A Supervisor’s
Role in Absence
Management
An online training for
all Commonwealth
Supervisors
Welcome
to this web-based training on
Absence Administration.
This course is for
Commonwealth Supervisors.
It will offer you an overview of your role in
managing your employees’ absences.
Course Sections
This course is divided into the
following four sections:
Leaves of Absence
2. Absence Management
3. Roles related to Absences
Sick, Parental, Family Care (SPF)
Absences
1.
4.
Navigation through this Course
You will navigate through this course using
the “back” (
) and “next” (
) buttons
at the bottom of the screen.
Knowledge Check
At the end of the
course there is a
knowledge check
that will test what
you learned from
this presentation.
Classroom Course
This is a basic course that offers an
introduction to the topic of
Absence Administration.
After successfully completing this
course, you will be enrolled in a
classroom course that will explore this
information in greater detail.
This course will be scheduled by your
Human Resources Office.
Learning Objectives
After completing this course, you should
have a basic understanding of the
following:

Leaves of absence

Absence management

Roles related to absences

Sick, Parental, Family Care (SPF)
Absences
Leaves of
Absence
Module #1
This module covers basic information
that generally applies to all absences.
Module #4 will explain Sick, Parental,
and Family Care (SPF) absences, which
don’t always follow all basic rules.
Leaves of Absence
In this module we will look at the basic
concepts related to Leaves of Absence.
A Leave of Absence
is any time when an
employee is absent
from work, with or
without
compensation.
Some Basic Rules






All time away from work must be charged to and
recorded with an appropriate leave type.
Absence policies and procedures should be
applied consistently.
Absences should be requested in advance, unless
circumstances do not permit.
Emergency requests for all types of absence
should be carefully considered.
Any medical information provided verbally or in
writing must be kept confidential.
Most absence requests should be considered
based on operational requirements.
Types of Leaves of Absence
Each type of leave has a unique
absence code. There are many different
types of leave, grouped into the
following two categories:
Accrued or Earned
Leave
Granted only for
Qualifying Reasons
Examples include:
• Annual
• Personal
• Sick
Examples include:
• Leave Without Pay
• Civil
• Military
Did you know that…
Most absence requests may be
disapproved for operational reasons.
Exceptions to this include
SPF Absences and Military Absences
Approving Leaves of Absence
All leaves of absence require
approval/disapproval.
Regardless of the type of
leave, supervisors must not
approve absences when the
reason for the absence is
either inappropriate or
inconsistent with the policy.
Resources for Information
To make sure the reason for absence is consistent
with the code, consult these resources:




The applicable union contract
Materials provided by the Human Resource
Office
Absence Types Guide Summary, found at
www.SPFsupervisors.state.pa.us
When in doubt, ask the Human Resource
Office staff
When a Supervisor
Needs Guidance
Supervisors should seek guidance from
the Human Resource Office when they
suspect employees are misusing leave
or have unique circumstances that
impact their leave use.
Indicators of Employees
Needing Guidance
The following triggers may indicate that supervisors should notify
or seek guidance from the Human Resource Staff:

Employee is nearing the depletion of paid leave

Employee requests an uncommon leave type

Employee has an unscheduled absence for five or
more consecutive work days

Employee’s sick leave use has increased over the last
few weeks or months

A conversation is overheard or an employee tells the
supervisor of a pregnancy or a serious health
condition
To Sum it Up:
Leave must be requested for all time away from work.
Generally, supervisors may disapprove
absences due to operational reasons.
Be sure to approve the correct absence code.
Supervisors should seek guidance from their
Human Resources Office in certain situations.
Absence
Management
Module #2
The following slides review the concept
of Absence Management.
As in many situations, there are
exceptions for which the basic rules do
not apply. Some of these exceptions will
be reviewed in Module #4.
Absence Management –
The Basics
Both supervisors and employees have roles in
Absence Management:
Supervisors:
Should consider employee
requests for absences in
relation to the need to
maintain efficient operations
(except when the absence is
required by law or union
contract to be approved).
Employees:
Should manage absences to
not exceed accrued and/or
anticipated leave balance
quotas.
Components of Absence
Management
Following are several ways that can help
ensure effective Absence Management:






Develop a call-off policy.
Review absence and attendance policies – including the
call-off policy – on an annual basis with all employees.
Remind employees of absence management throughout the
year if: call-offs are frequent, a lot of leave is used in
relation to available leave, or accrued leave is nearly
depleted.
Counsel employees about effective use (or misuse) of leave
when appropriate.
Evaluate operational needs when considering each absence
request and approve/deny it as appropriate.
Apply absence policy and procedures consistently.
To Sum it Up:
Both supervisors and employees have roles related to
absence management.
Supervisors should evaluate operational needs
when approving/denying absence requests.
A well-communicated call-off policy and
counseling when appropriate can help in
effective absence management.
Employees are responsible for managing their
absences to not exceed accrued and/or
anticipated leave balance quotas.
Roles Related
to Absence
Management
Module #3
The following slides outline roles and
responsibilities in the administration of
Absence Management. They cover the
responsibilities of employees,
supervisors, and Human Resource staff.
Employee Responsibilities
Employees have responsibility for the following
components of Absence Management:

Maintain and manage accrued and anticipated leave.






