Andy Burnham’s authorities urged to ban workers from texting in sick to their boss
Sir Charlie Mayfield, the former boss of John Lewis, insisted that employees should be required to speak to their managers instead
Workers are being told they must stop doing it via text or email(Image: Getty)
Workers must stop calling in sick via a text or email, a Government adviser said. Sir Charlie Mayfield, the former boss of John Lewis, insisted that employees should be required to speak to their managers instead.
He reckons this would end the “insidious” culture that sees hundreds of thousands of people fall out of work every year. Sir Charlie wanted to end the “culture of fear” that prevented managers from talking to staff if they were off sick.
He said many bosses fear they would face a formal complaint or could even be taken to an employment tribunal. But he believes that if employees talked to their employers about their sickness it could facilitate “return to work plans” and workplace health schemes.
Charlie Mayfield(Image: Getty)
Sir Charlie said: “It’s very important that you’re immediately establishing a contact, a dialogue, between employer and employee. So you can’t just text, send a WhatsApp, or send an email.
“You’ve actually got to ring somebody up. It gives you the opportunity to have a conversation. To say, ‘I’m really sorry to hear that. How long is this going to be for? Is there something we can do about it?’”
He highlighted that those who are economically inactive for health reasons only have a 3.8% chance of going back to work within a year.
Workers should call instead, it’s claimed(Image: Getty Images)
Sir Charlies said that creating a new “workplace health system” would help to ensure that people do not take long periods of sick leave.
He has been leading a Government commissioned investigation into the 300,000 people who fall out of work each year with health conditions.
The Department for Work and Pensions said a new “workplace health system” is already being tested in different regions of the country.
It follows a study which found workers who spend their days at home are less likely to be promoted or recommended as doing well. Research led by King’s Business School found that workers described as spending most of the week at home are most likely to receive lower promotion or appointment ratings than those who work solidly from the office.
The study found the bias against homeworking continues, despite Andy Burnham pushing to make flexible working more the norm in the UK.
