How to Decide on a Vacation/Sick Day Policy For Your Company
Have you ever wondered how to create the best benefits policy for your team? How many vacation days? Sick days? What about other added benefits? Look no further because we have all of your answers within this article.
Today, we’ll share how to decide on vacation days as well as sick days for your team. Let’s learn how to prepare the perfect sick day/time off policy.
2 Best Practices of a Time off Policy
There are two best practices when it comes to a time off policy.
- Communicate the policy
When you create your time off/sick day policy, it’s crucial that you discuss the full policy with your team. Whether they’ve been on the team for 6 years or are a new hire, it’s very important that every single person on the team understands the policy. If your policy isn’t clearly laid out and communicated with the team, you are going to set yourself up for failure.
- Have respect for your team
Working is only one part of your team’s lives. It’s important to remember this and have respect for them when they come to you with requests or questions about your policy. Deciding whether to approve or decline a request takes a certain amount of intentional thought. If you have to decline a request, be sure to communicate with the employee why it had to be declined. You can also have a discussion with them on what is possible instead.
Questions to Ask When Deciding Your Policy
When deciding on what your policy should include, here are some questions you should consider:
- How far in advance do you want time off requests?
- Are there times when employees cannot request time off?
- How are time off requests submitted? Is there a form?
- How do you handle overlapping requests from several employees?
- How do you keep track of who has time off and when?
What About Sick Days?
Other than time off requests, you will most likely be dealing with sick days the most. So, because of that, it’s important to decide how your company handles these days.
Deciding on the perfect sick day policy can be tricky for a company. You don’t want employees bringing sickness to the office, but you also don’t want them taking advantage of these days either.
Depending on your company culture, you could offer unlimited sick leave, you could have a certain amount available (paid or unpaid) or even allow employees to work remotely if they’re too sick to come into the office but still want to work.
How Many Sick Days are Allowed?
The Employment Standards Act provides employees with sick leave each year that is job protected, whether paid or not. Every province is different, so be sure to check the government website for further details on this.
How are Sick Days Requested?
Just as someone would request time off, sick days need to go through the system as well. Take some time to consider how employees ask for sick days? Is there a form they need to fill out? Do they have to ask for it off by a certain time in the morning? Each company is different and requires different rules and regulations surrounding these parts of policies.
We’re here to help.
Creating the perfect sick day and time off policy is a lot of work. It can be hard to determine what is right for your company and that’s where we come in! At Navy & Sage Benefits, we’re here to help you create the perfect policy that works with your company and needs of employees.
Reach out to us today to get started with our help and expertise.
