Sick leave: no targets, still a bonus?
Companies that work with a rewarding system will sooner or later run into a leave related problem. Suppose that an employee was sick for a couple of weeks, which has caused the employee to miss their targets. Does this mean you don’t have to award a bonus?
What type of bonus are we talking about?
An individual bonus, which is granted based on results, will come to expire. After all, the targets have not been achieved. But the question becomes more complicated when you’re working with other types of bonuses. In the case of a team bonus, in which the team collectively did reach the target that was set, it is not possible to exclude the employee in question. Moreover, some bonuses have become so standard that they seem like an inherent part of the salary. These bonuses cannot be withheld from the sick employee either. Finally, bonuses for which there are no specific targets should, in most cases, also be awarded to the employee who has been sick.
It all starts with good registration
Bonuses and sick leave are part of a grey area which often leaves room for interpretation. If you wish to avoid discussions and misunderstandings about the distribution of bonuses, you should establish clear regulations. The arrangements needed to come to a conclusion with your employees should be recorded. Registration is an essential step.
Do realize that making these arrangements can prove to be difficult. How can you register illnesses and at what percent do you draw the line? You could establish that an employee who has been sick for 50% of the month, will not receive a bonus. In that case, you would need to have a clear overview of the exact sick report and duration of the sick leave of every employee. With such an overview, HR managers, mangers as well as employees can immediately understand the situation, which makes constructive conversations about this topic much easier. Make sure you have a good leave registration system, in which you can easily register leave and note down your arrangements!
Would you like to know more about the cloud-based leave registration system of Leavedays.com? Feel free to contact us!
