Absence Policy

POLICY STATEMENT 

This document explains St John’s Staff Hire’s (“SJSH”) policy on team member absence plus how to report an absence in ways that keep the team member ‘In Policy’ (compliant) versus ‘Out of Policy’ (non-compliant).

New and existing team members should read this policy and follow the procedures outlined. Everyone must sign in agreement before undertaking work for SJSH.

POLICY BACKGROUND

Absenteeism is damaging for our clients and SJSH.  

Our clients only want to work with team members who have good attendance. Poor attendance is the most common reason for why a client will say no to accepting further shifts from individuals in the SJSH team.

Absenteeism causes a reduction in client service and in turn our reliability and reputation which can lead to a reduction in client bookings for all SJSH team members.   Absences damage our reputation, reliability, future bookings, your hours, your SJSH colleagues’ hours and company profits.

POLICY AND COMPLIANCE 

There are two types of absence:

1. ‘In Policy’ Absence

‘In Policy’ Absence damages our client’s business but less so than ‘Out of Policy’ Absences.

1. ‘Out of Policy’ Absence

‘Out of Policy’ Absences are more damaging to our client’s and our business,   These create the biggest problems – stress at clients, communication problems, re-arranging staffing plans, possible closure of hotel offering, possible termination of staff, and possible loss of the client.

HOW TO HAVE AN ‘IN POLICY’ ABSENCE

You should try your best to make your absence qualify as ‘In Policy’,  NOT ‘Out of Policy’.

The procedures to qualify for an ‘In Policy’ Absence are:

1. Same-day Cancellation:
   If 24 hours’ notice is not possible, then you are reporting a Same-day absence.   You must do these TWO STEPS:
   1. Call the client and SPEAK to a member of their team (find the client phone number on Google and ‘speak to a human’ at the client) at least 60 minutes before the start of your shift      
   2. Notify the Richard Downes Messenger at least 60 minutes before the start of your shift and confirm who you spoke to at the client so we can check and a reason for your absence

1. NOT a Same-day cancellation:
   If more than 24 hours’ notice is possible, you must do this:
   1. Notify the Richard Downes messenger account at least 24 hours before the start of a shift with a detailed reason for your future absence

NON-COMPLIANCE WITH BOOKED SHIFT TIMES 

Other scenarios that constitute an ‘Out of Policy’ Absence include the following, non-exhaustive, list:

1. Lateness – being more than 15 minutes late without informing us on messenger before the shift start time.
2. Leaving a shift early – more than 30 minutes without informing us on messenger before leaving.

BREACHES OF THIS POLICY ARE AN ‘OUT OF POLICY’ ABSENCE

Failure to follow procedures in either the Same-day Cancellation, Not Same-day Cancellation and non-compliance with booked shift times, constitutes an ‘Out of Policy’ Absence. 

ATTENDANCE MEETING 

We record attendance and absences.   

If you have TWO  ‘Out of Policy’ Absences in a three month period, then you will be offered NO further work until the satisfactory completion of an attendance meeting, in person or on video chat.

An attendance meeting will take place at a time of mutual agreement.   The purpose of the meeting is to help you to understand the workings of this policy and to form an action plan for continued engagement with us. 

TERMINATION

We reserve the right to terminate our working relationship with individuals for any gaps in attendance.