Should I fire an employee who reports sick about 2 days per month

Hello, this is Laura Lee Rose – author of the business and time management books TimePeace: Making peace with time – The Book of Answers:  105 Career Critical Situations – and I am a business and efficiency coach that specializes in time management, project management, and work-life balance strategies.   

This question came from a business professional.

“I have an employee who usually reports sick about 2 days per month, but he is a good worker. Should I fire him?”

You have mentioned that he is a good worker, so I am not sure I understand the real concern here.  If this employee meets and exceeds expectations, then why automatically consider firing?  If they do all that is expected and possibly go above and beyond what is expected of them, then please focus on retaining them (versus automatically considering firing).

So, I have some questions before answer:

  • Is there a pattern to his sick days?
  • Does he normally work extra hours to meet deadlines without compensation?
  • Do you fully understand the cost of hiring new employees versus retaining good workers?

Is there a pattern to his sick days?

If you see a consistent pattern to his sick days, perhaps he needs some regular personal time off to attend to family or personal issues.  He may have a need for regular doctor visits or a family member that needs his help with their doctor visits.  Try talking to him about his need for PTO.  You will be doing yourself and your department a disservice if you fire a valuable employee. 

If there is a legitimate, recurring event then you do have options.

  • Discuss a shift switch (weekend hours) 2 days a month
  • Discuss working from home 2 days a month

Does he normally work extra hours to meet deadlines without compensation?

Does this employee, even with time taken, meet or exceed the productivity of other employees?  This illustrates his efficiency and productivity.  These skillsets should be encouraged and duplicated

If you need to downsize, consider firing other unproductive employees first to show that productivity and quality is prized above attendance. That might even improve productivity of others.

If you really want to stop this behavior then you do have options.

  • Offer a pay increase if the person stops doing it and get that agreement in writing.
  • Create a “comp time” benefit for when the company infringes on personal time.
  • Provide advancement opportunities and challenges that encourages him to mentor others in efficiency and productivity

Understand the cost of hiring new employees versus retaining good workers

Please understand the cost (in time and money) of attracting, hiring, training, and managing new recruits versus keeping valuable and dedicated employees. 

Some studies (such as SHRM) predict that every time a business replaces a salaried employee, it costs 6 to 9 months’ salary on average. For a manager making $40,000 a year, that’s $20,000 to $30,000 in recruiting and training expenses.

Consider what is included in the “real” cost of losing an employee. These factors include:

  • The cost of hiring a new employee including the advertising, interviewing, screening, and hiring.
  • Cost of onboarding a new person, including training and management time.
  • Lost productivity—it may take a new employee one to two years to reach the productivity of an existing person.
  • Lost engagement—other employees who see high turnover tend to disengage and lose productivity.
  • Customer service and errors—for example new employees take longer and are often less adept at solving problems.
  • Training cost—for example, over two to three years, a business likely invests 10 to 20 percent of an employee’s salary or more in training 
  • Cultural impact—whenever someone leaves, others take time to ask why.

Another unintended consequence of firing a valuable employee is that others in your organization will witness this and it may start a mass exodus.

If you need want to discuss in more detail, please setup a one-on-one consult session.

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