About to be laid off - good plan?

grizzly

My flatmate got wind from a friend in HR that he is going to be let go this week. His plan is to call in sick for as long as possible (he had a bad back in the past that he taken time off for). He's thinking in can do this for the next month or so, being large company.

cronos

Remember references are important! But it might work if you get a legit cert I suppose.

grizzly

He already got a cert when he first got the pain, just never used it. Can he get a bad reference for for being out sick?

bbam

grizzly wrote: »

He already got a cert when he first got the pain, just never used it. Can he get a bad reference for for being out sick?

The first cert has expired as it will have been form X date for X period of time..
Yes he can get a bad reference for being out sick..
He could just grow up and face the music !!

qwytre

You can be made redundant while out sick anyways, so his plan won't work.

paddydriver

grizzly wrote: »

He already got a cert when he first got the pain, just never used it. Can he get a bad reference for for being out sick?

First thing I ask when calling references is what their attendance is like... It's not that its specifically a bad reference but if you are looking at two potential recruits and one is out sick with a bad back and other it not - then which one do you go for? Its not good to have reference to a bad back on your record; will ring a lot of alarm bells for employers.

shoegirl

No huge benefit in calling in sick. Unless he has to transition to replacements (i.e. if the job was going offshore) he shouldn't be too busy and they have to allow him time for interviews etc, if he is lucky enough to find any. They can still lay him off, even if he is off sick, so it won't evade the redundundancy, it will just delay notifiying him, there is no obligation on employers to tell you face to face.

Lux23

paddydriver wrote: »

First thing I ask when calling references is what their attendance is like... It's not that its specifically a bad reference but if you are looking at two potential recruits and one is out sick with a bad back and other it not - then which one do you go for? Its not good to have reference to a bad back on your record; will ring a lot of alarm bells for employers.

A big company with any sense won't give you this information, the only thing you can do is ask the person and hope you get the truth.

bbam

In the past I've said "Attendance was below average for their peers". Would be unprofessional to go into any details.. Would also be unprofessional to say nothing..

Lux23

bbam wrote: »

In the past I've said "Attendance was below average for their peers". Would be unprofessional to go into any details.. Would also be unprofessional to say nothing..

I had a workshop with a outplacement resource company yesterday and they said most companies will only say how long the person was with the company and their job title. What is the average amount of sick days for a person of say 25-30?

bbam

It really depends on the persons peers... I would keep a live register of absence (certified & uncertified) and a rolling average from this. On a number of occasions I have used this in a reference..
I've had employees go 6 straight years with none and then there were the other end of the scale !!

Eoin

That's the official line from companies, but in a lot of cases the direct manager might give some more information.

Lux23 wrote:

What is the average amount of sick days for a person of say 25-30?

I don't know if they break it down by age. I think the overall average is about 6 days in the private sector - that's a lot more than I would take though. The average seems to vary depending on the size of the firm (smaller firm = less sick days). That could be because larger firms are more likely to pay sick leave. Public sector sick leave is an awful lot more again, especially for women.

Lux23

So I have 8 for 2 years and 3 months so I am slightly lesser than normal. That's good. 5 of those would be certified too.

Eoin

Those averages seemed quite high to me - I'd rarely take more than 2/3 days days max a year. Then again, I don't drink on weekdays!

Lux23

eoin wrote: »

Those averages seemed quite high to me - I'd rarely take more than 2/3 days days max a year. Then again, I don't drink on weekdays!

You don't have a uterus either do you? Men tend to come to work dying with head colds and give it to everyone else. If I am hungover and I know I have nothing pressing on my desk I will ring and take a holiday.

Eoin

Nope, sold it on eBay.

_Kaiser_

My experience with references (having worked for multinationals in the past), is that they don't give any!

I went from Multinational A to Multinational B, and was asked for references by the agency that was doing the recruiting. I told her that I had been advised that I could get a "personal reference" but the official one would only list the time I'd worked for them.. she hummed and hawwed a bit, until she remembered that Multinational B had exactly the same policy!

wmpdd3

Less than 3 % of working week (sorry meant to say year) is the usual thresh hold for an absenteeism problem.

So for a full time person working 39 hrs per week that would be: 6 days per year. Certified or not certified, not a consideration.

InReality

wmpdd3 wrote: »

Less than 3 % of working week is the usual thresh hold for an absenteeism problem.

So for a full time person working 39 hrs per week that would be: 6 days per year. Certified or not certified, not a consideration.

according to ?

bbam

wmpdd3 wrote: »

Less than 3 % of working week is the usual thresh hold for an absenteeism problem.

So for a full time person working 39 hrs per week that would be: 6 days per year. Certified or not certified, not a consideration.

I'd usually be pulling out the paperwork for 6 days a year...

flower tattoo

so my 2 days in 4 years is pretty good and that was for a broken arm!! :rolleyes:

wmpdd3

InReality wrote: »

according to ?

Mandate have accepted this level as the thresh hold for absenteeism management to kick in in a few business I have worked in.

Not a law or anything just an agreement.