedure:
1. ANY EMPLOYEE that is calling in sick MUST CALL or LEAVE A MESSAGE with Human Resources at XXXXXXXXXX ext. XXX NO LATER than one-half (1/2) hour prior to their start time. If you are scheduled to begin your shift prior to 7:00am, you MUST notify your supervisor in addition to the above instructions.
2. If anyone enters the hospital, you must have someone notify Human Resources on the first day of hospital confinement.
Your supervisor will complete an Absence report upon notification of the absence. If an employee is absent for three or more consecutive days due to illness or injury, a physician's statement may be requested verifying the sickness and its beginning and expected ending dates. Such verification may be requested for other sick leave absences as well and may be required as a condition to receiving sick leave benefits.
Sick leave benefits will be calculated based on the employee's base pay rate at the time of absence and will not include any special forms of compensation, such as incentives, commissions, bonuses, or shift differentials.
Unused sick leave benefits will be allowed to accumulate until the employee has accrued a total of 6 calendar days worth of sick leave benefits but will not be carried over from year to year. Hourly employees, who have not used their sick days within the calendar year, will be compensated for those days as an additional bonus after January 1st of the following year. Salaried employees will not receive this bonus due to their exempt status. All salaried employees will devote sufficient time, without additional compensation, to complete missed work assignments after their return to duty.
Sick days are given as a privilege and are to be used only when an employee or employee’s spouse or child is ill. The sick days should not be regarded as an automatic entitlement. Sick leave benefits are intended solely to provide income protection in the event of illness or injury, and may not be used for any other absence. Unused sick leave benefits will not be paid to employees upon termination of employment. Abuse of this benefit will result in disciplinary action up to and including termination.”
Because we have had a couple of EE’s out for various surgeries (some time with no pay), the owners are looking to change this policy for the upcoming year. They would like to offer the same sick leave benefit but would offer to carry over the unused sick days and allow them to accumulate from year to year instead of paying out in January of each year. This will save the company money each year and offer the EE’s the opportunity for income protection if/when the need arises. I realize that when this change occurs, some EE’s won’t be happy, others will try and abuse the benefit and think they have all of this “additional vacation” time coming, etc.
My question is this…because we let them accrue sick day benefits at a rate of ½ day each month instead of giving them 6 sick days per year right at the start of the year, are we asking for trouble when someone terminates and they are not paid for accumulated sick day benefits because they have been accrued? Maybe I’m associating “accrue” with “earned”. I would love to just throw all of the time off benefits into a PTO but I believe that would mean that they must be paid out at the time of separation and they company only pays out for vacation benefits. Any comments or suggestions? Christel
“XXX provides paid sick leave benefits to all eligible, full-time, hourly employees for periods of temporary absence due to illnesses or injuries. Eligible employees will accrue sick leave benefits at the rate of 6 days per year. Employees will receive one-half day sick leave benefit on the first of each month during the calendar year. Sick leave benefits are calculated on the basis of a "benefit year," the 12-month period that begins when the employee starts to earn sick leave benefits. Employees can request use of paid sick leave after completing a waiting period of 6 months from the date they become eligible to accrue sick leave benefits. Paid sick leave can be used in minimum increments of one-half day. An eligible employee may use sick leave benefits for an absence due to his or her own illness or injury, or that of a spouse or child.
Employees who are unable to report to work due to illness or injury should notify the Company by following the following procedure:
1. ANY EMPLOYEE that is calling in sick MUST CALL or LEAVE A MESSAGE with Human Resources at XXXXXXXXXX ext. XXX NO LATER than one-half (1/2) hour prior to their start time. If you are scheduled to begin your shift prior to 7:00am, you MUST notify your supervisor in addition to the above instructions.
2. If anyone enters the hospital, you must have someone notify Human Resources on the first day of hospital confinement.
Your supervisor will complete an Absence report upon notification of the absence. If an employee is absent for three or more consecutive days due to illness or injury, a physician's statement may be requested verifying the sickness and its beginning and expected ending dates. Such verification may be requested for other sick leave absences as well and may be required as a condition to receiving sick leave benefits.
Sick leave benefits will be calculated based on the employee's base pay rate at the time of absence and will not include any special forms of compensation, such as incentives, commissions, bonuses, or shift differentials.
Unused sick leave benefits will be allowed to accumulate until the employee has accrued a total of 6 calendar days worth of sick leave benefits but will not be carried over from year to year. Hourly employees, who have not used their sick days within the calendar year, will be compensated for those days as an additional bonus after January 1st of the following year. Salaried employees will not receive this bonus due to their exempt status. All salaried employees will devote sufficient time, without additional compensation, to complete missed work assignments after their return to duty.
Sick days are given as a privilege and are to be used only when an employee or employee’s spouse or child is ill. The sick days should not be regarded as an automatic entitlement. Sick leave benefits are intended solely to provide income protection in the event of illness or injury, and may not be used for any other absence. Unused sick leave benefits will not be paid to employees upon termination of employment. Abuse of this benefit will result in disciplinary action up to and including termination.”
Because we have had a couple of EE’s out for various surgeries (some time with no pay), the owners are looking to change this policy for the upcoming year. They would like to offer the same sick leave benefit but would offer to carry over the unused sick days and allow them to accumulate from year to year instead of paying out in January of each year. This will save the company money each year and offer the EE’s the opportunity for income protection if/when the need arises. I realize that when this change occurs, some EE’s won’t be happy, others will try and abuse the benefit and think they have all of this “additional vacation” time coming, etc.
My question is this…because we let them accrue sick day benefits at a rate of ½ day each month instead of giving them 6 sick days per year right at the start of the year, are we asking for trouble when someone terminates and they are not paid for accumulated sick day benefits because they have been accrued? Maybe I’m associating “accrue” with “earned”. I would love to just throw all of the time off benefits into a PTO but I believe that would mean that they must be paid out at the time of separation and they company only pays out for vacation benefits. Any comments or suggestions? Christel
Comments
I feel for the employees who have long-term situations (FMLA-eligible)--is there any short-term disability available? or are they just unpaid?
You have many options. You can let employees accumulate paid sick leave as you are doing now and let them carry over to the next year any unused paid sick leave. You can set a limit on the amount of time that the employee is allowed to accumulate. You may also choose to pay or not pay them for the accumulated sick time at termination.
Requiring a doctor's excuse for 3 or more days out sick is a really good idea to keep employees from abusing this benefit.
Hope this helps!