I work for a large organization of roughly 5000 employee's. We've recently implemented a new way of reviewing performance within the company, and point stands out to me.

Basically, I receive 21 days of paid time off (14 days vacation, 7 sick days). The sick days are not identified as "sick" days, they are clumped into just PTO. The new goal system we have is a 3 point system: 1: unsatisfactory, 2: satisfactory, and 3: above satisfactory. Basically, if we take any sick days, we are no longer eligible for a 3. If we take 3 or more sick days, we are no longer eligible for a 2. I believe if all 7 "sick" days are taken, we receive no score.

Does this seem legit? I'm a little sketchy on how taking a single sick day, even though we're given "sick" days, reduces my performance score within an organization. Could someone maybe expand on this?

I don't know how they figure either but most places I know do stuff like give you one sick or personal day a month and if you get more than three in three months without a doctors letter you get a warning and written up, then suspended or fired after that.
Schools and work tell you do not come sick but then complain if you take off.

As long as the company policy allows you to take sick days I think this practice would not be deemed legal. Contact your state's Dept of Labor and see what they say.

What does the review result in,

Pay, promotions,

Here in the UK there are places that do use this system especially hospitals.

You seem to go down the ladder if you have a certain number of sick days making you unreliable, which after gaining a few marks against your name would result in a meeting with your superior.

You would also not be offered any overtime, it would go to the employee considered the most worthy.

I think you will find it is legal,at the end of your contract of working conditions it always states... THE EMPLOYER HAS THE RIGHT TO CHANGE ANY OF THE ABOVE... IT IS DOWN TO THE MANAGEMENTS DISGRESSION.

They've got you I'm afraid.

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Originally Posted by 0rphan

You seem to go down the ladder if you have a certain number of sick days making you unreliable, which after gaining a few marks against your name would result in a meeting with your superior.

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There is nothing wrong with that policy as long as a person is not SPECIFICALLY allowed sick days as a matter of company policy. Or the sick days are lumped in paid time off. And that is the situation with the OP.

My sick days are lumped into paid time off. I accrue paid time off, however I've never taken a sick day that I didn't have accrued time for. What they say is that any "unscheduled" time off results in lower performance marks. If I have one "unscheduled" day of paid time off I am ineligible to receive a 3 on my performance review (highest score). If I have 3 or more unscheduled days off, I cannot receive a 2 on my performance review. My performance review affects pay, raises, promotions.

My problem with this is that in my contract, I'm allowed 7 days of "sick" paid time off, which I accrue. In reality, I can take all 21 accrued days of paid time off as "sick" days, but that seems a little unethical to me. Obviously sick days are unscheduled paid time off, I can't call a week in advance telling them I will be sick. So ultimately, I'm allowed sick days in my contract, however if I use what's granted to me, I'm dinged on my performance review.

Here is the clip from our performance guide handbook:

Quote:

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Thereafter, action is as stated below and any occasions that occurred during the first 90 days of
Employment may be considered. If any of the following occur in any period of six consecutive months,
The following actions may be taken:
• Four occasions of absence: First Written Notice
• Five occasions of absence: Final Notice
• Six occasions of absence: Notice of Involuntary Termination
One day of unexplained absence or unreported absence may result in disciplinary action. Two
Consecutive days of unexplained or unreported absence will result in termination regardless of an
Associate's prior attendance history. An exception will be considered if the associate can prove an
Extenuating circumstance.

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Quote:

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Occasions of Absence
Any unscheduled absence, even if compensated as a PTO day (unless covered under the Family and
Medical Leave Act (FMLA) or other form of pay will be counted as an “occasion of absence.” An
Unscheduled absence is any absence taken without prior approval from management. Occasions of
Absence will be counted as follows:
• An occasion of absence is defined as one or more consecutive days of unscheduled absence for the
Same reason. For example, three consecutive days absent with the flu counts as one occasion. Two
Half-days of unscheduled absence are combined to equal one occasion even though the absence
May be unrelated (for non-exempt associates only).
• If an associate must be absent from work due to illness, a PTO day may be used in order to receive
Compensation for the absence. The absence, however, will still count as an occasion of absence
(unless covered by FMLA or the Kin Care Act) due to the unplanned nature of the absence.
• If an associate must be absent from work on an unscheduled basis due to an emergency or other
Unforeseen situation, a PTO day may be substituted. The absence will still count as an occasion of
Absence (unless covered by FMLA or the Kin Care Act) due to the unplanned nature of the
Absence. At the manager's discretion the time off may not be considered an occasion of absence, if
The associate can provide proof of a valid emergency in which he or she was unable to schedule the
Time in advance.

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So what this means is if I have one "Occasion of Absense", I cannot get a 3. If I have 4 occasions of absenses, I get a written warning, which means I can't get a 2. How is this legal if I'm allowed 7 sick days?

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not a chronic sick day taker. I know who those people are, as we have a few of them here in my company. But this all came to my attention because I got sick last week. Now, because I took a sick day, my performance review is affected.

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Originally Posted by tufandom

My sick days are lumped into paid time off. I accrue paid time off, however I've never taken a sick day that I didn't have accrued time for. What they say is that any "unscheduled" time off results in lower performance marks. If I have one "unscheduled" day of paid time off I am ineligible to receive a 3 on my performance review (highest score). If I have 3 or more unscheduled days off, I cannot receive a 2 on my performance review. My performance review affects pay, raises, promotions.

My problem with this is that in my contract, I'm allowed 7 days of "sick" paid time off, which I accrue. In reality, I can take all 21 accrued days of paid time off as "sick" days, but that seems a little unethical to me. Obviously sick days are unscheduled paid time off, I can't call a week in advance telling them I will be sick. So ultimately, I'm allowed sick days in my contract, however if I use what's granted to me, I'm dinged on my performance review.

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That is basically how where I work does their *ladder* of determining if you need to be terminated and they also do the performance review scale too.

I figured out a way to try and explain it.
The performance review is basically to determine how well you do on a scale and effects things like your raises and promotions.
Where I work if you get under a 70 you do not get a raise.

The sick days they allow you basically are their standard to basically protect you.
For example say you work there 3 months and use only one day off and somebody else takes three days off the first three months after they get hired then the work fires you and keeps them it doesn't seem fair. So with this system everybody has fair warning and a standard to follow.
By rights most places can fire you at will for any reason but many places try to be fair with having a system.

I definitely see your point. The company may have a system in place to protect themselves and employee's from whatever may come from not giving "sick" days (employee abuse, etc).

While it seems logical to protect all party's involved, I'm not sure this particular case lines up with State Labor laws. On top of the situation it self, I found out that the attendance portion of my performance review is only affecting my group (about 20 people), and no one else in the company. Other groups around me can take their sick days without any repercussion. Does this seem fair in the slightest?

But, I must say, I talked to my director about the situation. He's the final person to look at performance reviews when they are put in, and can make any changes he see's fit. He wasn't aware of the details of this portion of our performance review, and said he was going to get it changed through HR. He also said that if anything like this does in fact show up on my performance review, he would change it, because he didn't think it made sense. I think he realized the potential legality behind things and took quick action.

Happy ending! Maybe... :)

Of course sick days impact your review...

If you're not at work, you're not contributing... despite whatever "allowance" you receive. You're not going to get a "Greatly Exceeds Expectations" for attendance if you're using up your sick days. You'll get a "meets expectations" rating at best.

You've got to be there every day if you want the high ratings...