Charging time of emp who got sick on vacation

Caroliso

We award staff sick, personal and vacation time. An employee put in for 3 days of vacation around her birthday, part of which was going to be spent out of town, and it was approved. She was in a car accident two days before her vacation and suffered aches and pains sufficient for her doctor to instruct her to stay out of work for 7 calendar days. She stayed home the time she had planned to stay home while on vacation and did in fact go away as planned. She now wishes to switch the days she had requested as vacation time off to sick time off. Our policy is that once vacation is requested, regardless of what happens, that is what gets charged, in part to discourage abuse. However I'm persuaded that the doctor''s note is acceptable to reverse vacation time for the days she stayed home, ( and I want to make this policy clarification for future cases) but not for the days she went away on vacation.

Given these circumstances, would you allow her to charge all to sick, part to sick and part to vacation, or all to vacation? I know the way to avoid this in future is to create a bank of paid time off for combined use, but in the meantime I need to know how to address the current problem.

Thanks.

Roberta

It seems to me that you should want to keep your policy intact-once vacation always vacation. From what you have said, I would allow the first two days as "sick" and leave the requested vacation as vacation. She would not have been at work during her requested time off anyway. What she was doing on that time is irrelevant. However, just be sure if you do change from vacation to sick time that your company will be willing to do so for every other similar excuse.

Carol CA

This is a tough one. If someone gets "sick" while they are on vacation, we usually say too bad they didn't have a great vacation and make them still code it to the pre-approved vacation. In this incident the person was in the auto accident BEOFRE the approved vacation started. Unlike the flu, you don't fake a car accident, and she did have the doctor's note saying she couldn't work. I would have a tendency to be a little more lenient and at least charge the time she was home to sick if not the full time off.

Caroliso

Thanks, Roberta and Carol, for your responses. What you each suggested is what I in fact did -- accepted the doctor's note for the first two days out and changed vacation to sick; kept the rest as vacation.

It's good to know that we aren't being complete hard cases by saying "what you request is what you get". However, what do you think of a policy that says if you have a doctor's note we will switch from vacation to sick? Is that opening up a can of worms, or making the policy ineffective? I imagine doctors' notes can be solicited by in unwarranted cases but I like to think that would be the exception rather than the rule. And it keeps me from having to make decisions about what is or isn't like a car accident in terms of severity.

Carol CA

I don't think I would announce that if you get a doctor's note we will change your vacation to sick. I would keep it more on a case by case basis. If someone is really sick or in an accident, then you can change it if they have the doctor's. If someone just wasn't feeling well, then it's still sick. You are right - it isn't too hard to get a doctor's note if you really want to.

Carol CA

Oops - should have previewed that last message. I meant to say if they weren't feeling well it would still be vacation.

Rockie

This is the beauty of a Paid Time Off plan vs. a sick leave/vacation leave plan. No matter why you are off, it is charged.

But...to answer your question, in this instance I feel it's appropriate to charge (at least a portion) to sick leave. A car accident/injury would certainly merit sick vs. vacation time. Very few policies are all black and white and this seems to fall into a "grey" area.

Caroliso

Thanks, everybody. This was very helpful.

Carol