Day off for dentist appointment

[Johnnytheboy]

A bit hacked off today, hence this rant. I have a team of seven people work for me, who go out in vans and do work organised into pre-arranged days. Touch wood their average sickness record is exemplary. But...

One rang up this morning saying he'd been in awful pain all night with toothache, and had made an emergency dental appointment for 12:20. As a result he wouldn't be able to go out and do his days work (all in one area ~20 minutes from his house). When I questioned whether he would get any of it done, he replied that he hadn't had any sleep, so no.

So my planned lazy Friday of shuffling paper and browsing PH turned in to going out in a van and doing his job for him.

Now if he was a model employee and this was a one-off I wouldn't mind, but he isn't and it wasn't.

He has had a 'dental emergency' day off just like this about twice a year for the last five years. My boss has suggested he brush his teeth more which might help with the halitosis too.

Do I just have to put up with this?

He had two months off last year with suspected ankle trouble (obviously as a result of slipping at work); signed off by GP for 2 months until hospital appointment, which revealed nothing wrong. So he returned to work on light duties (i.e. driving to base each day to do odd jobs under my watchful eye) and made a miraculous recovery. You get the idea of the kind of worker we're talking about here.

[mattley]

Johnnytheboy said:

He has had a 'dental emergency' day off just like this about twice a year for the last five years.

......



You get the idea of the kind of worker we're talking about here.

The kind of worker you've employed for 5 years. He must be doing something right.

[Pobolycwm]

Two days off a year for toothache and one 2 month spell off with ankle injury slipping at work, the guys an amateur, a really dedicated skiver could get away with a lot more than that in todays "victim" culture ( he`s doing you a favour, he turns up most of the time ). He`s probably got mates/family who think he`s a real grafter....compared to how hard they work . Compared to a reasonable chunk of the UK workforce I guess his absence record is statistically acceptable. Rant over.

Unfortunately unless you can get him on gross misconduct expenses / timesheets etc you`ve got to go down the procedural route, to date he doesn`t seem to have done anything wrong however.
You`ve got six other good workers, you have to do something to keep them on side, so even an "official" discussion over his attendace compared to the others may help.

[heebeegeetee]

Johnnytheboy said:

When I questioned whether he would get any of it done, he replied that he hadn't had any sleep, so no.

Whoa, you want your employees to driver tired/drunk? (Its the same thing).

[EDLT]

Johnnytheboy said:

He has had a 'dental emergency' day off just like this about twice a year for the last five years. My boss has suggested he brush his teeth more which might help with the halitosis too.

Thats really not that bad, last week a guy at work left early because of a family emergency even though he lives alone and his entire family live in pakistan.

[KierenGG]

Pick him up on everything possible, make sure he does everything right, basically be a pain in the arse boss.
As a bonus you might find sackability offences

[Simon Brooks]

easy to fix, insist on proof of dental visit to secure full payment for employee, start paying staff SSP rates instead of full pay, soon sorts out the wasters

[edc]

If it warrants it put in place a documented absence policy, This might include some of:
- triggers for interventions e.g. Bradford factor
- return to work interviews
- use of disciplinary procedure

[Nolar Dog]

Why is he on the payroll if he is so st?

[AJS-]

Really two sick days a year, and one spell with a gammy ankle is hardly taking the piss.

Frankly, yes, as an employer you do have to pretty much wear this. The alternative would be hiring contractors at probably c.150% of the cost, but know that you are not paying them for days off.

[chr15b]

Bradford factor?

[chr15b]

Bradford factor?

[Johnnytheboy]

AJS- said:

Really two sick days a year, and one spell with a gammy ankle is hardly taking the piss.

Frankly, yes, as an employer you do have to pretty much wear this. The alternative would be hiring contractors at probably c.150% of the cost, but know that you are not paying them for days off.

Do you think repeatedly taking a _whole day_ off for a dental appointment isn't taking the piss? I don't think I've ever made a doctor/dental appointment before ~4pm, so I could just do my day's work. We have actually kept the dentist's reports and several mention tooth extractions. Once the total reaches about 20, I'm going to start counting teeth.

Here's a run down on sick days for the team for the last six months.

