Human Resource Blog

North Carolina Sick Leave Abuse Policy

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A number of employees at our North Carolina branch have put in complaints to me about one particular employee that seems to be abusing the sick leave policy (or some leave policy.) These complaints state that she is frequently late to work and early to leave. Plus, they say that she often says she is going to be working from home, but is not available online at all throughout the day. What should we do?

This might be a tricky situation for you to manage on the short-run, but establishing good communication and expectation can help you get through it quite well. A pattern of abuse might be different in the mind of each employee. It is important for everyone in your company that you define what you constitute as a “pattern of abuse.” Some companies say that more than 5 sick days a year is a pattern of abuse and may not be paid for. Others say that employees must put in formal requests in order to start late or leave early. Based on your employee complaints, it certainly seems that you are dealing with a situation where there is a distinct pattern of abuse.

First, make sure that you are familiar with your company’s definition of abuse. Every company should have a written policy that is specific to the company. This policy should be given to each new employee as well as each employee on at least an annual basis. When there is a problem in the company, a manager can either hold a training session for the entire team to review the abuse definitions, or the manager can pull aside the offender.

Make sure that this policy is somewhat flexible and encompassing of multiple offenses because it is not possible to list out every point that could be considered abuse. This policy should also make sure that is defines what is considered to be “abuse,” as it will vary for each company and person.

If you do not already have such a written policy in place, then it is in your best interest to invest some time into creating a written policy. Have your team get together to discuss the specifics of the policy once you have drafted the statement. Once the policy is in place, you are free to handle the offending employee according to the terms listed in the policy.