Absence because of pet death

irishjohn

If this employee came into work on public holidays it could be an indicator that she has no close family and possibly lived alone with just the cat. In this situation that cat could be a very important part of her life and she is genuinely bereaved. However the idea of 2 weeks sick leave and a phased return is a bit OTT in my mind, unless of course she is using it as an opportunity to replace the pet with a kitten and take some time to get the new pet settled? This could be the purpose of the phased return

dseventy

Takeaway_Addict wrote: »

IF everything is as well oiled as you would like to think and the employees are all salt of the earth then can you not see if you can talk to the employee and see why its so excessive the time of that is required and maybe come to a reasonable compromise?

I have asked the manager to meet up with her and offer support as best we can. Part of the conversation will entail agreeing the way forward.

The advice was do this after OH input.

D70

Uncertain

dseventy wrote: »

I can honestly say I don't have a issue with sickness, days lost through sickness is less than 1% across the board.

D70

But this is a sickness issue.......

At the moment the employee has a certificate signed by a qualified professional advising her to refrain from work for two weeks due to an illness he has diagnosed.

Without contrary medical evidence it is not for her employer to decide that she is not really sick.

As far as I can see you have no alternative but to treat this in exactly the same way as you would any other properly certified period of sickness with a "model employee".

duchy

I agree -the phrased return can (and should) be a matter for further discussion but if she's signed off for two weeks then she's signed off and that is that.

Not much point in asking us -we don't know her personal circumstances or her personality -presumably even if you don't personally her line manager does and it should be to them you are asking these questions.

I must say I'd find it bizarre if I discovered my boss had gone onto a forum to ask what people thought of my sickness issues.

getmore4less

edit : some of this has been covered while preparing.


Are they any good? do you want to keep them?

how generous do you want to be.

how important will it be to be seen to be a good employer.

Do you pay sick pay, is it discretionary

Are your policies for sick and phased return documented especialy the pay stuctures for reduced hours.

I think you need to assess the impact of the phased return on the business.

Is the job suitable for being part time? what phasing would work?

if the person cannot cope will it be disruptive in their normal job. you might be better finding something else for them to do or refuse for now as no reasonable adjustments possible.

What do local management want to do.

Elvisia

I don't think is necessary about an employee having a lot of time after a pet dies, this seems to be about an employee needing time off for mental health reasons after a traumatic event. It's possible the cat dying was the straw that broke the camel's back, and has set off underlying mental issues. If she comes in on Xmas Day then it sounds like a workaholic who is very dedicated and perhaps this has resulted in them having a mini breakdown. I think see it as a mental health issue rather than feeling bad about their cat dying.

When my cat died it took me a year to stop grieving for him, even now I get a bit upset and gosh it was 15 years ago!! Longer than he was alive for. Had I had other issues I was dealing with then him dying would have totally sent me into a meltdown.

dseventy

duchy wrote: »

I agree -the phrased return can (and should) be a matter for further discussion but if she's signed off for two weeks then she's signed off and that is that.

Not much point in asking us -we don't know her personal circumstances or her personality -presumably even if you don't personally her line manager does and it should be to them you are asking these questions.

I must say I'd find it bizarre if I discovered my boss had gone onto a forum to ask what people thought of my sickness issues.

The sicknote will run as prescribed. I am not (usually) insured to have someone at work signed off sick. The GP has options now to sign someone back to do *some* work as per the "fit note" changes, the doc clearly decided not to use this, so it is what it is.

I use MSE a lot, I find it a good place for advice, just wanted some opinions and a reality check. Most people slam employers for being uncaring, not sympathetic etc, thought it might be interesting to see it from the other perspective.

D70

Takeaway_Addict

Elvisia wrote: »

I don't think is necessary about an employee having a lot of time after a pet dies, this seems to be about an employee needing time off for mental health reasons after a traumatic event. It's possible the cat dying was the straw that broke the camel's back, and has set off underlying mental issues. If she comes in on Xmas Day then it sounds like a workaholic who is very dedicated and perhaps this has resulted in them having a mini breakdown. I think see it as a mental health issue rather than feeling bad about their cat dying.

When my cat died it took me a year to stop grieving for him, even now I get a bit upset and gosh it was 15 years ago!! Longer than he was alive for. Had I had other issues I was dealing with then him dying would have totally sent me into a meltdown.

Very good point

thistledome

Elvisia wrote: »

I don't think is necessary about an employee having a lot of time after a pet dies, this seems to be about an employee needing time off for mental health reasons after a traumatic event. It's possible the cat dying was the straw that broke the camel's back, and has set off underlying mental issues. If she comes in on Xmas Day then it sounds like a workaholic who is very dedicated and perhaps this has resulted in them having a mini breakdown. I think see it as a mental health issue rather than feeling bad about their cat dying.

When my cat died it took me a year to stop grieving for him, even now I get a bit upset and gosh it was 15 years ago!! Longer than he was alive for. Had I had other issues I was dealing with then him dying would have totally sent me into a meltdown.

/\ This!

All the posters saying "I wouldn't have 2 weeks off for a cat...." are missing the point. This isn't about them, it's about someone else (who they know nothing about).

OP, your Employee is ill. Do what you'd do for any other sick member of staff.

elsien

But would you do a 4 week phased return for a member of staff who'd only been off for 2 weeks?
I'd say as a general rule, that would be extremely unlikely. Especially as (if I've read the OP correctly) the employee is at the start of the two weeks and has no idea how they're going to feel at the end of it. They've not been off long enough for the usual long term absence procedures to kick in, and I do think that you also need to consider the impact on the rest of the team and how they may perceive it, in addition to wanting to support a good employee.