Ever declined an employee’s ANNUAL leave just to be presented with a SICK LEAVE notification the next day?  Should you believe them, or do you know they are lying? We need to be careful as employers, as employees have the right to take leave, sick leave, or family responsibility leave, BUT we must also be aware of what excuses they can come up with.   

I once had a case where the employer declined the annual leave and the employee went to the doctor and got a sick note.  I cannot disclose all the details, but in the end when we were looking for the employee, the said employee was in another province on an excursion.  Jip.  Truth! 

Lesson:  We must be very clear on what the rules are when our employees are on sick leave.  

Here are some excuses we have heard before:

• An employee’s child stuck a mint up his nose and had to go to the ER to remove it. (In this employee’s defense, this is a pretty believable excuse.)
• The employee locked herself in the house by mistake and that the house did not have any windows to crawl out of.
• An employee called in sick from a bar at 5:00 p.m. Before watching the rugby on Sunday.
• An employee was an hour late because they heard on the radio that there was a car accident on a major highway, so they took all backroads.
• An employee has no data or airtime so they could not inform management that they won’t be able to attend work.

The next time those excuses run in, try this:

1. Stop Saying “That’s OK” – Step toward keeping your employees accountable: Stop saying “that’s OK.” It’s an easy phrase to blurt out as a natural sympathetic response, but what you’re really conveying is that it’s completely acceptable to make excuses for bad behaviour.
2. Don’t Be Afraid to Ask Questions – If you ask the right questions, you’ll most often prove—without explicitly saying it—that many excuses aren’t 100% justifiable. Asking these questions will convey to your employees that you’re not just going to sit back and accept excuses without prove.
3. Acknowledge The Pattern of Misses – Let’s say the excuse is not particularly legitimate and they’ve made similar mistakes several times. Now is the time to bring that series of misses to the employee’s attention.
4. Set Expectations for Next Time – Once you’ve sorted through explanations, motivations, and deeper issues, set clear expectations for the future.

So, whenever an employee comes to you with an excuse, don’t just wave it off and hope that it doesn’t happen again. Dig in, ask the tough questions, and show your employees that you’re serious about their work and success. Over time, you’ll convey that you won’t settle for anything less than the best—and your employees will realize that there’s no room for excuses.