Double jeopardy

Double jeopardy

We have had a lot of questions about what to do around staff and vaccinations.

Please be aware that no staff has to tell you whether they have or have not had the jab. They could even lie!

Double vaccinated staff

Do not have to self-isolate if have come into contact with someone who has Covid-19 – the pingdemic is over!

There is no requirement that they get themselves tested unless they have symptoms.

If they feel ill themselves, they should take a PCR test asap and stay at home until results come through.

While they are at home waiting for their results, they are self-certifying their sickness and are to be paid in line with your sickness policy.

If their result is negative and they feel well enough to come back to work, they should do so.

If their result is negative and they still feel ill, they should stay at home and be paid in line with your sickness policy.

If their result is positive, they are officially sick and stay at home until a minimum 10 days have passed.

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Trained to ignore

Trained to ignore

My car told me I had a flat tyre the other week.

That’s how sophisticated they’ve become – before you’ve even felt anything, the computer explains loudly and clearly that you need to do something about your tyre.

And they don’t just tell you once.  They tell you again and again.

But on this occasion, I decided I knew better than the computer – my last SEAT was a little trigger happy when it came to notifying me of issues, so I became convinced that there was nothing to worry about.

So I ignored the warnings.  For days and days and days.

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When can you give a verbal warning to an employee?

When can you give a verbal warning to an employee? Never! They were abolished in 2009. At a recent talk I was asked “but can’t we keep using them, if they are part of our policies and procedures?”. The simple answer is yes, but why would you? Employers complain constantly about the rules they have … Read more

Flu – every year in June?!

Flu – every year in June?! One of my Clubs contacted me about a greenkeeper, over 2 years’ service, who they felt was ill too often. I, of course, asked for the number of days they had been off and the reasons. It turns out it was 4 days in 6 months, all mid-week, for … Read more

Sickness absence with a silver lining

Sickness absence with a silver lining

The Office for National Statistics (ONS), has just released its sickness figures for 2020. And they aren’t as bad as you might think.

In 2020 approximately 118.6 million working days were lost due to sickness or injury. Which sounds a lot but is the same as just 3.6 days per worker per year and this is the lowest rate since ONS records began in 1995 (1.8% of all working hours lost to sickness).

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has affected the sickness absence data in a number of ways. While the virus may have led to additional sickness absence, measures such as furloughing, social distancing, shielding and increased homeworking appear to have helped reduce other causes of absence, allowing the general downward trend to continue.

By far the most common reason for sickness absence was minor illness, which accounted for 30.95 million lost days. “Minor Illnesses” includes coughs, colds and flu; sickness, nausea and diarrhoea.

Coronavirus absence was tracked separately and since April 2020, has accounted for 14% of all sickness absence.

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