Attendance Policy for Classified Employees

             Regular attendance of employees is necessary in order to accomplish the work of any department or component of the University.  Continuity of service coverage and production all rely on the dependability of staff to be at work on a regular basis.  Therefore the following procedure is established for the review of attendance on a quarterly and annual basis:

1.      Definitions

1. Absenteeism:  Failure to report to work or to remain at work, as scheduled, regardless of reason.  Please note that this excludes previously approved "non-sick" leave time off (i.e. vacation, personal leave, compensatory leave, military leave, etc).
2. Tardiness:  Failure to report for duty at the time scheduled and/or failure to return to duty promptly at any point during their normal schedule.  (Note:  the management of tardiness as a disciplinary issue is addressed in a separate policy statement)
3. Unauthorized Leave:  Failure to report an absence of any duration according to University procedure or being absent from work without proper authorization.  Recorded as "0" time on time reports.  A report of "0" time necessitates the docking of pay.
4. Occasion of Absence:  One continuous period of absence for the same reason and/or period of absenteeism related to a single cause, supported by acceptable medical documentation.
5. Medical Certification:  A document prescribed by the University of Connecticut, signed by a licensed practitioner or other practitioner whose method of healing is recognized by the State, and acceptable to the appointing authority. These forms can be obtained on the Human Resources website at http://www.hr.uconn.edu/forms.html, Medical Certification Form, or by contacting the Leave Administrator at 860-486-0411.

 2.      Standards

            Attendance at the level of good or better is a basic performance standard at the University of Connecticut.  People who routinely exceed this expectation should be commended on an annual basis, with appropriate documentation placed in the official personnel files.

3.      Procedure

            The attendance records of all permanent staff will be reviewed on a quarterly basis.  Records of non-permanent employees will be reviewed monthly until permanent status is acquired.

            Two or more occasions of sick leave within a three month period requires that the supervisor and employee meet and discuss the reasons for the absences.  Under the guidelines for progressive discipline, this should be considered as counseling.  This is not punitive, but should serve to advise the employee of the importance placed on dependable attendance while not impacting the employee's record.

            In reviewing the absenteeism, the supervisor will consider the following criteria:

                1.      number of days taken

2.      number of occurrences

3.      pattern of usage

4.      employee's past record

5.      extenuating circumstances

6.      reasons for sick leave

             If an employee must have a series of medical or dental appointments to treat a single illness or injury or as a follow-up to surgery, the employee should first attempt to schedule appointments outside of working hours.  If that isn't possible, the series shall be considered one occasion of absence provided that:

1.  the employee provides a statement from the physician stating that a treatment program is required with an indication of the expected number of visits;

2.  advance notice of the appointments is given to the employee's supervisor. 

            In reviewing an employee's record to determines whether an employee is excessively using sick leave, the supervisor needs to be consistent with the collective bargaining unit contract language (for example, in the NP-3 clerical contract, an occasion of sick leave is defined as any one continuous period of unscheduled absence for the same reason.  In the NP-2 maintenance contract, sick leave taken for funerals or in the event of a serious illness or injury to a member of the immediate family which creates an emergency is not considered an occasion of sick leave.)             

An eligible employee will be granted sick leave:

1.      when the employee is incapacitated from performing work due to illness or injury, recorded as "S" on time reports;

2.      for employees only, medical, dental or eye examination or treatment for which arrangements cannot be made outside of working hours, as noted above.  Such arrangements should be scheduled after work whenever possible, recorded as "SP" on time reports;

3.      in the event of death in the immediate family when as much as three (3) working days leave with pay, will be granted for each occurrence.  Immediate family means husband, wife, father, mother, domestic partner, sister, brother or child and also any relative who is domiciled in the employee's household, recorded as "FF" on time reports;

4.      in the event of serious illness or injury to a member of the immediate family creating an emergency, provided that not more than three (3) or five (5) days of sick leave per calendar year, depending on the bargaining unit, will be granted, recorded as "SF" on time reports;

5.      for going to, attending, and returning from funerals of persons other than members of the immediate family, if notice is given in advance and provided that not more than three (3) days of sick leave per calendar year will be granted, recorded as "F" on time reports.

            The attached chart A will be used for quarterly reviews.  Chart B reflects the annual evaluation standards and should be considered an extension of the quarterly chart.

            Two quarters of fair or unsatisfactory attendance may be cause for issuing a written warning.  An employee who has received a written warning and who continues to make excessive use of sick leave may be placed on a medical certificate requirement.  (A reasonable amount of time would be if the proceeding quarterly report is fair or unsatisfactory).  The purpose of requiring medical documentation is to encourage the employee to seek appropriate treatment for each occasion of illness.

