No, we aren’t talking about the anticipation, the singing in the streets, and the pints being thrown when Kane nets it in the top left; we’re talking about the likely absences taking place over the World Cup season.
That ‘one more pint’ attitude may leave your offices empty, or the increase of large social gatherings could genuinely spread more illness to those cheering on their country. Whether their reason for calling in sick is self-imposed or not, you must be prepared to handle these situations in compliance with HR guidelines.
Set rules regarding absence
Many business owners implement a company policy outlining guidelines for informing management of their absence. There’s always a chance of miscommunication, so set some rules and boundaries to ensure everyone has a responsible World Cup Summer.
Call-in times
Implement a cut-off time for people calling in sick. As a business manager, you don’t want to deal with the last-minute struggle of getting someone to cover for staff who called in sick 20 mins before opening. Plus, they might be fine to come into work, avoiding their hangover but feeling a bit more lethargic than usual. What can seem like sickness at first might just be something you fix by playing the waiting game.
For example, tell your team that if they feel too ill to work, they need to call in (not text or voicemail) an hour ahead to ensure you are made aware and to give you more time to adjust to the schedule change. If they are just lethargic, then they have a bit more time to regain energy before their shift.
Minimum days
Sickness can come, go, and stick around for vastly different amounts of time. If someone has called in sick over the World Cup, it’s in your best interest to ensure they’re healthy enough to return to the office.
By introducing return-to-work interviews upon their return, you can offer support if their sick days were legitimate. Making the absence process more formal may serve as a deterrent to lying.
Be clear on potential consequences
Lying about being sick is a serious breach of trust by employees. This may constitute serious fraud. As a result, the workplace disciplinary consequences of faking sickness can be made clear to employees to minimise the number of absences.
It’s important that your team understand it’s bigger than just ‘pulling a sickie’, and that there can be serious consequences if employers find this to have taken place.
- Breaching the implied duty of trust between employer and employee can cause difficulties for both parties in daily work.
- In severe cases where multiple instances come to light, it may be grounds for immediate dismissal.
- You may withhold some of their pay based on the amount of time they claimed for sickness.
- Forging medical notes is a serious criminal offence which can lead to investigations.
All of this can sound scary, so it’s important to bring this to light with expert guidance from People Matters HR. If not handled with care, informing staff of these consequences can be seen as threats and intimidation, even if they are guilty of faking their illness. We can help you convey your message clearly, ensuring your team knows boundaries have been set without impeding their fun.
Or take a different approach:
Offer incentives for match days
We’re sure you want to enjoy the World Cup matches too, and don’t want to feel like you’re impacting your employee’s enjoyment of the tournament. Offering an incentive, such as a later start on the day after England’s matches, could be a good way to prevent people from calling in sick.
After a couple of beers, thoughts of feeling groggy the next day start to kick in. This leads them to proactively decide to call in sick and continue to drink throughout the night. By offering a smaller incentive, like a later start, your team may consider the extra rest ample time to clear their heads before a shorter workday.
This lets them know they can still enjoy themselves without breaching company trust.
People Matters HR are here to ensure your business maintains a solid level of productivity over the World Cup season. Avoid the unnecessary absences, conflict, and last-minute consequences faking sickness can bring, and encourage an approach that makes this World Cup one to remember- not one they’ll forget the next day.
People Matters HR can support you beyond the World Cup, helping you create a workplace built on trust and responsibility.