SOME GPS are issuing sick certs for employees “like snuff at a wake”, the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises (Isme) association has claimed.
The association’s chief executive Mark Fielding said a survey carried out by the organisation found 83 per cent of absenteeism was due to “feigned illness or malingering”, which he claimed was being “tacitly condoned” by doctors. The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) has strongly rejected the findings as “misguided and mischievous”.
The Isme survey of 750 companies, employing more than 30,000 people, said that employees’ non-attendance was costing small businesses €1 billion every year. Mr Fielding said that absences could occur for legitimate reasons, such as genuine illness and family emergencies.
“It is also quite obvious, based on the survey results, that unauthorised absences are being tacitly condoned by the medical profession, too busy to investigate and advise and too fearful of our litigious environment,” he said.
“We, as employers, cannot question a GP’s note without a great deal of hassle and no hope of reversal and the malingerer knows that. The onus must be placed on the medical profession to be more circumspect in their deliberations and refuse to give a sick cert where appropriate,” Mr Fielding added.
He claimed that some GPs had an “ATM mentality” when it came to issuing doctors’ notes, allowing people to take time off work because of illness. These were often issued “like snuff at a wake, without any genuine intervention or advice”, he said.
Mr Fielding said businesses could no longer expect a full complement of staff on any given day. The survey said that employees were absent for an additional six days, on average, on top of holidays and other authorised absences every year.
The estimated annual €1 billion cost of absenteeism was based on an average cost of €145 per employee per day lost on wages, benefits and replacement costs.
Mr Fielding said the companies surveyed had indicated that, in their opinion, 83 per cent, or five days of unauthorised time taken was due to “feigned illness or malingering”. He said disciplinary procedures should be introduced and “back to work” interviews should be instigated to establish causes of absence.
Dr Ronan Boland, a Cork-based GP who is chairman of the IMO’s GP committee, said the Isme’s statement was “somewhat misguided and mischievous”. He said the Isme seemed to misunderstand the role of the GP, which was not “to act as a policeman for industry”.
Mr Fielding’s comments were an attempt to shift responsibility, Dr Boland said.
“My role is not to manage the presence or absence of employees. The key to managing inappropriate absence from work lies with the employer.”
Dr Boland said most large firms had already put in place systems to manage inappropriate absence of employees from the workplace.
“Isme should probably, with respect, get their own house in order instead of expecting the GP to do that work for them.”
He said the survey’s findings bore no relation to his experience or that of his colleagues. “I make no apologies for assuming a patient is telling me the truth.”
