Our own business new employee dilemma

lazywife

We run a small business (myself and DH) have 3 employees, one leaving.
We advertised to replace, have found the perfect candidate, but know through a friend of a friend that his previous absence record is poor due to on off sick days in his current job.
Part of me knows that our business is far less stressful and a more pleasant working environment, also if you can't get in you directly let our clients down as there is not enough of us to work a normal day if there is an absence, is that enough to not "pull a sickie"? In the previous larger company it would be easy to have a sick day if your not 100% and felt you couldn't cope with a stressful day in work (There's a good sick pay and always someone else to cover)
Am I just making excuses to find a reason to employ this otherwise perfect individual, or am I being foolish thinking he will change?
Couldn't address anything in interview as we weren't really to know detail, could address it after references, but would it be worth it?
Also there's not really anyone else as suitable that has applied.
Hmmmm?
What would you do?
Lazy X

divadee

It would depend what the sick days were for. Do you know?

If he was having hospital treatment as an outpatient etc.... Or just calling in sick with a hangover.

balletshoes

I would employ him and see how it goes - if people are unhappy/stressed in their job tasks/environment that can increase the chances of them having sick days off. You believe his new job will be less stressful etc, so he may not feel the need to take sick leave due to stress.

Hermia

lazywife wrote: »

We run a small business (myself and DH) have 3 employees, one leaving.
We advertised to replace, have found the perfect candidate, but know through a friend of a friend that his previous absence record is poor due to on off sick days in his current job.

How much do you trust the friend of a friend? There can be a lot of chinese whispers when it comes to the work place. Many people will only share their illness details with a boss or HR and you inevitably find that other people like to fill in the blanks. I was once off with a severe bout of tonsillitis. One colleague was convinced adults could not get that and spread that around. At some point the tonsillitis part of the story got discarded and the rumour became that I was just lying about having an illness!

Did the guy seem enthusiastic at the interview? Do the references suggest he is otherwise good at his job?

Jagraf

Can't you take him/her on as a contractor? Arent you asking for a reference ?

bunty109

If his sickness persists working for you the impact on your business will be huge. Don't think just because the impact on your clients is big that this person could care more. I've worked for a small business and people do still take the Michael.

However, if you suspect his current role contributes to the sickness then u would: use the references to flag the issue and set out expectations around attendance (written sickness policy is good) and offer a contract with a probationary period of 6 monthS, where you monitor performance and attendance. If he takes odd days here and there as sickness during that period then it will need nipping in the bud.

My response is a lot harsher than everyone else's at the moment as I've been there and got the t-shirt. You really cannot afford persistent absence in your business, but I totally get that he could turn over a new leaf. Just don't leave it unaddressed.

Mr_Toad

There are many people out there who view sick days as an entitlement, like leave, that should be used. There were people in my old organisation who knew exactly how many and how often they could take without getting into serious trouble.

You need to be careful how you proceed.

Person_one

Isn't the problem bigger than this one potential employee? If your business doesn't have any way to deal with somebody being off sick, then it needs a plan surely?

Yes, some people swing the lead, but they also get genuinely ill too, and if one of your staff has pneumonia, or a broken leg, or appendicitis, then it won't matter how many clients they feel guilty about letting down, or how relaxed the working environment, they still won't be coming in!

tea_lover

You're assuming that he's 'pulling sickies' (in your words) rather than genuinely ill. Why is that?

lazywife

Thanks for your honest replies. We are only a small set up, to employ an extra member of staff over what we need just to cover sickness is not a salary we can afford. If the situation arose that someone was off longer term we would have to all pull together swapping part timers hours to cover as needed.
Pulling a sickie, or not is where I'm struggling. It's odd single episodes here and there (approx 10 times in 2 yrs I was told) which makes me think it's just "urgh, I can't be bothered to go in feeling a bit rough" rather than genuine sickness so ill he can't work.
Bunty thank you. Your response is exactly the sort of cover all I wanted to hear, a way of take on the right guy, but covering ourselves if he turns out not to change his ways. This way we can also address it once we've got references, so truly know the details and can openly discuss it.

Ozzuk

If you are unsure, give him a chance but make sure you have robust employment procedures in place around sickness (and that you communicate this policy, and the impact to your business). Where I work, 3 instances in 12 months triggers a review for instance.