Questioning the Contagious Illness Policy in an Employee Handbook?
21 April 2023
There's a reason we write our Employee Handbooks a certain way...
Received the funniest email from a client. They had sent Paychex a copy of the Employee Handbook draft we created for them. First, Paychex asked if there was a reason why they would not want to use the handbook provided by Paychex, then they offered this as their first guidance:
"You do not want language that prohibits employees from coming into work, while keeping safety a priority. You may want to change the language or remove the policy altogether. "
Here is the policy they took issue with, directly from the handbook we created:
"Contagious Illnesses - XXX shares concerns with many of its employees to reduce the chance of transmission of serious illnesses within our company. Because of this, we request that employees do not report to work if they are experiencing any extreme symptoms of illness. Although we request that employees “self-regulate” these symptoms, management may require employees stay home when experiencing symptoms.
Extreme symptoms include, but are not limited to:
• Fever over 100°F
• Vomiting or diarrhea
• Severe sore throat
• Severe headache or body aches not related to overexertion or injury
Please note: if an employee is experiencing the above extreme symptoms and those extreme symptoms are the result of a medical condition that is not contagious (e.g., pregnancy or chronic condition), the employee is not required to stay home.
Management reserves the right to require employees to provide doctor’s certification for an employee’s fitness to resume full job duties after extended or regular absences. Furthermore, abuse of this policy will be considered a violation and may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment."
THIS is exactly why we replace 99% of handbooks our clients bring to us after signing up. Not only was Paychex advice quantifiably bad for the office cubicle type of companies they normally support, but to say you shouldn't encourage sick employees to stay home when your teams are entering customer homes is absolutely ridiculous! Especially in this post-COVID world, your company will not survive if customers fear for their health when they do business with you. While it may cause a temporary inconvenience, sick employees can and should stay home.
End of rant... You decide. If you have an Employee Handbook produced by Paychex, ADP, or any other "wizard," it is worth your time to give me a call to discuss better solutions.
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