A
recent survey by health insurer AXA PPP Healthcare suggests that one boss in
three is so suspicious when workers call in sick, that they check their employees’
Facebook and Twitter pages to see if there is any evidence to the
contrary. In fact, a quarter of
employers surveyed have also asked colleagues to telephone absentees to check that
they are at home sick, and not attending job interviews, socialising or
otherwise.
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Establishing
the veracity of sickness absence by staff is a problem encountered daily by
many employers. Although forms of social
media can be useful in this regards, managers should ensure that they exercise
caution when relying on this type of evidence and avoid making snap judgments
on this information alone, since there is no legal requirement that a worker
who is signed off sick must remain at home or ‘bed-bound’. In many cases, (particularly those involving
stress or depression), activities can be a means of improving health and
promoting a return to work. Employers
should avoid using such evidence to suggest that the worker is therefore fit to
work or has acted dishonestly in any way.
However,
if there is evidence the worker is not genuinely sick or is deliberately
exaggerating the extent of their incapacity, this should be dealt with as a
case of misconduct.
Hannah Harris
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