What's up doc?

A recent statement by an employer regarding payment for the first three days of sick leave raised quite a stir in the media. The General Workers' Union was quick to raise the alarm on Worker's Day about a government-employer conspiracy to erode workers' rights and entitlements. The union appears to have come to the conclusion that just because the employer in question expressed an opinion, as is his right, he was speaking on behalf of all employers.

The Malta Employers' Association has never expressed itself in favour of not paying employees for the first three days of sick leave, nor has it ever made any representation to this effect. There are many reasons why the association does not favour this measure.

First of all, employees who are genuinely ill should not be penalised with non-payment up to the point that they do not exceed their sick leave entitlement as established in their contract of employment, collective agreement or, where applicable, the relevant wage regulation order.

There should be a clear distinction between honest workers and abusers. At the same time, every effort should be made to curb abuse and cases of proven abuse should be subject to severe disciplinary action, because this is, after all, a form of theft.

In this respect, employers expect cooperation from the unions and, in particular, from the medical profession. Doctors should practise ethical professionalism in their duties. It irks employers when it is obvious that doctors issue medical certificates in cases where this is not justified. Many companies incur costs in engaging their own medical consultant to establish whether people are genuinely sick or not. The excessive number of people having been boarded out is proof that certification for sick leave, and indeed for exit from the labour force, is too freely available in Malta.

Ultimately, sick leave has to be managed. Quite often sick leave is subject to the 80/20 rule, meaning that 80 per cent of the sick leave is taken by 20 per cent of employees. There are many methods how abuse can be controlled and minimised. Interviewing people on their return to work, making use of a company doctor, identifying patterns of sick leave abuse (for example the hunting season syndrome), incentives to take less sick leave, performance-related pay and disciplinary action in cases of abuse are among the tools and measures available that may contribute to a lower incidence of sick leave.

The worst case is when sick leave abuse is part of a company or departmental culture and is an ingrained mentality among employees that sick leave is simply an extension of vacation leave entitlement. This normally occurs when there is weak management or where management is not empowered to take the necessary action although it is aware that abuse takes place regularly.

The hypothesis that not paying for the first three days of sick leave will result in higher productivity should be treated with caution. It can demotivate high performers if they are genuinely sick and have their pay forfeited. Companies would have to ensure that such a measure will be applied to all employees without exception, including executives who may be putting in 60-hour weeks.

Another consideration is that this might lead to instances where employees turn up for work even though they are sick in order not to have their pay reduced. This might present health and safety hazards. For example, operators in the catering and food processing sectors are well aware of the dangers of food contamination if employees are sick and handling food.

Managers at times send employees who turn up for work home if they consider them to be unwell. Should employees have their pay deducted even in such circumstances?

There are definitely other, more sensible, ways in which competitiveness can be improved. The MEA has been making recommendations to this effect for years. For example, with respect to sick leave and injury leave, the MEA has always contended that a person should not be entitled to vacation leave for long periods of absence when the employee is on sick or injury leave. There should not be vacation leave entitlement for periods that have not been worked.

Competitiveness can also be improved through other measures not related to the topic in question.

Malta definitely needs to introduce reforms to become more competitive in an increasingly globalised environment. It is understandable for individual employers to express their opinions and make constructive recommendations on how to bring this about.

In such cases, unions would, however, be mistaken to assume that such opinions necessarily reflect the ideas of the institutions representing employers.

Mr Farrugia is director general of the Malta Employers' Association.

mea@maltanet.net