Employee missing work often, opinions wanted, Question 2?

Question

I currently have an employee that is a single mother with a 11 year old child. The employee has to miss alot of work because the 11 year old is sick very often. The father is not around to help out when she has to miss work to tend to kids. All of her family and friends work also. She has been with company for 2 years, and very good employee. No other issues, except absentees.
I understand that she has to tend to her child when he is sick, etc. She misses on average about 8 days of work a month.
I understand that these are often circumstances beyond her control, but this is an ongoing situation for the last 2 years.
Any suggestions?

Answer 1

I will assume you have spoken with her about the issue you are having. I will also say that if in fact you have spoken with her and things are not getting any better it may be time to let her go and or suspend her. Unfortunatly if this has been going on for 2 years its pretty obvious that she's not missing the money. Maybe you have a part time position open for her else where within the company. Any which way you look at it you have been fair enough. There are lots of single moms out there who on a daily basis have to work and find ways of doing it. I'd be willing to bet that there are some single moms reading this question saying I wish I had this boss. Needless to say if suspending her without pay has no effect then its time to move on to letting her go and find another employee. Unfortunate but true the world does not revolve around any one of us.

Answer 2

If you hire on a single parent that's pretty much the kind of thing you take on with hiring a person who is a single parent.I myself was a single parent my child is now in college.I am a very good Employee and worj very hard no matter what I am doing.
My daughter has kidney diease and so she has been in and out of the hospital all her life and is still going through this.I can't not tell how many times I was told have no problem with you but these things and where I was let go from a job because of it.
A parent has to tend to their child and the child and I mean no direspect when I say this comes before the job in that kind of a situation.When you are a single parent with no help, you are basically the Mother& the Father to your child/children whatever the case may be.Plus in addition to that a single Parent has to do the job of two people in order to take care of thier family.
Yes at the same time you have to maintain your job the best that you can.So next time you hire a Single Parent that's what you are getting.
I would say that if this bothers you that much I would not hire any more Single Parents because that is what you are getting.Hire college kids fresh from school that have no children if you dont want to endure this.If you can not deal with a Single Parent.
I do understand your point though 8 days/month is a lot of time to be losing .I have gone thorugh it all I understand both sides of the story & most definetly can relate to the situation.
So what is the Single Parent to do is the other end of this conversation?I have in my own experience basically told any empoloyer I may have had "just do as you need to do".
I was upset if they let me go but at the person at the situation itself and what that entailed.Me having to find another job or not paycheck coming in etc...
As an single mother /employee myself I can see all sides of this but as to advise whats the best thing I guess you can either treat them like any other Employee that was taking off that much time or deal with it.
Also mean no disrespect to anyone or anything.
MY sole purpose is to be insightful I am not sure if this helps you any?!

Answer 3

Talk with her about her "absenteeism" and let her know that it is a concern because you value her as an employee and understand she has a hard situation but ask her to find a solution. You have to be careful not to sound discriminatory. The laws are different depending on where you live, but in the US they have a Family Medical Leave Act. If you live in the US, check how it applies to your situation. There are other laws that apply also. What are your company policies on this sort of situation. If you don't have one, you should write one up that is non-biased and applies to all employees. I would suggest no more than so many unscheduled absences in a certain amount of time. Then a warning system with consequences s/a after 5 warnings you're fired. Then if you had to let her go she couldn't say you were discriminating against her. Good luck.

Answer 4

Much of this depends on the size of your organization and whether or not others can absorb her load for brief periods; however, w/o an absenteeism policy, you're in a legal and moral bind. Things to consider:
a) does her absenteeism affect morale for others
b) does her absence affect the overall level of output for your company
c) does her absence mean a loss of work quality, output for some, or even a decrease in the bottom line-- your ability to make enough money for the company to survive

Personally, I'd have a real problem terminating her... but in the final analysis, if her absence affects the your operation negatively (even to the point that your credibility and fairness is challenged), you may need to give her 1-2 warnings, then a 3 day suspension and finally termination. Keep in mind that termination also means you pay unemployment comp, which can be costly if she is now producing nothing.
d) does the federal FMLA (family medical leave act) go into effect in your company
e) finally, consider either part time status, a flex schedule or work from home (if possible)

Regardless of your decision... you need to be extremely humane at all times. Single parenting, especially with a chronically ill child (if this is the case) is tough business-- few men in comparison to women, ever suffer thru this experience (this is one reason many of us bail out).

Answer 5

You need to sit this employee down and counsel her on her absenteeism. Are you prepared to start letting all your employees with children miss 8 days per month? To not do so would be discrimination. You need to develop a policy for sickness/absenteeism and enforce it if you do not have one. The woman should make other arrangements for her child's care. Most companies would not tolerate the excessive absenteeism. In a 5 day work week you are talking about an average of 21.665 days per month she should work excluding holidays. 21.665 minus 8 days average out of work = .369 percent...almost 37 percent of her time she is not working for you. Are you paying her for these absences? Do you have a personnel dept. If so, sit down with them and fix this problem.

Answer 6

I worked with a woman like that. She received prefferential treatment because of a sick child and migraines. It caused many many problems because everyone else had to do her job and abide by other rules.

If you are giving all your employees the same consideration then I say your one hell of a boss. If not, and she is the only one that it is ok to miss so much work...then you are looking at some major problems with the other employees.

Cut her lose...shes no good to you if she can't work as scheduled.

Answer 7

Unless that child has chronic health problems, very few children are sick that much in a month. I can count on one hand how many times my 10 year old has been sick in his life, enough to make me miss work. I would first find out if she has a special needs child or a child who has chronic health problems, and if this isnt the case, I would ask for proof of her childs illness, i.e. drs note. I think she is using her 'sick child' as an excuse to get a few free days off work.

Answer 8

I have been a Manager for many years and if i was facing this situation...I would move her to partime work with set hours. Hire in a part time work to cover her spot when she isn't there or the other half of the time. Simply use the other part timer to come in and be on stand by for this employee.

You shouldn't fire her though..life is crap and we all need a helping hand which is what you can be

Answer 9

tell her how it is. her missing work costs the company and 8 days a month is way to many. even for a child . if he is 11 years old he can stay home if he is sick. and if he really is sick you are going to need a note from the doctor each time she misses work. sounds like she is usung her kids to get out of work.

Answer 10

Why is this posted in the Marriage & Divorce forum? In any case, you have a business or a supervisory role and your employee's personal problems can only concern you up to a point. You need to have specific guidelines for sick leave useage, document the excessive absences and take appropriate disciplinary actions. Otherwise, your business will suffer.