C) What is absenteeism ? In your organization what is the average rate of absenteeism? (Take any organization).

Absenteeism in employment law is the state of not being present that occurs when an employee is absent or not present at work during a normally scheduled work period. Absences may be scheduled or unscheduled.

Scheduled: Absences are scheduled in advance for such events as vacation, medical appointments, military service, family activities, jury duty, funerals, and other happenings which cannot be scheduled outside of regular work hours. Unscheduled: Absences and tardies are considered unscheduled for such events as illness, family emergencies, transportation emergencies, family member illness and/or death, and household emergencies such as flooding.

Absences are excused, unexcused, or no-fault.

Excused: Absences are discussed and excused in advance of the absence, by the supervisor, for such events as vacation, medical appointments, military service, family activities, jury duty, funerals, and other happenings which cannot be scheduled outside of regular work hours. Unexcused: Absences are not discussed and excused in advance, by the supervisor, for such events as illness, family emergencies, transportation emergencies, family member illness and/or death, and household emergencies such as flooding. No-fault: Absences are considered "no-fault." No attempt to classify an absence as excused or unexcused is attempted. Each employee is allowed a certain number of days off from work, at their discretion. Progressive discipline is used when the employee exceeds the number of allowed absences.

Absences are compensated and uncompensated.

Compensated: Absences are generally compensated when their frequency and rationale fall within the guidelines established in the organization's attendance policy. These compensated absences may depend upon certain required employee actions such as seeking permission for scheduled absences from work in advance, or calling in to report an unscheduled absence within organization timelines and expectations. Uncompensated: Absences are generally uncompensated when they number in excess of the allowed absences stated in the organization's attendance policy. Excessive absenteeism is governed by the policies of the individual school system, institution, or employer, which vary by entity. Some schools are required to develop procedures for dealing with excessive absenteeism. The following is an example of an employer's policy on excessive absenteeism:

"Excessive absenteeism is defined as three (3) or more spells of absenteeism in any ninety (90) day period.

1. First offense - written counseling and warning that continued excessive absenteeism will lead to subsequent disciplinary action. 2. Second offense - written counseling session and warning that continued excessive absenteeism will lead to termination. 3. Third offense - termination."

Monthly Absenteeism Rate:

1. Total number of days lost through job absence in the month: ________ 2. Number of employees on 1st of the month: _____ 3. Number of employees on the last day of the month: _____ 4. Average headcount for the month (Line 2 + Line 3 divided by 2): ____ 5. Number of available workdays in the month: ____ 6. Average number of workdays for the month (Line 4 x Line 5): ______ 7. Monthly absenteeism rate (Line 1 divided by Line 6 x 100): _____

D) As HR manager, how would you proceed to address the problem of absenteeism in your organisation?

As a HR manager I would take steps to curb the absenteeism: Sickness reporting: The first area to consider is the reporting of sickness. Before anything can be done to reduce absence levels it helps to know what they are. Everyone needs to know precisely what they are required to do if they are too ill to come in to work. Make sure employees are aware that they should phone, not leave a message, and speak to their manager or an equally senior person if they are not available. Tell employees they must phone in as early as possible to advise why they are unable to make it to work and when they expect to return. It is not unreasonable to ask these questions and it may mean they are less likely to take that occasional day off. Unless their contracts of employment state otherwise, employees are only required to provide a doctors certificate for periods of absence exceeding seven days. But employees can be asked to complete an absence statement, which details when they were off and why. This can then be signed off and put on their employment file. The return to work interview: When an employees returns from sickness, ensure that they have a return to work interview. This should be done even if they have only had one day off sick. This is a simple but effective tool and will make employees think twice before taking an occasional day off. The Bradford Factor: Long-term sickness can be planned around and dealt with. The worst type of sickness, as far as a business is concerned, is the regular but sporadic day off. In order to be able to deal with this, an objective monitoring system will be required. It might be worth considering the Bradford Factor, which is not a hugely complicated scientific idea, but a simple means to highlight those who regularly take a single day off. The Bradford Factor measures both the number of sick days and the number of absences. The formula is: S x S x D = Bradford Factor (S is the number of spells of absence in the last 52 weeks and D is the number of days absence in the last 52 weeks). For example, an employee who takes 10 individual sick days in a year will have a Bradford Factor of (10 x 10 x 10) 1000. Whereas an employee who has a total of 10 days sick on one occasion in a year because of a virus or bad bout of flu will only have a Bradford Factor of

10. As it concentrates on instances more than actual days absence, the Bradford Factor allows a business to have a table of sickness. Those without satisfactory explanations for their regular short-term absences can then be dealt with formally through disciplinary procedures. As ever, it is essential that consistency is applied when dealing with sickness absence. It is worth remembering that genuine sickness should be dealt with in a sympathetic and understanding way, with particular attention paid to the Disability and Discrimination Act and its requirements. In summary: - Ensure that sickness absence is monitored. - Make sure everyone is aware of sickness reporting procedures - Carry out a return to work interview - Introduce an objective measuring system. - For persistent offenders, use disciplinary procedures - Deal with all sickness in a sympathetic manner Be consistent!