Reason for Absence

• The best practice for managers is to be proactive when occurrences happen, and ask the employee why he or she was late, why the employee had to leave early, or why the employee missed a full shift.
• Management does not need to know details of an illness when the reason for the occurrence is personal or medical. The purpose of the conversation is to simply determine what prevented the employee from coming to work. A doctor’s note is not required nor does it excuse a single absence.
• If a doctor's note is provided by the employee, it will group up to three absences into a single occurrence.
• A notation explaining the reason for the absence should be made on the employee’s Attendance and PTO Record or tickler file.
• Managers should document all occurrences in Attendance PTO Tracker Form.

Please Note: If an employee expresses that his or her absence is due to something more than a simple illness, or if the employee is absent more than three consecutive scheduled shifts, a Leave of Absence, paid sick leave or other steps may be necessary. See Attendance Medical for more information.