To keep or not to keep??

[KeysUnlocked]

I need some advice!!

So I started my first managerial role not too long ago and my team are brill, I'm lucky!

I have a girl who is lovely, great team member, shit-hot at her job etc., buuttttt... her attendance is awful 😣 She is 5 months in, so has her 6-month probationary period due in just under a month. I have been tasked with making the call as to whether we should offer her the opportunity to interview for a different role within the company which she wants to do, or tell her she will not be put forward for this role and then possibly terminate her employment at the point of her 6-month interview 😣

I sat down and discussed her current role with her, whether we could provide any support or further training (not that she needs the latter imo); she has numerous MH and physical health issues, but these were not recorded with HR when she joined the company nor does she take any meds 😕 which raises the question in my cynical head as to whether this may be a smoke-screen?

I have told my colleague (the person who will be responsible for the team she wants to join) that I would come to them with a decision come Mon but my head and heart are saying different things 🥺

Could you extend her probation and put things in place to assist her?

It sound as though extending her probation is the best way forward here as she’s as good employee that needs more support.

How many days has she had off sick?

I'm loathed to offer or continue employment for anyone who's attendance is poor. The fact is you aren't a charity. Either she gets in more consistently or she doesn't work for the company. We can't have people going off randomly, businesses still have to run.

At the same time does she have a DISABILITY? Having a MH or physical health problem isn't a reason not to fulfil your obligations, but if she has a formal disability then you must tread VERY carefully. The last thing you need is a disability discrimination case against you.

BTW people don't need to be on medication/treatment to have a problem with their health. Some people just opt not to take treatment.

I would extend probation by 6 weeks to 3 months, also have a sit down with HR with her and get all her needs documented, provide as much as possible (that is reasonable) and have a very clear set of extended objectives which incorporates a level of attendance metrics (with allowances for medical necessities, i.e. she cannot just have it off and say because MH or because illness but it needs to be covered by a doctors note or something to that affect)

I wouldn't let her apply for another role, as you will be default be passing her probation by doing so, and moving the problem to another department. The other roles is a smokescreen to get her to pass what she otherwise could fail

I asked her would she be happy with me to relay her conditions to HR so that they are on record to which she was more than happy with.

Support and training wise is not an issue in the sense there is nothing we can offer; 1, as she doesn't require further training and has confirmed this upon my asking, and 2, I suggested the option to maybe work from home occasionally however one of my managers dismissed this idea 😟

Unfortunately her probation cannot be extended again as I have been informed that at her 3-month one, it was passed only on the basis that she would try to improve her attendance 🥺

That answers it then.

She was given the condition to improve her attendance already, and hasn't.

End of the line unfortunately.

So was the 3 month probation actual probation of a half way review. If the former, then she was extended with attandance metrics, if so then let go.

if its the second then not sure why it cannot be extended.

Also you also have to think of the team dynamic as well. I'm of the view that work should be measured in output not in time at desk, as all that does is make inefficient t people look good. However if this is been picked up by other members of the team, it might make others start to take the piss if she can get away with it.

Sometimes the best thing for the team is to get rid of the star player

I think that has answered your question then if she has already been given the chance to improve her attendance but as not.

Could you inform her that she has one month and if her attendance does not improve then she will lose her job? Because that is what she agreed to when she signed the contract.

Does she have health grounds or disability that she can referred to Occ Health for? Then if Occ Health deemed WFH would be a reasonable adjustment your line manager would have to allow it?

Do you have an absence policy procedure thing that you could follow which gives her the chance to improve things?

also to cover your own arse, don't relay it to HR, make sure that you have a formal meeting and have HR present. Otherwise it provides wiggle room, saying you didn't explain it well enough etc and put you on the spot when in the final review

I get the employment protection for people who have illness or disability but not everybody has the health attributes to do every job. How does she deal with the attendance issue and is here any kind of reasonable reason? has her attendance issue been performance managed during her probation?
Speaking as a retired manager honestly unless she has a hard to source skill or qualification, I'd be letting her go while you can.

the "try to improve attendance" sounds a bit mimsy to me. Was she given agreed KPI's?

genuine question. If they opt not to take the treatment and therefore are less able in consequence, do they still get employment protection to the same level?