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Inform management about illness?

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  • 07-02-2011 6:56pm
    #1
    LegacyUser
    Registered Users Posts: 166,026 ✭✭✭✭


    Hi all,

    slight moral dilemma, need some feedback.
    A colleague is suffering from an illness, impairing his work to a certain extend. He has kept this from management/the company, and muddles through, making the targets with considerable effort, but hiding the illness/extra effort put in from the company, making it seem he manages as well as everyone else.

    Management stumbled across this, and obviously has a problem with this person working their back off (labour laws, for one). Now they want to find out what the problem is, and think that it is just inefficiency. I am involved in some meetings about this person, since I will have to provide extra training etc. However, I know that most of the problems are caused by the illness, and are not laziness or unwillingness to work. The reason why the colleagues has kept the illness from management is mainly stigma and the fear that they might be fired. However, from what I can gather, is that the company really wants to help the employee (if they wanted to, they could have fired that person a long time ago, no need for an other reason that not meeting the targets).

    What do I do?

    Breach the trust and tell management about the issue, and force them to rethink, and help the employee in a different, more suitable way?

    Say nothing, put up with the extra work for me, knowing that extra training will not help in this case, since it's a different issue that needs to be addressed?

    Coax the employee in telling management about the issue?

    Any other alternative?

    I really don't know what to do, and would hate to see a lot of work wasted (on management's part), and an even more stressed/frustrated colleague (feeling guilty cause the company is not getting at the real issue at all).


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    #2
    Eoin
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators Posts: 21,238 CMod ✭✭✭✭Eoin


    Off the top of my head, this is the one I would go with. I would be extremely reluctant to tell management without the express permission of your colleague.
    Coax the employee in telling management about the issue?

    What's your HR department like? HR get a lot of stick in this forum, but sometimes they really are helpful people.


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    #3
    smcgiff
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,943 ✭✭✭smcgiff


    Is this person meeting their targets only because of your help?

    In that case they need to consider your wishes.

    However, unless ye work in a health environment and perhaps if the illness is easily contagious (I'm assuming this is not the case) then, I would have thought, the employee cannot be fired because of their illness.


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    #4
    LegacyUser
    Registered Users Posts: 166,026 ✭✭✭✭LegacyUser


    yeah, that's part of the dilemma.


    HR? Useless, I hate to say it. The most indiscrete bunch around, might as well put up a poster at the entrance...Unfortunately not an option.

    Tempted to drop little hints, such as 'was reading this really interesting article the other day', that kinda way, and have management figure it out by themselves - but that could take years...;-(


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    #5
    looksee
    Registered Users Posts: 28,135 ✭✭✭✭looksee


    How do you know about the illness? Did your colleague confide in you? I don't think you should break a confidence, but you should explain your concerns to the person concerned, unless he thinks you do not know. Even then, an 'innocent' conversation might help him bring it into the open.

    I can see your dilemma, but I think it is your colleague's right to clarify matters. It also depends on how much confidentiality you owe to management. Does the colleage know about these discussions? You are in a difficult situation but it all depends on who knows what, and how much you are supposed to know. Tread carefully.


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    #6
    LegacyUser
    Registered Users Posts: 166,026 ✭✭✭✭LegacyUser


    smcgiff wrote: »
    Is this person meeting their targets only because of your help?

    In that case they need to consider your wishes.

    However, unless ye work in a health environment and perhaps if the illness is easily contagious (I'm assuming this is not the case) then, I would have thought, the employee cannot be fired because of their illness.

    No, the person is meeting their targets by working pretty much 7 days a week.

    Management obviously can't have that for health and safety reasons and labour laws, and now want to find a way to make this person more efficient, thinking this is purely a process issue - this is where I come in...so together with management, we would have to have lots of meetings, sessions, etc etc - for something that cannot (in my opinion) be fixed with just training since it is not a 'trainable' problem.

    It's not a contagious illness, and this has been going on for the best part of 4 years (and only been found out now).


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    #7
    twowheelsonly
    Registered Users Posts: 2,268 ✭✭✭twowheelsonly


    Coax the employee in telling management about the issue?


    I'd also go with this.

    Chances are that if you've noticed then so have they. Once his work ethic is good and he's getting the job done, albeit with great difficulty, then they won't/shouldn't have a problem. They'll probably want to know why he didn't declare it at the outset - his reply will more than likely be that they wouldn't have given him the job if they had known. Now however, it appears that he has shown himself to be a hardworking and concientious employee and they will work with him in that case.

    Most likely he's too embarrassed/shy to say anything. Ask him if he'd like you to either tell management on his behalf or accompany him while they tell him. Don't make a huge issue of it and tell him that you're quite comfortable with it and that you're sure thay will be too.

    Good Luck!!


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    #8
    LegacyUser
    Registered Users Posts: 166,026 ✭✭✭✭LegacyUser


    looksee wrote: »
    How do you know about the illness? Did your colleague confide in you? I don't think you should break a confidence, but you should explain your concerns to the person concerned, unless he thinks you do not know. Even then, an 'innocent' conversation might help him bring it into the open.

    I can see your dilemma, but I think it is your colleague's right to clarify matters. It also depends on how much confidentiality you owe to management. Does the colleage know about these discussions? You are in a difficult situation but it all depends on who knows what, and how much you are supposed to know. Tread carefully.

    He has confided in me. Not sure the colleague knows about all the background work that's going into this "rescue plan", and will probably see this as a lot of unecessary hassle as well. I will have a chat to him, I think, and see if I can get him to explain to management. Although that would mean betraying management confidentiality....

    I can't win, can I? Play along, even if it means a lot of wasted effort....;-(


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    #9
    Eoin
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators Posts: 21,238 CMod ✭✭✭✭Eoin


    smcgiff wrote: »
    However, unless ye work in a health environment and perhaps if the illness is easily contagious (I'm assuming this is not the case) then, I would have thought, the employee cannot be fired because of their illness.

    It is possible to be fired for continuous absence, of it a long term illness prevents you from doing your job on an ongoing basis.

    @totellornottotell - one way or the other, I don't think you can let things continue the way they are. Your colleague is going to burn out if he's working so many extra hours to make up for it. Is there any way you can intimate to him that he's putting you in an awkward position?

    Dropping hints to management is really just the same as telling them, but trying to feel less guilty about it.


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    #10
    LegacyUser
    Registered Users Posts: 166,026 ✭✭✭✭LegacyUser


    thanks guys for all your input.

    I'll have a chat to him, and see if we can get it resolved from his side rather than from management's side. A little afraid that management will see the illness as a cop-out though (why didnt he say it from the beginning?...), but at least it may be a weight of his shoulders, and we can stop wasting our time with random ideas and rather have a targetted approach to dealing with this issue...

    Let's see what happens...


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    #11
    hmmm
    Registered Users Posts: 11,205 ✭✭✭✭hmmm


    I think it's not your place to inform management of any illness the employee is having. If their inadequate work is affecting your work, you should complain without mentioning their illness. It's up to the other employee to decide if they want to inform management, if they want to work themselves into the ground or if they want to take the chance of being let go.


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