Hi All
I was wondering if anyone could help me with a growing problem we have at work.
We have an employee who is constantly taking time off to attend doctor and dentist appointments. They occur quite often and can be very last minute at times.
Is there a way of asking for proof? I've asked for appointment cards but I'm given excuses about not having one as the appointment was made over the phone.
Any advice would be appreciated!
Emma
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Replies
My current employer has a very flexible unlimited approach (all office based team) but I still record quarter day, half day and full day medical appointments to keep an eye out for abuse. Previously I worked at a mixed office/factory site where a copy of the appointment letter or card was taken and people were only allowed 2 dental medical appointments and 2 doctors appointments per annum. These were recorded as a special type of 'medical appointment holiday'.
Hi Amy,
we don't currently have a specific policy in place, it's something that I'm going to be working on after all of the advice I've received on here.
Emma
We do not allow any staff time off for appointments. They have to use their holidays, If staff have any unexpected appointments, It has to be approved by management and if not convenient they have to re-book the appointment they also have to make the time up. We address this issue in our induction program for all new starters which they have to sign. Hope this helps.
Hi Emma,
Do you have a policy in place regarding appointments? I don't think it is unreasonable to ask for proof. I would also consider asking regarding the possibility of appointments to be made outside of working hours.
Hi Sarah
I've found putting the question out there and listening to others really helpful. I'm monitoring the situation as it seems to have gone quiet again at the moment. I think any future appointments we will be requesting proof that they are genuine.
Emma
Hi Emma
Where did you end up re this, did any of the Community advice help?
Regards
Sarah
It's not unreasonable to ask for proof of appointments and set the expectation to the employee to get these when attending the doctors. I haven't come across a doctors yet who have refused this when an employee has asked.
Last resort I'd request a doctors report and match it up to conversations had with the employee as part of a well being approach.
Hi Elizabeth, thanks for your comments.
The appointments are for the employee, she has no dependents and I have spoken with her previously about the number of appointments that are made in work time. It gets better for a while and then the "appointments" creep back in.
I have concerns regarding the appointments being genuine as they are very often communicated last minute, for example she should start at 8.30 and on one occasion contacted me at 8.20 to say she had an appointment and would be in at 9.30.
On another previous occasion, she asked to go early because of an appointment, and a colleague of hers mentioned afterwards that she had said she wanted to home early as work was quiet.
I think essentially, what I would really like is for her to prove beyond reasonable doubt that her appointments are genuine.
It looks really to her colleagues that her "appointments" are so frequent and is starting to affect the team.
I hope I don't sound like I'm being unreasonable!
Thanks for listening!
Emma
Hi Emma
Sounds like you are following Elizabeth's advice already and I agree with everything Elizabeth has said. To build on your reply I would put your concerns which you have to the employee in terms of the patterns and late notice of the appointments and the impact this has on the business and the team. I would also point out that contacting the employer at 8.20 to advise they have an appointment at 08.30 is not reasonable and again outline the impact this has.
At this stage I would not go as far as to say we don't think these are genuine appointments (albeit eventually I would get to this point if the appointments continued to impact the business and there was no real explanation offered). Initially I would go down the what are the underlying issues for the frequency/regularity of appointments route first as Emma suggested to try and flush this out.
Where is the manager in terms of managing this issue? As I would expect that he or she should be taking a role in managing this issue.
I hope this helps
Regards
Sarah
Hi Emma
I am not sure if the doctor and dentist appointments are for the employee or dependents of the employee. If it is for the employee themselves I would be having a conversation with the employee to establish what the underlying cause is for the regular medical and dental appointments. If they are also taking a lot of sick leave you may want to consider going down the GP medical report line. I don't know if GPs do provide appointment cards but I don't think it is unreasonable for to talk to the employee about giving reasonable notice and how to minimise impact to the business once you understand more about the condition.
If the appointments are for dependents, again I would be having a conversation to establish what they are for and trying to work out an arrangement which suits both the employee and the business. For e.g we have an employee with a daughter who has a disability and requires weekly doctors appointments. We have reached an agreement with her that she will be using her parental leave in order to attend the appointments and she gives us as much notice as possible if there are any changes to her requirements. We review the set up on a regular basis.
Hope that helps.
Elizabeth
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