HR question, help please

[sean0801]

don't wanna go into to many details but if anyone could answer me a question please.

Is it legal for a company to send someone round to your house to check on you on the second day of absence from work due to illness? The illness was reported the day before as per the proceedure, and the person in question has a near perfect attendance history.

Thanks in advance folks

[thewisestfish]

Hiya,

My partner is a HR director, and her take on it is this:

There is no legal reason why they can't send someone around on the second day of absence. But - it's not good practice. It's something that could be considered 3 or 4 weeks into the sickness. She also says that it depends on the circumstances - ie. if it's a little company and someones popped round to see if the person is ok on a friendly basis. Procedurewise though, there isn't anything that would stop a company doing this.

You should have a look at the company policy on sickness and see what it says.

If you need anything more specific, pm me and i'll ask her to have a think for you.

[Daz217]

Don't know if it is illegal i can't see that it would be besides the "Company" will just claim it was a welfare call as opposed to checking up on the absent person.
It would be difficult to prove otherwise.

[sean0801]

Originally Posted by thewisestfish

Hiya,

My partner is a HR director, and her take on it is this:

There is no legal reason why they can't send someone around on the second day of absence. But - it's not good practice. It's something that could be considered 3 or 4 weeks into the sickness. She also says that it depends on the circumstances - ie. if it's a little company and someones popped round to see if the person is ok on a friendly basis. Procedurewise though, there isn't anything that would stop a company doing this.

You should have a look at the company policy on sickness and see what it says.

If you need anything more specific, pm me and i'll ask her to have a think for you.

Thanks for that, much appreciated

[thewisestfish]

no problem - let me know if you need to know anything else.

[TerryHoops]

I won't say who I work for, however it has been known for a Senior Manager to attend on the day of the initial sickness report. To be fare to the Senior Manager, this department was prone to quite a lot of sickness. It is not illegal. Whether it is good pratice or not depends on the situation and the individual concerned. I would aggree that your sickness policy needs to be checked

[Prometheus]

They used to send a senior officer round to someone who was sick as a "welfare visit" then people cottoned on that as a welfare visit they could get them to do a bit of shopping for them or collect their medicine, they stopped a while ago.

[Scubee]

I would be found on the other side of the fence to thewisestfish's partner but as she says, it isn't good practice, but it isn't unlawful. However, if there too many visits, then it could constitute harassment, for which the remedy would be through a grievance procedure, or a harassment policy. If the employer has reason to believe the sickness is a sham, they would be wthin their rights to withhold payment, but they can only do that if they follow a correct procedure. In my experience there is a limited knowledge of proper HR policies in certain places

[yazzyfooty]

Originally Posted by Scubee

I would be found on the other side of the fence to thewisestfish's partner but as she says, it isn't good practice, but it isn't unlawful. However, if there too many visits, then it could constitute harassment, for which the remedy would be through a grievance procedure, or a harassment policy. If the employer has reason to believe the sickness is a sham, they would be wthin their rights to withhold payment, but they can only do that if they follow a correct procedure. In my experience there is a limited knowledge of proper HR policies in certain places

I was interested to read the part i have made bold. The company I work for does not pay when staff call in sick unless its due to being injured by a patient or while having to control and restrain one. So our sickness levels are fairly low but what a nuisance as people with stinking colds come into work and spread their germs everywhere!

[Scubee]

Originally Posted by yazzyfooty

I was interested to read the part i have made bold. The company I work for does not pay when staff call in sick unless its due to being injured by a patient or while having to control and restrain one. So our sickness levels are fairly low but what a nuisance as people with stinking colds come into work and spread their germs everywhere!

the procedure they hav to follow would depend on what their processes were. If they were contactually required to pay someone who is off sick, and it transpires that the person isn't off sick, then the employer has the right to reclaim the payment, but the wages act means they have to notify and explain. Dispute resolution procedures means the employee also has the right to appeal. Deductiosn from wages are a bit of a minefield, so most employers wouldn't do it unless they were fairly sure of their ground.