I heart Laurie Rueittmann. That’s right, I said it. Her blog is witty, makes me think, and the comments are usually just as thoughtful. Yesterday Laurie blogged about flu shots, get one for Scrubby, and employees that come to work sick. Apparently Laurie finds my companies policy brilliant and I agree. Below is my comment on her post:
We had several employees get freaked out about H1N1 last year. To calm their nerves and help those that didn’t qualify for FMLA, we instituted a Temporary Contagious Illness Policy. Basically if you come to work with something even similar to the flu, we’re sending you to the doctor. If the doctor says you are contagious, you stay home until you’re well, without fear of it being counted against you. Just bring us a note that says you’re not contagious anymore. Employees loved it, Managers loved it.
Best. Policy. Ever.
We had very few attempts at abuse of the policy. I think it was mostly because employees knew it was their best interest. Employees were provided with a copy of the policy, and in typical HR fashion they had to sign an acknowledgement.
Employees exhibiting excessive signs of being sick were sent to the doctor, not home. They were to fax a doctor’s note the same day or the day following being sent. If the note says they are not contagious but feel they need to stay home, then the absence hits the unexcused policy.
From an administrative perspective, all contagious absences under this policy were flagged as excused. All affected employees were told to bring or fax in a note simply stating whether they were contagious, and how long they should be out, or not contagious.
We put Lysol wipes in all manager cubes and hung, no lie, 10 hand sanitizers around the office. Employees that requested facemasks were told to buy their own. With the policy in effect, no one should be sick and in the office.
Worked like a charm. The flu didn’t spread like wildfire, offices didn’t shut down and there were no skeleton crews due to absences.
Best policy ever simply because it took care of our business needs by taking care of our employees.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
We did some similar things, though not as many as you. Glad to hear it was well received and not abused.
I’m always interested in the long term impacts. Is this a policy that is still in force, or was it limited to the flu outbreak? Can an employee still use it today?
Love it. We did some similar things last year. We didn’t do a policy but we did send out some communications regarding staying home when sick, etc. We also put up several hand sanitizers around the office and, as we do every year, provided flu shots for all employees.
“…took care of business needs by taking care of our employees.” Great post!
We had a similar policy that also included if a family member got the flu and each person got their own personal bottle of GermX and Clorox wipes, courtesy of management. There is still a GermX dispenser in the lobby. Now if we could just get people to wash their hands in the bathroom…..
Wet Wipes and sanitizer are not just for babies!
Great job!
@Dwane – It was a temporary policy only through flu season last year. We havent implemented it yet this year but I suspect we will.
@Crystal – We did some clinics in some of our offices to provide flu shots for those that were interested. Our insurance at the time provided them at no cost.
@Val – Gross. Bathroom etiquette is disgusting. There a photo on my facebook page of a sign we put up in the womens restroom. We also had a training session, lead by our center director, on how the bathroom works. I missed it but I hear it was entertaining.
@Ben – haha, nice
Now if everyone can just understand that, we’d all be flu free!
Wet Wipes and sanitizer are not just for babies! Great job!