Management body criticises Tesco’s sick tactics

The
Chartered Management Institute (CMI) has criticised Tesco’s decision to cancel
employee sick pay for the first three days of absence.

The
supermarket chain announced the pilot scheme as an attempt to reduce absence
rates.

The
CMI said the move could result in low workforce morale and high turnover rates
if it led to genuinely sick employees believing they were being penalised
unfairly.

“Organisations
would do well to ensure that genuinely ill staff are not penalised and sick
people are not encouraged to work when they are not fully fit,” says Christine
Hayhurst, director of professional affairs at the CMI.

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HR
consultancy Ceridian Centrefile welcomed Tesco’s move to tackle its absenteeism
problem, but warned the company to be cautious. Ceridian managing director
Penny de Valk said employers should create an environment that encourages
people to be at work, by providing flexible working and dependant care support
and by managing stress levels.

By
Roisin Woolnough