What is sick leave? Why is sick leave problematic for many employers? Discuss some ways organizations can reduce sick leave related costs

What will be an ideal response?

Answer: Sick leave provides pay to employees when they are out of work due to illness. Most sick leave policies grant full pay for a set number of sick days and the sick days accumulate over time. The problem with sick leave is that many employees use sick leave for reasons other than illness. Some use the days as vacation or to take care of family issues, personal needs, and stress. Such absenteeism costs U.S. employers perhaps $100 billion per year, with personal illness accounting for about a third of the absences.

Employers use several tactics to reduce excessive sick leave absence. Some repurchase unused sick leave at the end of the year by paying their employees a sum for each unused sick day. The problem is that legitimately sick employees may come to work. Others hold monthly lotteries in which only employees with perfect monthly attendance are eligible for a cash prize. At Marriott, employees can trade the value of some sick days for other benefits. Others aggressively investigate all absences, calling absent employees at home. Many employers use pooled paid leave plans (or "banks"). These plans lump together sick leave, vacation, and personal days into a single leave pool.