Request Denied: Dealing with Employees Who Go Sick After their Leave Request is Declined

When considering the various types of leave that can cause administrative and operational headaches for employers, it’s often standard sickness absence and AWOL (absence without leave) that are the main culprits popping up on absence reports time and time again. Request Denied! However, another type of absence which is becoming more prevalent is unauthorised absence when this same period of requested leave has been previously denied by the employer for operational reasons. Who doesn’t remember the somewhat comical story last year of Paul Marshallsea who hit the news headlines worldwide after heroically saving a group of children on an Australian beach by wrestling a lurking shark? What the media didn’t know at that time was that Mr Marshallsea was supposed to be on sick leave from work and upon reading the headlines he was promptly dismissed by his employer upon his return to the UK. Given the difficult economic climate faced by many employers in recent years, it is often the case that minimum staffing levels are in place and as such, ability to grant leave can be limited giving the need for cover over certain periods and the need to ensure adequate staffing at any given time. It is therefore often the case that employers have to deny annual leave requests for reasons such as this, which can in turn lead to a disgruntled employee taking this time off anyway in the form of sickness absence or going “AWOL”. Prevention is Better than Cure - Effective Company Policies It is commonly phrased that “prevention is better than cure” and in cases such as this, the first step to managing and avoiding such an issue is ensuring that you have a clear and unambiguous policy of annual leave in the employee’s contract accompanied by clear guidance on the process for the requesting/granting of annual leave in the employee handbook. This should include information and guidance regarding the forum through which leave should be requested. The Peninsula Advice Service advises that, at minimum a formal ‘annual leave request form’ should be submitted by employees, detailing the dates requested and importantly the date the request was made. Many employers may have their own internal systems where these requests can be made electronically.  Either way it is important leave is requested through a formal and common method ensuring the relevant information is captured in the request. Employers should ensure a timely response to an employee request and if the request has been refused clear reasons for this should be given. It is imperative that Employers operate a fair system of allocation of leave e.g. first come first served and ensure this is adhered to. Showing that you do not operate favouritism or undertake unfair practices when allocating leave will assist in preventing employees to become disgruntled and unreasonable if their annual leave request in refused. Crucially, many employers and industries have specific periods each year where they know they are going to be very busy (e.g. retail industry at Christmas). As such, employers should not hesitate to state those busy periods in their Annual Leave policy in the Employee Handbook so that employees are under no illusions from the outset that they will have annual leave requests during this period approved. What if an Employee Goes AWOL? If you feel that a disgruntled employee is likely to take unauthorised leave following a declined request, it is important that action is taken in advance of this actually occurring. The employee’s line manager should have an informal meeting with them explaining again the operational reasons why this request could not be granted and if possible, perhaps come to an agreement on an alternative date for this leave to be taken. Following this if concerns are still present it is advisable for an employer to formally notify, by either letter or formal documented meeting, that the dates requested have been refused, the reason for refusal and that should this employee go off sick or have any form of unauthorised absence on these dates that disciplinary action may be taken. This ensures clear ground rules have been set and should the employee breach this instruction the employer is now in a strong position to take action. Should an employee reach the unfortunate stage of disciplinary following such an issue, often they will argue that their absence was certified by a medical professional and as such they believe they are ‘untouchable’ in this respect. Whilst as an Employer you are of course not qualified to question the opinion of a medical professional, the circumstances remain that thus employee was specifically instructed that they would face such disciplinary action should they take this time off as sick leave and as such disciplinary action is justifiable on the reasonable belief that the sickness is not genuine (or is at least very coincidental). Conclusion In conclusion, if preventative steps are taken it is likely that employers will be able to prevent such an issue from occurring at all. However, should you find yourself facing such a scenario remember that precedent will prevail and taking action the first time can often mean a much lower likelihood of other employees repeating such misconduct as they will have witnessed the potential outcome if they do. Employers should seek advice from Peninsula Business Services when faced with any such absenteeism issues. Please phone the 24 Hour Advice Service on 01 8555050 and one of our experienced advisors will be happy to assist.