Sick Leaves
Calling in sick is an easy way to take the day off. No matter what the work pressure, or the urgency of the situation, no boss worth his salt would want you to come to work when you are physically not able, if you have some injuries, if someone in your family is seriously ill and needs attention or if you have been affected by some contagious disease.
Sick leaves are a privilege, which if abused can backfire on your career. If you reason is genuine and you have certificates or bills to back up your claims, you need not worry. If you are using this sick leave as an excuse to take a day off, it is best not to over-do it, and even when you do it, try to stick to the truth as far as possible. Stretching the truth and white lies are two different things.
DO's
1. Do call in sick! Inform your direct supervisor well in advance that you will not be coming in. If your direct supervisor is not reachable by phone, call up the office and notify whoever is in charge. It could be the shift leader, HR Manager of anyone responsible. In such a scenario, make sure you also call up your supervisor later.
2. Do call in yourselves. Never leave it to your spouse or mother to call in sick for you.
3. Do state the reason for your sickness, but unless the reason is genuine, it is a good idea not to be too specific over the phone.
4. Do apologize for the inconvenience caused. If required, and if you do not have any sick leave balances to your credit, offer to make up for the lost time.
5. Do inform your supervisor of any critical work that needs attention, any deadlines, or any appointments you have scheduled that would either need to be changed or done by someone else.
6. Do leave your contact number for people in office to reach you when you are away sick
7. If you take extended medical leave, or call in sick citing hospitalization or accidents, do claim insurance
8. Do take the trouble to gain understanding of the illness that you claim. For instance if you claim headache, you should be able to answer the symptoms, possible cures and medications taken to cure headaches.
9. If the company requires medical certificates, do provide the same within the stipulated period
10. Do take care to ensure you keep track of the follow-up requirements. For instance, if you claim the doctor has asked you to come for a follow-up check up after two weeks, make sure your boss knows you have gone for that check-up.
DON'T's
1. Do not call in sick and give a reason that you cannot substantiate later either by medical certificates, medical bills or corresponding evidences
2. Do not contradict yourself. For instance, you cannot have a hamstring injury every two week, periods twice a month, or you cannot have three grandmothers.
3. Avoid suspicious types of sick leaves, that is calling in sick most Mondays or Fridays, frequent headaches and the likes
4. Do not over do calling in sick for reasons like headache, back pain and other reasons that people generally fake. Taking too many reasons for such types of leaves will put you in the watch-list for possible leave fraud
5. Do not give accidents as a false excuse. There are many ways like checking up with the hospital or police, checking insurance records and seeing in you spot bandage on your injuries to check whether the reason is genuine
6. Do not call in sick for more than your quota of sick leaves allowed for the year
7. Do not forge medical certificates. Companies do cross checking and if you caught, it could lead to your termination.
8. Do not claim to have a contagious disease like conjunctivitis or chicken pox and then turn up to work before the recommended quarantine period is over
9. Do not call in sick if people in your company knows you have been out partying all night the previous night, or you have been away on a vacation
10. Do not call in sick when you are genuinely not sick, especially if your lie has been caught previously.
Finally, never underestimate your boss. No matter how incompetent you think he is, you are reporting to him because he knows something you do not or he is smarter than you are. You might get away with excuses one or two times, but very soon, the boss will easily realize if you are making up excuses.
Sick leaves cost businesses a lot of money, and for this reason most companies view sick leave abuses very seriously, and taking too many sick leaves can put your job at risk. Even if your reasons are genuine, your superiors and colleagues would consider you as undependable or not committed to your job. This could be a reason to terminate you ahead of others when it comes to layoffs.
