Absenteeism costs Canadian employers over $16.6 billion per year. Add in productivity losses and other indirect costs, and that figure balloons to $37 billion. So it’s hardly surprising that controlling absenteeism has become such a big priority for so many organizations. One approach that has proven effective is implementing an attendance management program (AMP). The AMP establishes not only attendance standards but a constructive process for dealing with employees who fail to meet them. While designed to be corrective and non-disciplinary, AMPs are highly unpopular with employees and their unions. Accordingly, the legal validity of the AMP has become a major source of litigation. More often than not, these cases turn on the wording of the AMP policy. Here’s a Model AMP Policy based on the laws for federally regulated employers that you can adapt for your own workplace.

1. POLICY STATEMENT

__________________ expects employees to be punctual, present at the designated work site—whether on-site, off-site or virtual—and actively engaged in work activities associated with their jobs during designated work hours. Unexcused failure to be present, punctual and actively engaged is a violation of the employment contract, disruptive and harmful to productivity and morale. However, while such conduct is grounds for discipline and termination, __________________ believes that attendance problems can be corrected constructively and without resort to disciplinary action and is committed to ensuring that employees with prior attendance problems are confronted with their transgressions, allowed to provide an explanation and afforded a full and fair opportunity based on the individual circumstances involved to improve their attendance on a non-disciplinary basis via an Attendance Management Program…