Tesco to abolish the 'sickie'

SUPERMARKETS giant Tesco is refusing to pay workers for the first three days they take off sick in a scheme to discourage absenteeism.

Staff at some of the group's stores will earn sick pay only from their fourth day off.

The move by Tesco, which recently reported annual profits of £1.7bn, could be followed by other businesses in the battle to end the growing culture of absenteeism.

There are 5.9m employees off sick in Britain at any one time, with the 166m days taken every year costing firms £11bn. It is claimed that four in ten requests to doctors for sick notes are bogus.

The scheme being tried by Tesco - which is compulsory in new stores and voluntary in some existing ones - is designed to persuade workers to think twice before taking time off.

It gives them two options. They can either have an extra three days' holiday on top of their annual leave, losing one for each day they are off sick; or they can earn food vouchers for every 12-week period they complete without taking leave.

Tesco spokesman Greg Sage said: 'Unplanned absence is a real issue. It impacts on our business and our customers. People are having to cover for those off sick.'

He added that the 237,000 employees are offered flexible hours if they pre-arrange absence to accommodate appointments or family commitments.

Rival chain Asda also does not pay sick leave for the first three days for hourly-paid staff. They get sick pay only from the fourth day.

But the company said it also offered incentives, such as seven days extra holiday, in an attempt to combat absenteeism. It also offers flexible hours for those who need time off for personal reasons or religious beliefs.

Other employers have taken a softly-softly approach to dealing with absenteeism, giving workers the chance to take the odd 'sickie'.

Bosses at Kwik-Fit Insurance in Scotland recently decided the 900 staff could have 'duvet days' - two unquestioned days off every year. The move meant workers could decide to take a day off after a particularly heavy night out with only half an hour's notice.

Tesco's tough stance was criticised by workers' groups and unions, who claim it is penalising the supermarket's low-paid employees. Many are mothers who work part-time and need flexibility in their hours.

There were also claims that it could trigger more absenteeism by encouraging workers to stay off for at least four days to ensure they get some payback.

Unions said it was unfair for such a profitable firm to claw back benefits from staff. Pauline Doyle, of the Transport and General Workers' Union, said: 'This seems very harsh, particularly in an environment where they aim to recruit flexible workers. It doesn't send out a strong message about fair treatment.

'These people are working hard for an extremely profitable company and you would expect some of those rewards to drip down to the workers. Instead the message is that they do not value their workers.'

She added: 'Tesco's profits could be jeopardised if workers decide they don't want to work under those terms, especially if they are not getting a slice of those massive profits.'

Nick Isles of the Work Foundation, an independent think-tank aiming to improve efficiency in business, said: 'The real problem is long-term absence. Short-term episodes are irritating, but don't have quite the same impact.'

Long-term sickness has more than trebled in the past 25 years with stress increasingly blamed as the cause, although doctors are often unable to prove whether such complaints are genuine.

GPs have admitted they give certificates to patients who are probably fit to work.