Employee Sickness and how best to approach it

As the old saying goes, ‘your health is your wealth’. And when it comes to sickness or longer term ill health, nothing could be truer for your employees.

So, what happens when a staff member becomes ill? Whether it’s cancer, chronic illness or another health battle, it’s important that you as an employer show how you value them. Let’s delve into the importance of recognising illness when it happens, and best approaches.?

Employee Sickness - it’s your problem too

We all go through our own battles — physically, mentally, personally and economically. But as an employer, it’s important to understand that a personal battle isn’t just the problem of the person, but the employer should be just as worried — especially when it comes to staff health.?

Aside from the surface issues of lost hours and productivity, an employee’s health battle can mean the temporary, or at worst permanent, loss of a valuable colleague — a staff member who will often provide the experience and skills to make their role a success. Without them, a team can be left struggling to pick up the pieces.?

But most importantly, when a staff member finds themselves in the midst of a health crisis, it’s important that you find the best way to support them quickly, to ensure they are aware of the help that is available to them within work.?

Yes, you pay their wages — but those wages are what keeps a roof over their family’s heads, what puts food on the table and what heats their home — without the support of an employer, a health battle no matter how serious can escalate quickly. It’s important that you work together with your HR team to have robust contingency plans in place for employee sickness — here’s our top tips.?

Approaching Staff Sickness - Top Tips?

1. Acknowledgement?

The first step an employer can take to best approach staff sickness is acknowledgement of the elephant in the room. Whilst these conversations can be awkward or feel intrusive, it’s important that you as an employer acknowledge when you have been informed about a staff illness.?

Work together with your HR team to have a strong contingency plan in place for a sick employee, building in this first step. By recognising that you are aware of the staff illness, communicating what ways your company is set up to support that employee, and explaining thoroughly the steps you must take as an employer via legislation, you can ease any work worries the employee must have, so they can focus on their health.?

2. Communication?

Once you have taken time to speak to the employee, both as an employer and on a personable level, it’s important that you work with them to understand how they wish to disclose their health battles.?

It’s important here that you understand personal preferences and that you operate total confidentiality — some of your staff might not feel ready to share their worries with the world, and would rather fight any ill health quietly. Others may feel a sense of relief to explain their health worries with colleagues so they understand if it might be affecting their work, or why they will be off to allow for health treatments.?

Work with your HR team to understand how the colleague wishes to disclose, if it at all. If in the worst case scenario, an employee’s health takes a downturn, leading to the need to communicate to their team, take the time to do this as respectfully as possible. Explain why it wasn’t disclosed before this, what the colleague’s wishes are in terms of communication with them on the matter and what the next steps will be to cover the workload whilst the staff member is absent. Clear communication on all fronts is key to ensure you maintain the respect and dignity that your ill colleague deserves.?

3. Check In Support?

It’s important that as an employer, you don’t simply acknowledge the illness and never follow up. Whilst traditional ‘back to work’ meetings are useful from a record-keeping perspective, it’s important to keep the ‘people’ aspect at the forefront. If an employee is receiving treatment for their illness, work with your HR team to check in on this colleague without being intrusive, ensuring they have the adequate mental and physical support they need.?

If an employee remains on sick leave for the foreseeable and you have to communicate this to wider team members, ensure they also receive the support they need. Often a colleague isn’t just that — they can be a friend as well, and your fellow staff members may struggle to know they are suffering with ill health. Work with your HR colleagues to ensure you have support arrangements in place — from workplace counselling, to wellness sessions, to personable 1:1s. Support is key for both the ill employee and their colleagues — make sure you as the employer, put the best foot forward and approach employee sickness with care, dignity and respect.?

David Bell is CEO at The HR Department