Taking leave because family issues

Frankly I don't think the 'reason' is any of the firm's business. Most companies I know have rules regarding off-days: vacation, sick days, personal days and unpaid leave. As long as the employee adheres to the rules of the contract, the details are irrelevant. If an employee abuses the unpaid leave option to the detriment of the team, you would be justified in taking them to task for poor performance. If you are giving them time off as favor, beyond what they are entitled to, then you are justified in tightening the reins. Apart from that, it is up to the company to build sufficient flexibility and redundancy in talent, effort and project-management. It is part of the project-planning. Excessively lean teams are a recipe for trouble. I know that built-in redundancy is a tall order since it affects the bottom-line.

In the United States, life and society are subservient to the market. Despite much talk of retention and 'human resources', employees in most jobs are mere cogs in the wheel to be discarded at will. India is fast following suit, but is not quite there yet. Working conditions in Indian companies are quite aggressive from what little I know, but family obligations do intrude as a cultural vestige.

There are certainly cultural differences. Extended family matters. My cousins are as close to me as siblings. My father's cousin's daughter's wedding is important to me. I would not have it any other way. Rituals following death are not a one-day affair. It is believed that they help guide the soul into the afterlife. Many people would experience skimping on them as condemning their loved ones to eternal limbo.

If you are looking for creative solutions, then perhaps you might try to find flex-time options so that your employees can compensate for the lost time & work. Or you might look for ways to track productivity - most employers track hours because it is an easily quantifiable no-brainer. This is a hangover from the early days of industrial labor. It does not automatically follow that it is useful or optimal.

It should go without saying that I am not talking about slackers or incompetents or the utterly uncommitted. Such people exist everywhere and one needs to feel no guilt in getting rid of them.

 

Agree with Soka.

I am not into company's leave etc, but as far as bereavement goes, there is no specified time frame and every individual will have different pace to come to terms with it.

So with respect to the leave they take will depend on the individual and the circumstances and we cannot force it on them. I don't feel there is a problem here in my work place regarding those issues, though not sure elsewhere.

 

Really what company do you work for and what HRIS does your company use? If these people who take time off report to you, it is very strange that your company does not give access to your employees' vacation balance etc. If they do not report to you, it is none of your business, I guess. My work is configuring ERP systems for companies, so take my word. Unless your company tracks employee data in an excel sheet or uses paper files to track absence, it is quite unbelievable that you don't know time off balances for your employees!

A major reason for employee absence or tardiness is poor management. So maybe you are the reason they feel the need to take so much time off?

 

sokanasanah garu u'r right.

If anyone passes away from our life they will be in our heart n mind alway's .

 

Well, in India, the auspicious dates and times are decided based on a traditional lunar calendar.

In any case, my first instinct would be to give your team & its members the benefit of the doubt. Simply ask the person who wants time off how they can compensate and help to meet targets and deadlines. Let them come up with a plan.

Another option is to give the team as a whole the joint responsibility for meeting project goals. If someone needs time off, someone else can pick up the slack, only to be 'repaid' in kind later. It becomes difficult to abuse the system if you have to face all your teammates. Within reasonable limits, as long as project milestones are met, flexibility can be achieved, at the cost of some blurring of individual contribution.

Just ask your team how they want to deal with this!

 

What sort of a company you are working for? It is strange, as well cruel on an employee's part if they are not allowed to take leave for what they are applying for?

I work for an international company; hence international rules apply.

My mom's health matters a lot to me. I definitely need a break if she is sick. Because I am expected to take her to the hospital, and stay with her if she is admitted there.

When my dad passed away, my company allowed me to take a week off. Of course from my annual leave balance. I wouldn't have come back to terms, had I been expected to do the cases the next day. If so, my work as well as the clients lives would have been a huge disaster.

In my culture, family matters. Family is not just your immediate family.

However, if the staff member has a pattern of applying leave repeatedly, that too beyond his annual leave balance, then it is compulsory to review his performance against his working capacity. There are annual, and mid-term reviews to be based while renewing the contracts, right?

In any case, as a supervisor you have the rights to request the HR about the staff members leave balance prior to approving his leave request.

 

Sorry to say OP...but thank god I do not have manager who thinks like you.
I do work with some American and European managers and they always cooperate in such cases.

Recently one of my friends FIL got expired and he had to travel out of country in 1 very short notice,
His manager (American) told him- no worries this time is take care of your family not work. He took of for 2 weeks and no one questioned him.