The amazing disappearing insurance man
February 27, 2008
I’ve just read an article on the Telegraph site about a manager for the insurance company Legal and General who got sacked for working as a magician whilst on paid sick leave. Peter Hopkins, or ‘Mr Hocus Pocus’ was performing magic tricks at a Christening party after having been off sick for six months. He got caught because a HR Officer from his company was one of the guests at the party. Gutted!
Whilst this is quite an amusing story, the reality of staff ‘moonlighting’ whilst being paid to be off sick is not so funny. It’s something that employers need to be able to deal with as quickly and effectively as possible, but it isn’t that easy to handle. There are however a number of ways in which employers can help to protect themselves from this situation and be able to deal with it easily if it becomes apparent that an employee is moonlighting.
It needs to be stated in employees’ contracts that they have a duty to only work for you, and must request authorisation when wishing to carry out additional work. If this clause isn’t in the contract, it is possible that the act of working whilst off sick would constitute a breach of the duty to maintain mutual trust and confidence by the employee, which could be deemed gross misconduct. However express written clauses normally have more clout in employment tribunals than common law duties such as this. In Hopkins’ case, he had already been warned that carrying out work when off sick was not acceptable when he performed a magic show whilst off with flu in 2004. This helped the tribunal that heard his claim for breach of contract to reach the conclusion that the employer had acted fairly in dismissing him.
When dismissing an employee for any act of gross misconduct, a full investigation and reasonable evidence that the act took place is required. A general suspicion will not be enough to make a decision. Hopkins had been seen performing at a party, and additionally his website was still operational and he was still advertising his services in the Yellow Pages whilst he was off sick. Some employers choose to enlist the services of a private investigator; although this should be used with caution: if there is no initial evidence or strong suspicion then this could be invasion of privacy. The disciplinary procedures should always be followed before making a decision to dismiss; giving the individual a chance to voice their side of the story. An employment tribunal will need to be satisfied that you followed the correct process, and that you acted reasonably. For example, dismissing an employee after they were spotted out at a gig when they were off with work related stress will probably be seen as excessive and unreasonable.
One absence management initiative for employees on long term sick is to carry out home visits after a certain length of time. This is good practice and helps to ensure the company is providing enough support to the employee, keeps the employee informed about any workplace developments and reduces their feelings of alienation, and is an opportunity to discuss the possibilities of a return to work. The home visit also gives you an opportunity to reiterate the employee’s duties whilst they are off sick (one of which is to not work). As one person on an online discussion about this topic said: “if people think they can get away with something, they often will. If they know you are keeping track of them (within the law and their contract) it’s amazing how things improve”.
Things to consider:We offer Boat Insurance
Process Servers
Insure My Cargo Website
sothoferm : fabricant de volets, persiennes, portes de garage en bois et volet aluminium
excellent Legal Translation Services click www.world-translations.com/sectors/legal-translations.php
Comments
Got something to say?