But Toronto Transit Commission’s policy leaves some critics with a fever
Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) employees suffering from the flu this season aren’t the only ones feeling feverish — talk surrounding the company’s sick note policy has some critics hot under the collar.
The TTC made changes to its policy regarding doctor’s notes following sick time in an effort to curb high absenteeism rates.
Prior to contract negotiations in 2011, the transit commission required employees to provide a doctor’s note after their sixth day of absence for illness. The policy — implemented in 2012 — requires a doctor’s note after only one day of absence.
Since then, rates of absenteeism have decreased significantly, according to the TTC. Before the change, the absenteeism rate was about 8.4 per cent. In 2012, the rate was down to 7.7 per cent. Brad Ross, executive director of corporate communications for the TTC, said while the numbers are not in for 2013, quarterly results indicate absenteeism rates continue to drop.
"Prior to the change there were instances where the five days were seen as five extra vacation days," Ross said. "To ensure the sick benefit was being used as intended, we felt that the one-day requirement was what was needed. The numbers indicate the absenteeism rate is declining and that’s positive. The overall objective is being achieved."
The zero-tolerance policy requires a doctor’s note be submitted within 72 hours of an employee’s sick day. Employees who fail to produce a note will lose the 75 per cent sick pay they are entitled to through the benefit.
Critics of the policy say its rigid requirements make it nearly impossible for employees to obtain a doctor’s note in the provided time frame.
As part of its Canadian Health Care Matters series, the Health Council of Canada recently released the results from its 2013 Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy Survey. The survey results show as many as 15 per cent of Canadians do not have a regular doctor or clinic.
The survey also shows only 31 to 46 per cent of Canadians — depending on the province — have access to same-day or next-day appointments when needed (excluding emergency department visits).
"You might have all kinds of legitimate reasons for missing one day," said Kevin Chapman, director of health policy and promotion for Doctors Nova Scotia. "To have to go in to a physician’s office strikes us as overly onerous for everybody involved."
This includes doctors, Chapman said. The mandatory submission of doctor’s notes following sick leave — regardless of the time frame — is being called an unnecessary strain on the system.
"We don’t believe sick notes are necessarily an effective way of dealing with absenteeism," said Chapman. "The vast majority of workers who miss time do so because they’re sick. Requiring them to get a sick note doesn’t preclude them from missing time. All it does is introduce an administrative exercise that takes time away from physicians and their practice."
And requiring a doctor’s note in no way guarantees the benefit is only used for sick days, he said. The majority of employees are feeling significantly better by the time they seek out a physician for a sick note, meaning doctors are taking them at their word they were ever ill.
"It doesn’t serve anyone well," he explained, for an employee with the flu to visit the doctor for the sole purpose of obtaining a sick note. "If somebody does have the flu, they could be highly contagious in an environment where there are people who are perhaps immune-suppressed or more susceptible to germs. We don’t want those individuals at doctors’ offices unless they really need to go see a physician. If you have the flu, the best place for you is to be home."
Scott Wooder, president of the Ontario Medical Association, recently asked employers to forego asking for doctor’s notes, saying they should be encouraging workers to stay home when they’re sick.
There is also a concern workers may forgo the available benefit for fear they won’t be able to obtain a doctor’s note in time, leading to employees reporting for work when they feel under the weather. In a statement regarding the policy change, Bob Kinnear, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113, said the new requirements "will perhaps save the TTC a few dollars by discouraging workers from taking the occasional sick day off because it is so difficult to see one’s family doctor on such short notice… it is no benefit to TTC passengers to have vehicle operators report for duty if they are feeling ill."
The policy change was in no way intended to prevent employees from taking sick days, Ross said. It was simply introduced in an attempt to prevent employees from misusing the benefit.
"If somebody is sick, is unwell, is unable to perform their duty or unfit for duty because of illness of medication, then this is why we have this benefit," Ross said. "We don’t want people working or operating vehicles or doing any work that may put themselves, the public or their coworkers at risk. If they are ill, they have every right to stay home and get better."
What may have started as an effort to curb absenteeism rates could, Chapman argued, lead to even more serious losses in productivity.
"The paradox is if you have somebody who is not feeling well and decides to go to work because of sick time, they may contaminate more people and actually make themselves worse. So instead of having an individual stay home for a few days and that’s the cost to the system, you’ve actually introduced a whole new epidemic, if you will, and more people could get infected."
The Health Council of Canada reported as many as 73 per cent of Canadians did not get a seasonal preventative flu shot last year. If more emphasis was placed on preventative measures, such as immunization and progressive HR practices, Chapman said, absenteeism could be reduced without doctor’s notes.
"I absolutely don’t believe there would be a material increase in the incidence of absenteeism (without a requirement for doctor’s notes)," Chapman said. "I hope we all believe in the innate goodness of people and that most people go to work and want to do a good job, and the individuals who don’t go to work don’t go because they are truly sick."
