How serious is the return-to-work date?
Dec 29, 2009
<b>Many employees ignore the return-to-work date during the festive season</b><br><br>MOSES was astounded last year returning for duty, only to receive a termination letter that he had acted insolently by not respecting the official date to resume work.
Many employees ignore the return-to-work date during the festive season
BY OYET OKWERA
MOSES was astounded last year returning for duty, only to receive a termination letter that he had acted insolently by not respecting the official date to resume work.
He had exceeded the official date by two weeks without any communication to the concerned office.
The awaited holiday is here and many workers travel to their villages. Some workplaces expect workers to return for duty after Christmas while others take a longer holiday to the second day of January.
This expectation is sometimes violated by workers, who ignore the return-to-work date hoping to take advantage of their bosses’ spirit of goodwill during the festive season.
For others, it may be due to unavoidable circumstances. But what should one do if he or she is unable to report for duty on the stipulated date?
Doreen Mwesigwa, the managing director Job Connect Company, says in a situation where one is not sure of making it on the reporting date, one should write a formal letter to the human resource officer explaining the reasons for their inability to return on the stipulated date.
She says employers need to stipulate the date employees should report for duty since some exploit the loophole of unclear communication to intentionally come late after the festive holiday.
Mwesigwa says if a worker gets a problem, bosses will be considerate, but one needs to first communicate to the concerned office.
Joseph Musoke, the human resource manager of Warid Telecom, says employees should plan their activities within the stipulated time given by employers.
He says if employees have something to accomplish, it should not be at the expense of duty because they may easily lose their jobs.
Musoke says it is important for workers to update employers on what is happening as opposed to being non committal, since employers may construe it to mean the worker in question is not honest.
However, Musoke says in case of an unavoidable circumstance like attending burial, employee’s state of sickness among others, it is an exception and employees should swiftly bring the circumstances to the attention of the human resource officers and their supervisors.
He adds that employers should not rush into punishing the employee for delaying to come late on duty after the festive season. “Always analyse the information from the employee and find out its authenticity,†says Musoke.
He cautions employers to be analytical since some workers are cunning and may easily lie that they were caught up somewhere yet it was a prolonged holiday.
BY OYET OKWERA
MOSES was astounded last year returning for duty, only to receive a termination letter that he had acted insolently by not respecting the official date to resume work.
He had exceeded the official date by two weeks without any communication to the concerned office.
The awaited holiday is here and many workers travel to their villages. Some workplaces expect workers to return for duty after Christmas while others take a longer holiday to the second day of January.
This expectation is sometimes violated by workers, who ignore the return-to-work date hoping to take advantage of their bosses’ spirit of goodwill during the festive season.
For others, it may be due to unavoidable circumstances. But what should one do if he or she is unable to report for duty on the stipulated date?
Doreen Mwesigwa, the managing director Job Connect Company, says in a situation where one is not sure of making it on the reporting date, one should write a formal letter to the human resource officer explaining the reasons for their inability to return on the stipulated date.
She says employers need to stipulate the date employees should report for duty since some exploit the loophole of unclear communication to intentionally come late after the festive holiday.
Mwesigwa says if a worker gets a problem, bosses will be considerate, but one needs to first communicate to the concerned office.
Joseph Musoke, the human resource manager of Warid Telecom, says employees should plan their activities within the stipulated time given by employers.
He says if employees have something to accomplish, it should not be at the expense of duty because they may easily lose their jobs.
Musoke says it is important for workers to update employers on what is happening as opposed to being non committal, since employers may construe it to mean the worker in question is not honest.
However, Musoke says in case of an unavoidable circumstance like attending burial, employee’s state of sickness among others, it is an exception and employees should swiftly bring the circumstances to the attention of the human resource officers and their supervisors.
He adds that employers should not rush into punishing the employee for delaying to come late on duty after the festive season. “Always analyse the information from the employee and find out its authenticity,†says Musoke.
He cautions employers to be analytical since some workers are cunning and may easily lie that they were caught up somewhere yet it was a prolonged holiday.