PURPOSE AND SCOPE:
This policy outlines Kokua’s expectations regarding absenteeism. Kokua’s absenteeism policy outlines the various requirements for effective employee attendance in hourly shifts. The purpose is to:
Establish a fair and effective policy for employees.
Proactively manage employee attendance, absence, and tardiness.
Minimize absenteeism.
Promote high quality of client services and healthy work-life balance for all employees.
Please note:
“Timeliness” is indispensable to hourly shifts.
“Tardy” behavior (coming late, taking longer breaks or signing out early without approval) and other absences impact client services and safety.
This policy details various measures to counter such violations, including expected employee behavior and agency disciplinary steps.
See also Kokua Policy 3.3. This policy adheres to the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act, Washington State Family Leave Act, Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, Initiative 1433 and all Labor and Industry standards.
Requesting Time Off:
Employees are required to report to work on time as expected. Employees unable to report to work or will be late, must alert Kokua’s on-call system. When absent, employees must inform the on-call system before the scheduled start time. When tardy, employees must notify on-call as soon as you know you will be late to shift. The following information should be provided:
· The reason for being late or unable to report to work as expected
The probable duration of the absence or anticipated arrival time is tardy
· A telephone number where the employee can be reached
If the absence or tardiness is due to a protected reason (see policy 3.3) staff should disclose this to the on-call staff. We understand that on occasion everyone misses work for valid reasons. Excessive absences or tardiness, even for legitimate reasons, places a burden on co-workers and stability of services to our clients and may be cause for discipline, up to and including immediate termination of employment.
The following list outlines the expected timeline for notifying supervisors of time-off needed:
1. Emergency Notifications:
An unplanned absence requires notice before the start of shift. We ask that all staff give ample notice to the supervisor or on-call staff regarding the need for absence. For example: a medical emergency for a family member.
To leave shift early staff must inform the on-call as soon as they are aware of the emergency. *A breach of this requirement is considered a serious policy violation.
Employees requiring more than three (3) consecutive shifts off for medical reasons may need to produce a note/letter from a medical professional excusing this absence. Medical notes act as both verification of need as well as proof of fitness to return to work. This note/letter will be turned in to the Benefits and Claims Coordinator. Exceptions may be made due to circumstance or financial hardship.
2. Planned Notifications:
Approval must be granted by the supervisor at least 5 days ahead of planned absence of one (1) shift.
Approval must be granted by the supervisor at least 7 days ahead of planned absence of two to three (2-3) shifts
Approval must be granted by supervisor at least 14 days ahead of planned absences longer than 3 consecutive shifts. *Employees seeking more than three days off will fill out a Time off Request form as part of the approval process. Employees are expected to make a good-faith effort to secure replacement staff.
Planned Notifications are one-way Kokua supports employees when they need time off that otherwise would be deemed unexcused. Employees that take a proactive approach that meets the policy requirements outlined above will submit their request to their direct supervisor for approval. Supervisor approval is based on how often the employee requests planned time off, the employee’s willingness to work for team members when they submit time off requests and the employees goodfaith effort to fill their shift(s) or be willing to swap shift(s) with co-workers. Kokua culture encourages reciprocity that promotes teamwork.
3. Unexcused Notifications:
This includes absence from shift with no notice given (“No Call-No Show”).
Employees are required to be aware of all shifts, an online schedule is provided to all employees (Wellsky). It is the employee’s responsibility to ensure they know of, and arrive at, each shift.
Employees absent for more than three (3) consecutive shifts without approval will be considered abandoning their shift and self-terminating their employment per Kokua’s At-Will policy. Kokua will mark the third abandoned shift as the employee’s separation/termination date.
Note that all Paid Family Medical Leave/FMLA qualified absences will be exempt from discipline. See policy 3.3.
Employees that exhaust their PTO and call out with or without a qualifying event, are held accountable through a pattern of events outlined below unless the employee confirms the shift is filled with a qualified replacement staff at least two- hours prior to the shift start time. Confirmation will be passed to the site Residential Manager and QA department. The Residential Manager will update the site schedule/ WS.
*A qualified replacement staff is defined as trained and delegated if the shift requires it. It is the employee’s responsibility to understand if they were the only delegated staff/trained staff on site and are required to fill the shift with a trained and delegated replacement.
Enforcement:
LATE: Showing up to shift late.
An employee is considered "late" if they clock in on the 11+ minutes of the start of the shift. Employees are expected to call on-call before the start of shift or as soon as you know you will be late to shift.
The accountability steps are tracked in six-month increments. Employees can fluctuate within the steps and can work their way back into good standing.
