Changing the face of sickies forever?
Well it was all about ER in the news last week which has been quite exciting as normally ER changes never makes front page news.
There has been a lot of interest in the proposed changes to the ERA Act from our members which has kept me busy and resulted in us issuing a press release from Kristen Cooper, HRINZ National President. Click here to view the press release.
I must admit when I saw the headlines and saw the news I thought here we go again. Although once, I sat back, read and reflected on the 37 proposed changes, the majority of them seem reasonable to me. The one change that did strike me as being changed for the sake of ‘being changed’ is the “proof of sickness within the 3 day period”.
My personal opinion on this is that I understand that some small employers may struggle with the definition of ‘reasonable grounds’ and how to manage what is reasonable absenteeism. But I really don’t think that this proposed change is going to help employers understand how to manage their employees absenteeism which is the real issue. Making the employer pay to find out that Mary had a cold 3 times over the last 6 months is not really going to help them decide whether this absenteeism is reasonable.
I think the tactic of removing the current definition of “reasonable grounds” from the legislation concerning the employers request for “proof of sickness within the 3 day period” will not provide any clarity or understanding on this issue. But it does raise the question, “What happens if Mary fails to produce a medical certificate on day 1? Will some employers see this as a green light to have immediate grounds to discipline her?
Could this issue be managed more practically rather than amending the legislation? Perhaps by providing more clarification and information for employers to use on which is considered “reasonable grounds” or providing workshops for employers to understand this. Will it really be in the best interests of small business to ask employees to go get a sick certificate from the doctor when they have to pay for it?
In my opinion, I believe that once all the media attention has blown over employers will realise that even if these changes go ahead they will be no better off or clearer on this issue.
Employers will still have to act reasonable and in good faith, even though they may have the right to request proof of sickness on day one.
Do you think the face of the sickie will be changed forever?
