The upcoming sick leave entitlement increase from 5 days to 10days has irked some employers, and some have embraced it, and some are increasing their current entitlements from 10 to 15 days. Some think that these changes are making it hard to run a business or to employ people.
This change reflects the changes that are happening to our working conditions and environment and how rapidly this space is changing. I may have written in a previous blog that this decade will see some significant changes to the way we work, and changes to legislation such as the upcoming sick leave entitlement are fast becoming our normal. We need to adjust and pivot to embrace these changes.
As a business owner myself, it hasn’t worried me because we have a positive culture around health and well-being and how we manage our time off from work. For us, if your sick, then you stay home and get better. At times some of our team may have a cold and don’t want to spread it around the office, so they work from home and remain productive. Our culture is about being transparent and having adult conversations and being flexible.
I’ve worked in organisations where sick leave was an issue. When we drilled down, there were other factors at play such as stress and anxiety, a child or parent sick. I feel a lot of employers today are a lot more understanding. However, it is still important to manage areas like sick leave so that they aren’t taken advantage and I understand this concern from employers. If you take care of your people and your culture and have an engaging workforce and a culture built on trust, these increases shouldn’t be something to lose focus on making your workplace and business a success.
If you want some advice on managing this change to legislation, please contact me or one of our HR Consultants.