Warm weather warning

 It’s probably no coincidence that each year when the weather warms up, sickness absence rises.   Funnily enough, on a Monday or Friday excuses start pouring in. Those with a 24 hour bugs seem to have a miraculous recovery as soon as the clouds come over that can be better explained by a Pimm’s induced hangover.

This is not to say that employers can accuse their employees of pulling a ‘sickie’ without concrete proof, so our advice would be to hold return to work interviews with employees to let them know that you are on the ball.

It is not just absenteeism that can be a problem for employers during spells of warm weather. Do you as an employer have to provide sun cream to workers who spend the majority of their working day in the sun?

No, you don’t have an obligation to do so but it would be in your interests as well as the employee’s to outline sun protection advice in training should this be appropriate to your staff.

Encourage workers to cover up and wear sun screen of at least SPF 15 on parts that cannot be covered up. Being safe in the sun may be common sense but can sometimes be lost in the heat. Drinking plenty of water and taking breaks in the shade as well as informing employees of the danger of sun exposure are just a few of the top tips The HR Dept is providing to combat this issue.

While you don’t have a legal obligation to protect your employees from the rays of the sun, staff absenteeism is likely to be reduced if you take a proactive approach.