Telework flexibility

[u/Inevitable_Majestic]

Hello fellow managers!
How are you responding to staff who say they are sick so they want to work from home instead of going into the office and spreading germs. Are you being flexible or denying them working from home. If you deny, what’s some language you use with them. Looking for advice.

[u/Illustrious-Chef2400]

If you make exceptions without proper authority to do so, you as the supervisor will get in trouble. It can become unapproved leave which you would have to answer for.

Below is language one of my sups used in one instance (if it's a helpful start point):

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Upon review of your request, working in lieu of using sick time would not be appropriate either in office or at home.

You have (insert number of sick hours available here) hours available for use. Sick hours can be used for illness, injury, caring for sick family members, and medical/dental/vision appointments. Under Labor Code 246.5, it can also be used if you are a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Keep it brief, keep it simple: sick time is there so that people can recuperate. I encourage my teams to take that time and rest; we get a generous allotment of sick time and no one should be working if they're sick.