Days off per staff member, 1, 0, 2, 1, 0, 0, 65. Dentist Man is 65. Two whole months off with a phantom ankle injury and five more random Mondays and Fridays. Oh and guess what: when he got back from the two months off, he was moaning that we started only paying him SSP after the normal allowed sick time was exhausted.

Maybe in some firms this would be normal, but look: the rest have had four days between them all. Plus in some jobs, if someone isn't there, everyone has to just take up the slack, or else the work can simply wait. In our firm, work is organised in to day-sized packets so covering sickness means something else doesn't get done.

Herein lies the problem: the other guys notice this and get a bit resentful that we "let" him get away with it, but I don't think there's much we can do. It really simmers my urine that most of my guys are great workers and that one person swings the lead. Especially as because he came over from a firm we bought out, he earns more than most of them (they don't know this), and yet is still the one that moans most about his pay.

And his breath really smells.

[Nolar Dog]

Johnnytheboy said:

And his breath really smells.

Have you mentioned this to him or just the internet?

I'm guessing the latter.

[Max Turbo]

chr15b said:

Bradford factor?

'Tis on wiki although I can't be arsed to link it

[Johnnytheboy]

Nolar Dog said:

Johnnytheboy said:

And his breath really smells.

Have you mentioned this to him or just the internet?

I'm guessing the latter.

Have you ever said to someone: "hey, your breath stinks!"

I haven't, I'm too British I guess.

[750turbo]

Max Turbo said:

chr15b said:

Bradford factor?

'Tis on wiki although I can't be arsed to link it

Absence Management Software
Tackling absenteeism with the Bradford Factor

The Bradford factor is a method of scoring absences according to their estimated impact on an organisation. In general, most companies view large numbers of short, unplanned absences as having a larger impact on the company than a small number of longer, planned absences.

Activ Absence Control computes the Bradford Factor automatically for every employee. It presents the results in management reports and visually through a scatter graph. The scatter graph provides a quick and easy way to identify those employees who absenteeism rates need action.

Computing the Bradford Factor, Activ Absence Control takes account of bank holidays, company closure days and employee non working days. It compares the factors against two trigger points so that a potential problem can be addressed before it become a major issue. The factor is also available to the HR/line manager when conducting the Return to Work Interview.

The Bradford Factor provides an impartial benchmark to allow comparisons over time. The factor allows you to identify those employees whose short term absences are reaching a level which is likely to be impacting the productivity, even though the numbers of days off may compare favourably with colleagues on long term sick

[Nolar Dog]

Johnnytheboy said:

Nolar Dog said:

Johnnytheboy said:

And his breath really smells.

Have you mentioned this to him or just the internet?

I'm guessing the latter.

Have you ever said to someone: "hey, your breath stinks!"

I haven't, I'm too British I guess.

when discussing the matter with Stinky the employer said:

I'm going to have to have a word with you about personal hygiene.

I realise it's an awkward subject to broach with any employee but it has been brought/come to my attention that you seem to be suffering from a touch of halitosis.

If you could be aware of it and pay close attention to that element of your hygiene that would be more pleasent for all concerned.

I apologise for having to raise this with you and hope you don't take offence and/or are embarrased.

Thanks.

Not that difficult really.

[Max Turbo]

Nolar Dog said:

Johnnytheboy said:

Nolar Dog said:

Johnnytheboy said:

And his breath really smells.

Have you mentioned this to him or just the internet?

I'm guessing the latter.

Have you ever said to someone: "hey, your breath stinks!"

I haven't, I'm too British I guess.

when discussing the matter with Stinky the employer said:

I'm going to have to have a word with you about personal hygiene.

I realise it's an awkward subject to broach with any employee but it has been brought/come to my attention that you seem to be suffering from a touch of halitosis.

If you could be aware of it and pay close attention to that element of your hygiene that would be more pleasent for all concerned.

I apologise for having to raise this with you and hope you don't take offence and/or are embarrased.

Thanks.

Not that difficult really.

Either that, or bounce a tube of Colgate off his face and shout across the office, "oi... smelly! You have mouth aids. Squeeze this into your gob once in a while".

Ought to do the trick!

[Boxylady]

Bradford factor wouldnt really work in this case because it works better where people have loads of 1/2 days off. This guys has had two days plus a long spell. It is calculated on number of absences times days involved. I have known staff who have over 30 days off every 6 months. This guy is a light weight.