Absenteeism Policy

  1. POLICY

  • On every scheduled day, employees are expected to attend work and be punctual.
  • The employee wherever possible, prior to commencing the leave, is required to submit the appropriate documentation including but not limited to sick leave, vacation, jury duty, maternity/parental leave, family responsibility leave and other statutory leaves of absence.
  • Unless the absence or lateness is permitted under the Employment Standards Act, employee will be subject to counselling and/or formal discipline if they are absent or late without authorization for [three (3)] occurrences in a [twelve (12) month].
  • Employees, if they are occurrence-free from absences for a [twenty-four (24) month] period after the last recorded occurrence, can request recorded, non-culpable absences be expunged from their records.
  • Without notification to the immediate supervisor, absence from work for [three (3)] consecutive work days is considered to be a voluntary resignation of the employee.

  1. PURPOSE

    • The [Company] expects employees to be prompt and regular in their attendance. Every employee plays a key role in keeping the business productive and competitive. The [Company] acknowledges occasionally there are valid reasons for tardiness in reporting to, or for employee to be absent from work. The purpose of this policy is as follows:
  • Set out the procedures for tracking employee absences;
  • Establish ground rules for determining when counselling or disciplinary actions may be initiated related to an employee’s absenteeism record.

  1. SCOPE

  • This statement of policy and procedure is applicable to all employees.

  1. RESPONSIBILITY

  • The responsibilities of employees are:
    • Being at work on days scheduled on time and not leaving early without authorization from their immediate supervisor;
    • Notify their supervisor, immediately of any absence, the reason(s) for the absence, and their expected return date.
  • The responsibilities of supervisors are:
    • Establish a favourable climate for attendance;
    • Record every absence or lateness;
    • Follow-up with employees for required documentation;
    • Review records on a [weekly basis] to determine any absenteeism;
    • Provide the Human Resources/Payroll department with [weekly] employee attendance records citing who was absent or late, the dates of absence or lateness and recording the reasons.
  • [The Human Resources/Payroll Department] is responsible:
    • To ensure proper documentation is received from all supervisors in a timely manner;
    • Track employee absence data on a [monthly] bases;
    • Prepare appropriate company-wide absenteeism reports.
  • The employee and their immediate supervisor are responsible for working together to find a reasonable accommodation and developing an accommodation plan in situations where an employee has demonstrated a need for an accommodation under human rights legislation.

  1. DEFINITIONS

  • “Absence” is defined as a failure to report for work for whatever reason(s).
  • “Authorized absence” is an absence for which the employee has been given approval, either formal written approval or supervisory verbal approval, or for which other polices provide a leave of absence.
  • “Authorized accommodation” is any absence for the purpose of accommodating an employee based upon an employee’s written request and for which the employee has been given approval, either formal written approval or supervisory verbal approval.
  • “Unauthorized absence” is an absence for any reason other than an authorized absence, or for which authorization has not been sought.
  • “Lateness” is defined as not being at not being at one’s work station at the appropriate shift starting time or the scheduled starting time after a rest period or lunch period
  • “Occurrence” is one incident of absence or lateness, which may include multiple days if consecutively missed. A statutory leave such as family responsibility leave, maternity/parental leave, jury duty, etc. or authorized leaves granted under any other of [Company]’s policies are not counted when calculating the number of absence occurrences.

  1. REFERENCES and RELATED STATEMENTS of POLICY and PROCEDURE

Employment Standards Acts (British Columbia)

Human Rights Code (British Columbia)

SPP HR 4.02.BC – Vacation

SPP HR 4.03.BC – Holiday

SPP HR 4.04.BC – Personal Leave of Absence

SPP HR 4.05.BC – Pregnancy Leave

SPP HR 4.06.BC – Parental and/or Adoption Leave

SPP HR 4.07.BC – Bereavement Leave

SPP HR 4.12.BC – Family Responsibility Leave

SPP HR 4.13.BC – Short Term Disability/Sick Pay Benefits

SPP HR 4.15.BC – Compassionate Care Leave

SPP HR 4.16.BC – Jury or Court Witness Leave

SPP HR 4.17.BC – Military Leave of Absence

SPP HR 4.24.BC – Critically ill Child Care Leave

SPP HR 4.25.BC – Crime-Related Child Death or Disappearance Leave

SPP HR 5.04.BC – Accommodation on the Basis of Disability

SPP HR 5.06.BC – Discipline

SPP HR 5.09.BC – Religious Accommodation

SPP HR 5.18.BC – Accommodation the Basis

  1. PROCEDURE

(a) Employees who are going to be unavoidably late or absent must notify their immediate supervisor as early as possible, but no later than [fifteen (15) minutes] after the start of a shift.

The supervisor’s manager should be notified if the immediate supervisor is not available. Failing that, the notification should be provided to the [Human Resources Department].

(b) Employees must notify their supervisors each day they are absent.

(c) Late employees must report directly to their supervisors upon arriving at work.

(d) The pay of a late employee will be reduced by [one-quarter (1/4) of an hour] for each [fifteen (15) minutes or less] of lateness.

  • On the day of an employee’s return to work, the employee shall notify their immediate supervisor of the reasons for their absence. The hours of absence and reasons shall be noted by the supervisor in the employee absence record.
  • Approval from their supervisor must be obtained for employees who need to leave work for unavoidable reasons preferably at least one prior to the day requested. Early leaving will be treated the same as lateness for payroll purposes.
  • On a weekly basis, supervisors shall monitor attendance and complete absence records.

The Employee Absence Record shown in attachment B is used for this purpose.

  • Supervisors are responsible:
    • To initiate counselling and formal discipline as warranted.
    • Use of discipline as last resort in controlling absenteeism.
    • Informal counselling should be the primary method to be used in reducing absenteeism.
  • Confidentiality is a protected employee right in the following areas:
    • Right to confidentiality regarding a medical absence, medical diagnoses, or other confidential medical data, shall not to be shown in the Employee Attendance Record Only the reasons for absence shall be shown.
  • Depending on the nature of the medical reason for absence, the [Company] may require a medical certificate confirming the employee’s fitness to return to work. Medical absences of [Three (3)] or more working days must be reported by medical certification; The medica certificate shall be forwarded to the Human Resources/Payroll Department for inclusion in the employee’s Medical File.

  1. ATTACHMENTS

Attachment A

Attachment B – Sample Employee Absence Record for Year

Attachment C – Sample Department Absence Summary