            The employee must be notified in writing of such medical certificate requirement.  At the point that a person is placed on medical certificate requirement, he/she should be advised in writing that the use of vacation, holiday, or "T" time will be subject to advance approval requirements as specified in the relevant contracts.  The employee will also be advised that he/she may receive an unsatisfactory evaluation in the area of attendance.

            If an employee fails to produce an acceptable* medical certificate, he/she shall be charged with unauthorized leave of absence without pay. The employee's attendance record will be reviewed in accordance with the appropriate collective bargaining unit contract. This review will be conducted to determine whether the medical certificate requirement should be rescinded.

            Following the receipt of an unsatisfactory rating, the supervisor will meet with the employee following each occasion of absence to discuss the reason for the absenteeism.  Quarterly evaluations will continue to be done.  A single quarter with a fair or unsatisfactory rating may necessitate that another warning letter be sent stating that a second unsatisfactory rating due to poor attendance may result and this will be considered cause for DISMISSAL FROM EMPLOYMENT.

            Failure to comply with the standards established for a satisfactory evaluation during any two of any four quarters may result in a second unsatisfactory performance evaluation, and this will be considered cause for DISMISSAL.

            This policy does not preclude additional or separate disciplinary action for instances of unauthorized leave, tardiness or fraudulent use of sick time or other cause.   Questions regarding this policy can be directed to the Department of Human Resources at 860-486-5684.

As supervisors implement this policy, they should review the relevant contract language for the employee's bargaining unit.

*  The Department of Human Resources Leave Administrator will determine if the medical certificate is acceptable.

Updated October, 2006

SAMPLE WRITTEN WARNING LETTER

Date:

 To:                  Name

                        Title

                        Work Address

 From:              Supervisor

 Subject:           Written Warning for Sick Leave Use

 Dear _______, 

            Please consider this a letter of warning concerning your continuing attendance problems.  Your uneven attendance is beginning to affect other parts of your job, making improvement even more essential.  Attendance records indicate that since ___________, you have used a total of ______ days on ______ occasions.  _______ occasions were in conjunction with weekends.

           As I noted in our meeting on ______________, your continued absenteeism is of serious concern.  Despite our mutual efforts you have failed to achieve a level of good attendance.

          This letter shall serve as a written warning, that if excessive sick leave usage continues, you will be placed of a medical certificate requirement.  You may also receive a less than good rating on your performance appraisal in the area of "attendance".  We hope that this letter, which will be placed in your personnel file, provides the incentive for you to improve your sick leave usage.

          Your good health and presence on the job are very important to us and are essential for the smooth operation of the department.

             Thank you.

             _________________________________      ________                   

            Employee's or Representative's Signature     Date

            (indicated receipt)

cc:  Human Resources' Personnel File, U-5075

       Labor Relations, U-5075

       Supervisor's File

SAMPLE MEDICAL CERTIFICATE REQUIREMENT LETTER

Date:               

To:                  Name

                        Title

            Work Address

From:              Supervisor

Subject:            Notification of Medical Certificate Requirement

Dear _______,

             On ____________________ you received a written warning regarding your use of sick leave. Regrettably, these efforts have not brought about an improvement in your attendance. 

            Attendance records now indicate that since ____________ you have used a total of _________ days on _______ separate occasions, with the most recent period from

____________ to ______________ showing _____ days and _____ occasions.  Therefore your attendance is still considered UNSATISFACTORY for the year and for the quarter.

            Because your attendance has not improved and you continue to make excessive use of sick leave, this letter shall serve as notice that you have been place on a medical certificate requirement.  Effective immediately you are required to produce an acceptable medical certificate for each occasion of absenteeism.  This form must be presented to the Leave Administrator in the Department of Human Resources on the day you return to work in order to permit the utilization of accrued sick leave.  Failure to bring an acceptable medical certificate when you return will result in you being docked pay for the day, and your time card will show a "0" (zero time).

            A copy of this letter shall be placed in your personnel file.  Due to your continual excessive use of sick leave, you may receive a rating of UNSATISFACTORY in attendance on your next performance appraisal.  This could result in the denial of your annual increment.  This is a serious matter that needs to be attended to immediately.

            We will continue our quarterly review and in nine (9) months a determination will be made, whether or not the medical certificate requirement should be rescinded.  Every effort should be made to improve your attendance.  Please do not hesitate to talk with me if I can be of assistance in any way.

I have received the original of this letter:

 _________________________________      ________                   

Employee's or Representative's Signature     Date

cc:  Human Resources' Personnel File, U-5075

       Labor Relations, U-5075

       Supervisor's File

Chart A
For Quarterly Evaluations
Number of Days: (horizontally)

 Number of Occasions: (vertically)

Chart B
Annual Sick Leave Usage Table

Number of Days: (horizontally)

Number of Occasions: (vertically)