13 June 2014 #Employment
Do these sound familiar…
“A can of baked beans landed on my toe”
“My dog had a big fright and I don’t want to leave him”
“My trousers split on the way into work”
“My fish is sick”
“I slipped on a coin”
“I’ve had a hair dye disaster”
These are just some of the 25 silly excuses recently published by Activ Absence Control as having been used by staff to miss to work.
Whilst these do provide some light-relief, they serve as a reminder to employers of the importance of having appropriate sickness absence and disciplinary procedures in place if they are to handle situations like these effectively.
It is important to recognise and accept, of course, that employees do need to take time off from work because they are genuinely ill. However, alongside handling genuine illness, coordinated measures are also required in order to discourage non-legitimate absence (such as those listed above!).