Ask Liz Ryan HR: Human Resources for the new millennium
Hope for HR? We have to Wonder
Here is a query from an HR email group I belong to:
Good Morning, I would like to modify/revise the current Bereavement
> Leave Policy, as I find it is quite vague and lenient. The reason for
> the revision is I have found a few employees are taking advantage of
> this policy as well as the Attendance Policy. I am proposing we verify
> the bereavement leave with a copy of the funeral program or some other
> form of verification. Am I being unfair or too strict? Let me know
> your thoughts and suggestions on this issue.
Here's my reply:
If you require the employees to bring in a funeral program in order to be paid for two or three days off when a family member dies, you'll be sending a strong message, namely "We don't trust you." That begs the question "Why do you have employees working for you, whom you don't trust?" If you actually think that an employee has used bereavement-leave days without experiencing the loss of a family member, I'd have a conversation with that employee, rather than broadcasting your lack of trust to the whole crew.
How can a bereavement leave policy be vague? If you write "An employee is entitled to x days of paid time off in the event of the death of a sibling, parent, grand-parent, or child" you have a policy. People call or write to me and ask me "What if the employee doesn't go to the funeral, out of town?" and "What if the employee hasn't seen her grandmother in years?" and so on, and my answer is always the same: "Why would you care?" Of all things to be fussy about, this is absolutely the worst one to choose!
When I was a young HR person a guy in our company took bereavement leave, and there were rumors that in fact no one had died. The employees in his department asked him where flowers and donations might be sent and he mentioned a certain funeral home. One of the employees called the funeral home and the person the employee had mentioned as his relative, in fact was not there, and may not have existed at all. The employee was terminated amidst general horror at his behavior. The last thing you want your company or your HR group to be accused of is insensitivity during times of loss.
Cheers,
Liz
Good Morning, I would like to modify/revise the current Bereavement
> Leave Policy, as I find it is quite vague and lenient. The reason for
> the revision is I have found a few employees are taking advantage of
> this policy as well as the Attendance Policy. I am proposing we verify
> the bereavement leave with a copy of the funeral program or some other
> form of verification. Am I being unfair or too strict? Let me know
> your thoughts and suggestions on this issue.
Here's my reply:
If you require the employees to bring in a funeral program in order to be paid for two or three days off when a family member dies, you'll be sending a strong message, namely "We don't trust you." That begs the question "Why do you have employees working for you, whom you don't trust?" If you actually think that an employee has used bereavement-leave days without experiencing the loss of a family member, I'd have a conversation with that employee, rather than broadcasting your lack of trust to the whole crew.
How can a bereavement leave policy be vague? If you write "An employee is entitled to x days of paid time off in the event of the death of a sibling, parent, grand-parent, or child" you have a policy. People call or write to me and ask me "What if the employee doesn't go to the funeral, out of town?" and "What if the employee hasn't seen her grandmother in years?" and so on, and my answer is always the same: "Why would you care?" Of all things to be fussy about, this is absolutely the worst one to choose!
When I was a young HR person a guy in our company took bereavement leave, and there were rumors that in fact no one had died. The employees in his department asked him where flowers and donations might be sent and he mentioned a certain funeral home. One of the employees called the funeral home and the person the employee had mentioned as his relative, in fact was not there, and may not have existed at all. The employee was terminated amidst general horror at his behavior. The last thing you want your company or your HR group to be accused of is insensitivity during times of loss.
Cheers,
Liz
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