Ask an Expert
What can be done with an employee who takes too many sick days?
Expert: Howard Levitt
Carrie asked:
There is an employee here who has unsatisfactory performance and has taken many sick days and has not been sick. She takes these sick days after she gets talked to about her performance. She has spent most of her days surfing the net or on the phone for personal calls. Some days this is all she does.
She has admitted to taking sick days but wasn't sick. Recently, she took a month off claiming health issues. This was done after she was talked to about her personal use of phone during work hours and surfing the Internet for things unrelated to work. Coincidentally, this leave coincides with her wedding. She came back to work the day she would have came back from her honeymoon had she have been working at the time of her wedding. Is there anything the employer can legally do to terminate this employee?
Howard Levitt answered:
You have to prove she is not sick. Require detailed medical notes from her stating that she is disabled from any work. Come up with modified work proposals and ask her to meet to discuss them. Have her see your doctor. Don't pay her std without cogent proof.
About the author
Howard Levitt, Counsel to the national law firm Lang Michener. He is author of, The Law of Dismissal in Canada, The Quick Reference Guide to Employment Law and an upcoming book on Canadian Hiring Law. He is Editor In Chief of the Dismissal & Employmnet Law Digest.
Email: hlevitt@langmichener.ca
Phone: (416) 307-4059
Website Bio: http://www.langmichener.ca/index.cfm?fuseaction=people.personDetail&id=9659.