The Fair Work Commission has delivered an important decision on the rights of employers faced with uninformative medical certificates covering sick leave.
More than half of the population will experience a mental illness at some stage in their lives, and most will choose to conceal it, so employers need to beware of performance-managing workers who are unwell, says Swinburne University of Technology's Doctor Mirella Romanella.
A health initiative that won over workers with the slogan, "How to lose weight and drink beer", and brought management on board with stats that created "a sense of urgency", has helped a blue-collar workforce to reduce its absenteeism, presenteeism, and injury rates.
Confusion about how long an organisation should retain a sick or injured employee who's unable to work could be stopping many employers from lawfully terminating absent staff, according to lawyers from Hicksons' workplace relations group.
HR professionals should "spread the net far and wide" in building a case for absence management, identifying where risks lie and what their costs are before putting forward a plan, according to HR expert and author, Graham Smith.
HR professionals who encounter suspicious medical certificates are entitled to question them, but "you should be very sure of your facts before putting allegations to employees", according to Workplace Law managing director Athena Koelmeyer.
What are your options when an employee is sick after exhausting all leave entitlements? Have you ever been given a medical certificate that seems less than legit? Watch this webcast to understand how to manage personal leave in a legally sound way.
A recent court case sends a timely reminder that whenever HR professionals communicate something negative about an employee to anyone other than that person, they should beware of defamation risks, says Lander and Rogers partner Neil Napper.
A call centre employer has reduced its staff turnover and absenteeism by more than 30 per cent in just six months - and doubled its engagement score - following a major culture overhaul driven primarily by employees.
It is acceptable for an employer to require a medical certificate to cover certain absences and not others, but not to place an "arbitrary" limit on the number of times it will accept an alternative, according to the Fair Work Commission.
Some employers have successfully stepped up to the task of managing psychosocial safety, but in many other workplaces, initiatives are falling flat. Join us for an HR Daily webinar to understand what's holding back progress in this critical space and how to move forward.
