Employee Broke Her Arm, What Can The Boss Do?

[Zen]

My employee who has just joined my company in November 2011 had broken something in her right arm at the beginning of march 2012. (its not a bone fracture though..i think its something to do with the nerve)

Now she cannot do work coz its her right arm and she's right handed, and the whole arm is swollen and numb.

Her medical certificate states she should not work for 10 days but its more than 14 days already she still can't work. She came to show us her medical certificate, x rays and MRI film and from what i see she really is in a bad shape and cannot work. Her arm is still strapped up in a sling and she cannot write well.

She has been quite a good worker since she joined us in Nov 2011, so in Feb i gave her quite big rise in salary.

Now she wanted to come back and start work so i said if she is feeling OK she can start and i will shorten her work hours and working days. But if she starts work, she still has to go to hospital for treatment/therapy few times a week.

If this happen to your staff,

1) would u do the same as me, or just tell her to continue resting at home until she recovers?

2) would you deduct her salary since her medical certificate says to rest for 10 days but she has rested for more than 14 days? Moreover she only worked with us for 4 months and since the law states medical leave of 30 days per year, technically she has only about 7.5 days medical leave?

3) actually i intend to pay her full salary coz i understand she is really unwell, but will this be seen as "unfair" by other employees? Or maybe in future other employees will take advantage?

Any opinions?

[4evermaat]

Have you actually visited/seen the employee's injury? if the injury is legit, and she was as good as you say and there were funds lying around, maybe an extra 1-2 weeks of salary while she was away. Dont make any promises, but if she RETURNS to work fully, you can consider paying her an amount similar to backpay as a sign of appreciation.

It's really a personal call here.

The answers here will be interesting.

"2nd best time to plant a tree is today." Sent from TV android app.

[Gone]

Why are you asking for other peoples opinion here? If you are comfortable doing what you are doing why confide in us? Are we going to change your mind?

[thaicbr]

do what you think is fair. personally I would adhere to any work contract that the employer may have signed. do not forget it is VERY easy to get doctor's notes here in Thailand. how do you know she has not done this before?

just saying.

[djayz]

If I understood you correctly, you've already seen her injury/arm and know it's serious/legit AND she's a good employee (as you say yourself). Good employees are not easy to find down here so you'd probably find it more beneficial to keep her on, give her reduced hours per day and let her slowly work her way back up to her normal hours. Eventually reduce her pay respectively (i.e. to match the reduced workload/hours).

Don't know what her work is/duties are, but surely she could answer the phone, meet visitors, do some filing, etc.

[givenall]

do what you think is fair. personally I would adhere to any work contract that the employer may have signed. do not forget it is VERY easy to get doctor's notes here in Thailand. how do you know she has not done this before?

just saying.

I agree, besides this may cause issue with the other employee when and if they have a similar situation, especially if they are going to take you for a ride

[CWMcMurray]

The 30 days sick leave is not "earned as you go", it is 30 days per year.

This means if the injury is ligit, I understand that this means that you are required to pay her normal salary for the 30 days.

After that, if she is not able to work, then you would not be required to pay her.

If she was a good employee, then it may be a good idea to have her come in and do as much as she can.

That way everyone can see that she is not getting a "free ride" or a 30 day vacation. This should help others from trying to take advantage.

As others have said, good employees are hard to find, so would be a shame to lose her.

Edited March 25, 2012 by CWMcMurray

[Zen]

Thanks alot for pointing out that the 30 days sick leave is not "earn as you go"....i never realised this!

I just flipped thru the labour law, it states that "the employee is allowed to take sick leave as long as he is actually sick"...and the employer is obliged to "pay the sick leave not exceeding 30 days"...so sounds like sick leave is indeed 30 days

If that's the case, then there's no need for me to calculate or deduct anything from her...

My biggest worry is just that other employees may take advantage of this in future.....

[barefoot1988]

there is no sick leave during probation period and for probation staff anyway. what you should do, is according to your judgement. if her case is genuine and she is indeed a diligent worker, i think you should know what to do. as for other employees taking advantages, you can always tell them off or refuse any payment, you dont need to be afraid

if there is really need, you could have a fixed clinic or doctor for your employers to go to unless in emergency cases. in that way, its easier to identify fake illness and so on by calling your company doctor.

there is also another easy way by implementing additional bonus per year for taking no mc.

the method you should do depends on what industry are you in, and how dependent on company is toward staff, obviously if its very dependent of staff, avoid brute methods

[Nisa]

Don't make any promises! What may seem like the right thing now may not be later. I would also ask he to get a letter stating she can come back to work from the doctor. It is not uncommon (at least in the US) for doctors to also not make promises and wait to evaluate things upon a future visit. In other words they don't usually write off from work notes for 6-months (especially initially) and instead they keep extending the time off from work. She may be a great worker and person but things have a way of changing when money is involved, make sure you cover you behind and tell her you need a letter from the doctor saying she is fit to come back to work.

[Javabear]

There may also be some liability for you by letting her come back to work without the doctor stating that she is fit for duty. If she were to further injure herself while working that may be a problem. I'm not sure but TiT.

[lifeisthefun]

Remember whatever you do goes into institutional memory. Boss "chai dee mak" may seem flattering, but it

could come back bite you.

I disagree with the poster who says treat her exceptionally if you like her, and refuse similar advantages to

other employees in future if you feel they are not as deserving. This is just going to cause "loss of face" to

the refused vis a vis your favorite. I wouldn't go there.

Keep in mind that even if you want to treat her specially, it may not be that she expects this or would be crushed

if you followed rules that generally apply.