Manage an effective time-off program

03/06/07

Are you penalizing your healthiest and most reliable workers? You may be, if you are still running a traditional time-off system, in which vacation days and sick days are counted separately.

The problem: Healthy workers often use sick days for personal reasons not related to illness. Under a traditional sick-day system, there is no disincentive to do so. Unused sick days are often forfeited by the worker – a policy that rewards malingerers while punishing the productive. Meanwhile, sick days are not planned in advance. Employers and coworkers may be left scrambling to pick up the slack.

The solution: Get rid of sick days. Many employers are abandoning the sick-day method in favor of a paid time off (PTO) program. Under PTO, a worker receives a set number of days off each year, generally in half-day increments, for vacation, sick - and personal time off.

How the time is allocated is up to the worker. Healthy workers may appreciate being able to take longer vacations, and those who are frequently sick may appreciate the flexibility of using additional days without having to explain why. Parents of small children may be the biggest winners, as they have more flexibility to take a youngster to a doctor’s appointment or accompany a school field trip — occasions that can be planned for in advance and which, under the old policy, may have generated unplanned sick days.

The result: lower unplanned absenteeism, more productive workers, and lower costs for temps. Further, maintaining only one form of time-off plan requires less tracking and administrative hassle.

Some employers will “buy back” paid days, which benefits workers who value the cash more than they value time off. Other employers provide a “sick leave bank” for employees to use only after taking a specified amount of time off. The days accrued in the bank can be given to other employees who have serious medical problems or need additional family leave.

Even the best plan, however, needs to be managed. That’s why G.Neil developed the Attendance Controller® Card to help managers plan and track employee workdays and paid time off. The easy-to-use, calendar-style format lets you mark days missed right on the card. There are no time-consuming forms to fill out and no copies to make. The back of the card provides space to document reasons for absences, track PTO and record disciplinary actions.