JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2010

Are Your Sick Leave Plans Making You Sick?

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In response to the potential challenges posed by an increase in flu symptoms, and in anticipation of the forecasted H1N1 epidemic that has not yet materialized, numerous Canadian insurers have revised adjudication rules for Short-Term Disability (STD) claims (STD is also known as Weekly Indemnity (WI)). These carriers have announced that plan members with H1N1 or other flu-related absences will not need an Attending Physician’s Statement to accompany their claim. Insurers will rely on self-reporting of symptoms and any medical treatment received, thus eliminating the need for a doctor’s signature or a visit to a doctor’s office.

This change in practice highlights the big weakness of many sick leave programs: discouragement of legitimate absence with the potential of spreading illness to co-workers or the community.

Do you have a sick leave program that doesn’t pay employees for the first three or four days of absence due to illness? Does it require a doctor’s signature for even a minor illness? Such common plan design features may encourage employees to come to work ill, fostering the spread of communicable disease throughout your workplace. The long-term result may well be higher rates of absence and an actual reduction in productivity.

A 2006 survey by Harris Interactive found 98% of employees working full time have gone to work when they were ill. This is a phenomenon known as “presenteeism” and is considered by some experts to be a greater contributor to lost productivity than is absenteeism. Furthermore, a sick employee at work can impact the productivity of those around them, as the healthy employees feel threatened by contagion. Employees coming to work sick set a poor example for those around them and perpetuate a “bring your germs to work” attitude.

The now-popular “Take a Benylin Day” advertising campaign that encourages people to stay home when they are ill was developed following a survey that found 62% of employees would have to feel “severely ill” before they would miss a day of work. In contrast, 76% of Canadian bosses indicated they would prefer employees stay home when they are ill and 86% agreed employees were more productive when they took a sick day to recover from illness.

Your sick leave program was designed to control both the cost of short duration illness and the administration. You should reconsider your plan design to ensure it continues to properly support corporate goals and objectives. Short of modifying your sick leave program, experts recommend you develop a workplace policy regarding illness and promote proper use of sick leave to minimize both time away from work and the risk of spreading germs to both co-workers and customers.

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