have you had to sack someone ...

Li Li Wee

I create my imagination
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Life is crazy over here at my new work place.. I am about to have a heart attack.. One of my staff have been going mia from work and has been complaining he has migraine the whole week last week!! (coz the year end holiday) . Today he came in to work and said he feels he is having chest pain and 10minutes later he is no where to be found.. left me a note saying he is on medical leave :hissy:tantrum I am so close to sacking this guy .. but I feel guilty as he has 3 kids to feed and he is only 24 years old.. aarrrghh!!! what the heck do I do now?

I so just wanna fly back home now ...and not handle stuff like this.. how would you handle such situation?
 
Oh boy... Have you been able to corner him yet to discuss it? I guess that would be my first move and try to impress on him the seriousness of the situation. Maybe you could put him on "probation" or notice or whatever so that puts the pressure on him to shape up before gettin the boot lol!!
 
I can't even get hold of him since last week.. you are right!! I thought of speaking to him first.. oh!! and he has been using company's petty cash and not returning it the next day!!
 
I hate to get all lawyerly (but I can't help it, aarrgh!), but you don't want to run afoul of the ADA. I don't know anything about your business, how many employees etc., but if this guys really sick (although it doesn't sound that way . . .), you don't want to jam yourself up. Firing someone is always about CYA. I would ask this guy for medical documentation of his supposed illnesses.
 
Do you have an HR department you can work with before confronting him? I would also ask for documentation from his physician for every time he is out "sick". Sorry you're dealing with that. What a frustrating mess. :-(
 
I have been hired to clean up the mess in this organization .. It's in a mess because there isn't HR department!! :(
I am the sales manager! Customer service manager! Operations manager. I seem to be everything and I'm learning a bit about HR NOW
 
That stinks! I guess I'd ask him for a doctor's note when he comes back. If he was having chest pain and left, he would have certainly went to the doctor. I think you definitely need to talk to him first, but it sounds like he is taking advantage...especially with the petty cash thing too.
 
Hey Lili I would definitely sit down with him first (even if you have to send an official letter to his home to arrange a meeting) and try to address the situation. At the meeting you should tell him that his absenteeism is a concern and that this is his first official warning ... get it all in writing and then if he continues to be absent then you can sack his a** ;)

Done this before and its not fun but sometimes its got to be done ..... good luck xx
 
It's tough because you feel bad if you fire someone who has babies to feed. BUT he knows he has babies to feed. If he is playing games with his job, then he has noone to blame but himself. :(
I can't even get hold of him since last week.. you are right!! I thought of speaking to him first.. oh!! and he has been using company's petty cash and not returning it the next day!!
 
Oh wow. :-( If it is legitimate and he's in the hospital or something with the chest pains, someone should have called you to let you know. Then again, I guess he may have "quit" and forgot to tell anybody :P
 
Make sure you do a little research about termination rules in the "state/country" to make sure there are no rules you have to follow about probation or written notes in his file first. This is where having an HR dept would help you. You'll just have to learn on your own.
 
i agree with sarah. i would look into what the policies are for sick absenses... and if you are able to require medical documentation, i would do so. if he is within his 'rights' based on the company's policies, there's probably not much you can do about it from this angle... but i would still keep an eye on his quality of work and so forth when he actually IS at work. unfortunately, this is just part of business, dealing with people who have learned how to work the system...frustrating!!
 
My best advice is document, document, document. Make a file where you are noting his absences. Send him an email or letter about the issue and keep it in the file too. You need to make sure you have a solid case if you do need to take action.
 
can you take the petty cash out of his check? That would get him to talk to you, I bet. :whistle
This situation totally stinks. Like others have said, just make sure that however you handle it, you handle it legally. A doctor's note for EACH of the incidents he's mentioned would be a great first step toward documenting what's going on. And if he doesn't have a doctor's note, then maybe have HIM write down "I had XYZ but I did not seek medical attention, so there is no proof of my illness" (have him write it out so that later--like after he's fired--he can't lie and say he didn't know what was going on).
(And perhaps it's time to lock up the petty cash so that only you have access and people have to sign out the cash. Just sayin'.) :)
 
I don't have any new advice....I think everyone has been right on target with suggesting you talk to him first and document, document, document....but I'm really curious if he's shown up yet and how it went if you talked to him. That's a crazy situation!
 
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