Leave Administration Best Practices

If not managed effectively, an employee’s absence from work – regardless of how short and temporary it may be – can strain resources and morale. Whenever an employee plans to or unexpectedly needs to take time off, these leave administration best practices will help guide you through one of the most complex aspects of employee management.

Top Five Tips

1. Engage in an ongoing dialogue with the employee to demonstrate your “good faith efforts” to institute a leave program that works for both the employee and the business. Note that the appropriate duration of a leave depends on a variety of factors, including the complexity of the employee’s condition and how it may change.
2. Provide a list of the employee’s essential job functions or, at least, a job description, to help the physician write a more accurate “doctor’s note” towards identifying possible work restrictions.
3. Determine whether or not your company may provide for any reasonable accommodations (including those the employee may suggest) without undue hardship to the company.
4. Place any medical-related information in a folder separate from the employee’s HR records.
5. Continue to hold the employee accountable for his or her expected work performance.

Checklist

• Identify which types of voluntary leaves (e.g. vacation) and involuntary leaves(e.g. jury duty) of absence your business may need or want to establish.
• Determine if an employee may continue to receive full pay, or partial / differential pay, during the leave. If the employee’s pay will change, define the duration of the change in pay status.
• Establish the total duration period of each leave of absence.
• Decide on whether or not an employee may be eligible for continued benefits coverage while on leave.
• Define whether or not paid time-off accruals continue during the leave.
• Review the Employee Handbook for alignment with any relevant policies (e.g. workers’ compensation).
• Implement a leave of absence tracking tool to monitor an employee’s use of his/her approved or unapproved time-off.
• Obtain verifiable and approved documentation to support each employee’s approved leave of absence.

For more information, contact the HR Professionals at GTM Payroll Services at (518) 373-4111.