The first “late” will be followed-up by a verbal conversation with the Residential Manager/Direct Supervisor, reminding the staff of the importance of being on time to shift. This conversation will be documented by the supervisor on the tardy verbal retrain form and placed in the employee’s training file.
A second “late” will be followed-up by a verbal conversation with the Client Programs Coordinator/Direct Supervisor, reminding the staff of the importance of being on time to shift. This conversation will be documented by the supervisor on the tardy verbal retrain form and placed in the employee’s training file.
A third “late” is viewed as a pattern and will be followed up with a formal Written Corrective Action with Human Resources. The signed corrective action will be placed in the employee’s personnel file.
A fourth “late” is a breach of the written corrective action. The employee is placed on a Final Corrective Action with Human Resources. The signed corrective action will be placed in the employee’s personnel file.
A fifth “late” is a breach of the final corrective action and will result in termination.
LEAVING SHIFT WITHOUT PROPER APROVAL: Serious Policy Violation
Employees that leave shift without proper approval from Kokua’s on-call system will be placed on a formal corrective action up to and including termination.
UNEXCUSED ABSENCE: An employee is considered to have an unexcused absence if they fail to work an assigned/scheduled shift that is not excused or are more than four hours late to shift.
The first “unexcused absence” will be followed up with a written retraining with the Residential Manager/Direct Supervisor reminding the staff of the importance of being on time to shift.
A second “unexcused absence” will be followed up with a written Corrective Action with Human Resources.
A third “unexcused absence” will be followed up with a written Final Corrective Action with Human Resources.
A fourth “unexcused absence” will result in termination.
Note:
o Each incident will drop off after 6 months – reducing the follow up one-step for each item dropped off.
o Employees out for multiple days with an unexcused illness (self or qualifying family member in the PSL part of policy) will be considered to have one unexcused absence.
o Kokua has discretion to have an unexcused illness be excused based on illness symptoms. *Employees requiring more than three (3) consecutive shifts off may need to produce a note from a medical professional as substantiating proof of the illness for the unexcused absence to be excused.
NO-CALL/NO-SHOW: An employee is a “No-Call/No-Show” if they do not contact On-Call and do not arrive to shift. Note that it is the responsibility of all staff to check Wellsky and stay aware of their scheduled shifts. Any software issues are required to be reported to the Client Program Coordinator immediately after learning of the issue.
The first “No-Call/No-Show” will result in a Final Corrective Action with Human Resources.
The second “No-Call/No-Show” will result in termination of employment.
o Note: Each incident will drop off after 1 year– reducing the follow up one-step for each item dropped off.
Kokua maintains discretion to look at all situations when determining the outcome, though fairness will hold nearly all situations to the standards listed above.
Use of Paid Time Off:
Employees are required to use accrued PTO for any qualifying event noted in Washington State’s Paid Sick Leave (PSL) law. Events outside of the PSL law, employees have the option to use accrued PTO or not.
Paid Sick Leave (RCW 49.46; WAC 296-128) §
Applies to Washington workers unless they do not meet the definition of “employee” under the Minimum Wage Act (MWA) or an employee has no accrued, unused paid sick leave hours available for use.
Employees must be allowed to accrue at least one hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours worked.
Employees may use their accrued, unused paid sick leave for one of the following authorized purposes:
o to care for an employee’s self
o to care for an employee’s “family member”
o when the employee’s place of business has been closed by order of a public official for any health [1] related reason
o or the employee’s child’s school or place of care has been closed for such a reason
o absences that qualify for leave under the Domestic Violence Leave Act
o and additional purposes allowed by the employer
Family members included in the paid sick leave law:
o a child, including a biological, adopted, or foster child, stepchild, or a child to whom the employee stands in loco parentis, is a legal guardian, or is a de facto parent, regardless of age or dependency status; a biological, adoptive, de facto, or foster parent, stepparent, or legal guardian of an employee
o the employee's spouse or registered domestic partner, or a person who stood in loco parentis when the employee was a minor child; a spouse; a registered domestic partner
o a grandparent
o a grandchild
o or a sibling
Employees must have all to be considered excused from work.
Employed 90-days
A qualifying event per the states PSL law
Call out before the beginning of their shift
Have the accrued PTO to cover the full shift
OR have pre-approved time off-request on file for this shift.
Note that all Paid Family Medical Leave/FMLA qualified absences will be exempt from discipline. See policy 3.3.
Tip:
Work within your team/Acorn to cover for each other to hold down unexcused absences. Wellfunctioning teams that use a model of support, respect, and reciprocity cover for one another when needed and no one employee takes advantage of another. Kokua promotes this level of teaming to hold down the need for accountability.