Human Resource Management: Sick Leave Abuse in Australia

This essay critically examines the issue of sick leave within the context of Human Resource Management (HRM), focusing on its implications in the Australian workplace. The essay begins with an abstract that highlights the core issues, which are further explored through a case study analysis. The study showcases the financial impact of sick leave on businesses, emphasizing the high costs associated with employee absenteeism and the abuse of sick leave policies. The essay delves into the Australian leave policies, including sick leave and carer's leave, and analyzes the cultural context surrounding the issue. It discusses the reasons behind sick leave abuse and offers insights into the implementation of effective management strategies to mitigate these problems, such as monitoring, implementing leave forms, and conducting regular health check-ups. The essay concludes by emphasizing the significance of proper sick leave assessment and management in reducing costs and enhancing overall employee productivity and well-being. The analysis also highlights the importance of understanding the cultural nuances and implementing tailored solutions to address the issue effectively.

Running head: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Abstract
The purpose of the topic is to highlight the major issues in Human Resource Management. The
purpose has been communicated to the readers by analyzing a case study that has been related to
real-life examples. The importance of human resource management has been mentioned and the
major concerns with sick leaves have been discussed. The condition of sick leaves in Australia
has been highlighted and the reasons for sick leave abuse have also been mentioned. The essay
also highlights the problems associated with the leaves and how such issues can be solved by the
managers. The essay has been concluded by stating that proper sick leave assessment and
management can reduce sick leave cost and employee absenteeism.

2HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Human resource management is very important for all the organizations to manage the
human aspects within the organization and help the organization reach its objective most
efficiently. Any organization can't build a good team of professional people without sound
Human Resources. Proper management of human resources ensures the maintenance of work-life
quality; making efficient, flexible and adaptable employees; increase in productivity and profit;
appreciation and benefits of employees; retaining employees; training and development and
creation of a sense of belongingness and team spirit (Bratton and Gold 2017). However, issues
can arise in any form of management. The benefits provided to the employees are sometimes are
used improperly and the employees take advantage of it.
Human resource challenges have evolved with the evolution of time. With the fluctuating
economy and advancements, a wide range of issues has cropped up in HR. The paper deals with
one such issue in HR – Sick Leaves. Sick leaves are very common in the recent work culture and
most employees take undue advantage of this benefit thereafter hampering the business in the
long run (Analoui 2018).
The following paragraph highlights the details of this issue by analyzing a case study on
"Sick leave costing employer". The case study is thoroughly discussed and the issues are
highlighted. The implication of Australian culture on this issue has also been discussed in the
following paragraphs.
The Australians are entitled to annual leaves and sick leaves as per the Fair Work Act.
According to the leave policies in Australia, there are two types of leaves – sick leave and carer's
leave. Sick leave is provided when employees fall ill and carer's leave is provided when the

3HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
employee requires urgent leave to take care of any family member. As per the policy, the
employees are entitled to 10 days of combined paid sick and carer leaves and an additional 2
days of unpaid carer leaves (Cook 2018). The case study analysis states that the sick leave
entitlement has become an issue in Australian organizations as it costs the business around $32.5
billion every year.
Sickies are taken by most of the people. Sick leaves are statutory requirements across the
nation. Even I am not any exception but the reason for taking the leave differs from many. The
reason for taking the sick leave from my end is to take time off from work and stay at home for
addressing my health issue and getting the basic checkups done. There are many situations when
we need to do overtime and work for long hours during month ends. Extreme work pressure and
strains can lead to an increase in blood pressure and problem in eyes and other health issues. So
it becomes important to take an off and do the basic checkups to prepare for difficult work
situations. However, there are situations when we don't feel like going to the office on a fine
morning but taking undue advantage of sick leaves on such occasion is not ethical. As a
manager, I would try to understand the concerns of the employee and allocate the tasks in a
manner that would lead to a minimum or no overtime. It is obvious that when the mental and
physical pressure of the employees will reduce, the tendency to take false sick leaves will also
reduce. If rewards are provided for zero absenteeism, then the employees will also feel
motivated. For certain cases, if the employees are asked to work extra time to make up the sick
leave taken, it will also reduce false leaves and absenteeism.
The generous leave plans of most of the organizations turn out to increase the cost of the
organization. The analysis clearly shows that 6.5 days yearly of sick leave is still bearable by the
organization, whereas the Australians estimates show an average of 8.6 days per annum. Sick

4HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
leave abuse has increased globally and Australia is in the mid-range. The organization's standard
requirements and policies have been violated several times. The generous plans are no more
suitable for reducing the abuse of sick leave. In this regards the sick leave abuses are first
discussed. Attendance policy violation is one of the greatest abuses. Violation of attendance
policy includes an increased number of absences than the allotted leaves, failure to report the
absence, failure to provide medical certificates, failure to get permission for early going or late
arrival and providing false medical certificates. The example from the case study also shows how
an employee took this leave opportunity and visited a rock concert. It has also been observed in
many organizations that the sick leaves are treated as casual paid leaves. If an employee, for
example, has 34 normal leaves and 12 sick leaves, then the employee considers the leave count
as 46, which should not be the case. The employees eventually try to exhaust the 12 leaves along
with the casual leaves because of the generous company leave policies. As stated in the case
study Dundon's company required to take permission from a nurse while applying for sick
leaves, which halved the absenteeism. Policies like these should be encouraged. Medical
certificates from company doctors should be made mandatory as an addition to the original
certificate. A monthly health check-up in the organization and maintaining records will also
reduce absenteeism.
"It's part of the Australian culture" – the Australian culture is beautiful and full of energy.
The Australian culture provides every people with numerous health benefits, employment
benefits, and several financial and non-financial benefits. The workplace culture is Australian is
unique and it has surprised many people globally. Although according to several foreigners the
workplace culture in Australia is laidback yet it does not mean that Australians are not hard
workers (Moore and Jennings 2017). According to the statistics the Australian people tend to do

5HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
more work during the working hours and do not have a problem working overtime. They try to
keep as much balance as they can between work and home. Australian culture also values
punctuality (Gregory et al. 2018). Wasting even five minutes will not win sympathy and co-
workers will feel that the employee is wasting their time. Employees here feel free to speak their
minds and they also tend to shorten their words to value time. The people here love to play by
the rules and encourage casual business settings. Thus giving an excuse for sick leaves and
making it a trend by implying it as a part of the culture will not work. People must value the
actual culture and tradition of the nation and the management must be strong enough to identify
issues and protect the same.
The management must monitor sick leave abuse. They must try to identify the issues and
intervene at the earliest stages before it escalates to the other employees and they also start
following the trend. The managers must say no to issues that do not sound concerning and must
verify issues before or after granting the leaves (Boot and Bültmann 2016). This will ensure that
the employees do not take undue advantage. Sick leave forms should be introduced and
employees must sign sick leave forms before applying for it. The sick leave patterns can be
thereafter recorded. Monthly check-ups will also help in keeping documentation of the
employees' health issues and at the same time, the employees will also have a sense of
belongingness. This will be a win-win situation as the company can keep a track of the employee
and save unnecessary sick leaves at the same time if the company can interpret any serious health
issue, it can provide sick leave to the employee by its own. This will retain employees and boost
their motivation as well. If the employees can finish a certain period without leaves bonuses can
be awarded to them, which will reduce absenteeism. Increased productivity and reduced
absenteeism will reduce the overall cost of leaves. As stated in the case study, if the employees

6HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
are allotted with "doona days" twice a year, it will also reduce stress and increase work
motivation and loyalty towards the organization. Certain changes within the organization will
also reduce sick leave costs. Improving the ergonomic conditions, noise problems, lighting,
hygiene, and indoor climate will attract employees to come to the office.
Therefore, it can be concluded from the above discussion that managing human resources
is a critical task. Good human resource management ensures good team members, team spirit and
organizational success. It has been analyzed that sick leave abuse is a major human resource
management issue in the modern scenario and it is becoming an increasing trend in Australia.
There are several reasons because of which people take leaves but the reasons should be genuine.
People must take sick leave for health concerns and taking rest rather than utilizing the leaves in
going to concerts. Inappropriate use of sick leaves must be analyzed by the company and
stringent actions should be taken to prevent such a culture from escalating within the whole
organization. The management must not be much generous instead prepare a sick leave form and
record the leaves, which will control the sick leave abuse in the organization and reduce
absenteeism.

7HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
References
Analoui, F. ed., 2018. Human resource management issues in developing countries. Routledge.
Boot, C.R.L. and Bültmann, U., 2016. Implementation of the participatory approach for
supervisors to prevent sick leave: a process evaluation.
Bratton, J. and Gold, J., 2017. Human resource management: theory and practice. Palgrave.
Cook, J., 2018. Sizing up Labor Relations down under: What Australia's Fair Work Commission
Can Teach the National Labor Relations Board. Wis. Int'l LJ, 36, p.122.
Gregory, S., Smith, M., Luckman, S., Stevenson, D., & Ang, I. (2018). Strategies, Opportunities
and Barriers: Mapping the New World of Work: An Australian Screen Industry Roundtable
Summary Report: Western Sydney University, Parramatta City Campus, 8 February 2018.
Moore, L.F. and Jennings, P.D. eds., 2017. Human resource management on the Pacific Rim:
Institutions, practices, and attitudes (Vol. 60). Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG.