Bosses fear staff will fake swine flu
The majority of company bosses fear at least one employee will fake swine flu this year to take sick days, a survey revealed today.
While eight out of 10 employers expect to lose a member of staff to the disease, new research showed 70% of managers also believe a small number of workers will pretend to have caught the virus.
Employment law firm Peninsula Ireland also claimed it has received reports of workers phoning to say they will not be in because a colleague may be showing swine flu symptoms.
Managing director Alan Price warned management have the right to take action against staff who fake it.
“This is unacceptable and employers are well within their rights to record this absence as unauthorised and take appropriate action,” he said.
“As much as employers should be understanding and careful, they do need to ensure they protect their bottom line.”
Mr Price said its survey, carried out among 784 firms this month, found that employers were increasingly worried about staff becoming ill over the coming months.
“With the rate of infection picking up over the last month and the tough autumn months to come, employers are fearful that their workforce will fall victim to the bug,” he said.
“With employers already struggling to survive in the current recession, swine flu is just another obstacle for them to tackle.”
Mr Price urged company bosses to take precautions now to deal with a possible outbreak among staff later in the year.
But he also warned that some workers will see the swine flu pandemic as a chance to call in sick and take a few days off.
“The problem many employers face is that some members of their workforce will see swine flu as a good excuse to take some time off and this is where employers need to take action and be fair but firm,” he said.
“If you believe an employees sickness to be fraudulent, investigate the matter thoroughly, showing your employees that you are taking a tough stance on sickness.
“Also, conduct back to work interviews, pointing out the impact the employee’s sickness has had on the business; this will discourage those whose sickness was fraudulent from re-offending.”
Peninsula Ireland advised bosses to put contingency plans in place with more than one employee able to perform key tasks and look at the possibility of working from home to minimise the impact on business.