Budget leave to last the entire year.
Be aware that when accrued leave is depleted, additional
absences may not be approved.
Request absences in advance, when possible.
Attempt to schedule absences when they are least
disruptive to operations.
Obtain/provide supporting documentation when required
within requested timeframes.
Adhere to established call-off procedures and work rules.
Supervisor Responsibilities
Supervisors have responsibility for the following
components of Absence Management:






Maintain efficient operations.
Apply the call-off policy consistently.
Ensure all absences are recorded.
Ensure eligibility for the requested absence type
by checking policies and leave balance quotas.
Approve (or deny if appropriate) requests in a
timely manner.
Monitor employee absences and counsel
employees about leave use as needed.
Supervisor Responsibilities
(continued)

Follow labor agreement requirements for vacation
selection.

Approve absences consistent with operational
needs on a first-come, first-serve basis, if
requested outside of the vacation selection
period.

Carefully consider emergency requests.

Remind employees annually of the absence
management policies and their responsibility to
manage/budget their absences.
HR Office Responsibilities
Time Advisors have responsibility for the following
components of Absence Management:

Ensure all employees receive orientation on
absence provisions.

Provide guidance to supervisors related to leave
requests, including but not limited to:
 Correct absence coding
 Counseling employees about excessive leave
use
Monitor absence and other time-related error
reports.

HR Office Responsibilities
SPF Coordinators have responsibility for the following
components of Absence Management:







Provide final approval or disapproval for SPF Absences.
Determine employee eligibility and entitlement for SPF.
Ensure absences are coded correctly.
Monitor usage to ensure employees are not over-utilizing
SPF Absence.
Review medical documentation to ensure completeness and
accuracy.
Provide and request follow-up documentation as necessary.
Assist employees and supervisors with SPF Absence
requests.
HR Office Responsibilities
Labor Relations Coordinators have responsibility for
the following components of Absence Management:

Work with supervisors when leave restriction or
discipline is necessary.

Work closely with SPF Coordinator when issues
overlap.
To Sum it Up:
Employees, Supervisors, Time Advisors,
SPF Coordinators, and Labor Relations Coordinators
all have roles related to managing absences.
Sick, Parental,
and Family Care
(SPF) Absences
Module #4
In this section we will review Sick,
Parental, and Family Care (SPF)
Absences in some detail.
Some of the initial information in this
section may be familiar to you if you have
viewed the employee version of the
SPF training.
What is SPF Absence?
An SPF Absence is a paid or unpaid absence from
work with benefits for any of the following reasons:



For the employee’s own incapacity or treatment
due to a serious health condition as defined by
the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of
1993;
For a qualifying family member’s serious health
condition when the employee is attending to the
medical needs of the family member; or
For the birth, adoption, or foster care placement
of a child.
Note: SPF Absence provisions do not apply to paid sick leave
unless used for one of the reasons above.
SPF and FMLA
SPF Absences, in general, are covered by the Family
and Medical Leave Act and are also designated as
FMLA Leave under the provisions of FMLA.
SPF Absence Applicability
An SPF Absence is available and applicable to the
following groups of employees effective
January 1, 2008:

Employees represented by unions :






AFSCME
PSSU (and UC Referees)
UFCW
SEIU-1199P
ISSU
 PUC Attorneys
 OPEIU
 UGSOA
 LLEO
 FOSCEP
Management and non-represented employees
Note: Employees not covered above continue to follow existing
policies for Sick, Parental, and Family Care leave without pay.
SPF Absence Eligibility
To be eligible for an SPF Absence,
an employee must have:

One year of service (26 pay periods of
leave service credit)

Worked 1250 hours in the twelve months
preceding the first absence.

Hours include: regular and overtime hours
worked, and all hours of military absence

Hours do not include: paid absences, unpaid
absences, and holidays
SPF Absence Eligibility
Determination


An employee’s
eligibility is evaluated
and determined for
each new SPF event
(which is a new or
different medical
condition or reason for
using SPF absence).
Employees remain
eligible for each SPF
event for one year, at
which time eligibility is
re-evaluated.
SPF Absence Entitlement
Once eligibility is determined, an employee is
entitled to up to six months of SPF Absence within a
rolling year for all SPF Absence events.

Six months is:




982.5 hours for employees who work
7.5 hours/day
1,048 hours for employees who work
8 hours/day
Prorated amount for part-time employees
A rolling year is the 12-month period preceding
the date of the absence.
Note: When more than six months of paid leave is available,
the entitlement is not limited to six months.
SPF Absence Entitlement
Intermittent or reduced-time use of SPF Absence is
available only during the first 12 weeks of the sixmonth entitlement in a rolling year.

Twelve weeks is:

450 hours for employees who work
7.5 hours/day

480 hours for employees who work
8 hours/day

Prorated amount for part-time employees
Paid SPF Absence


All forms of paid leave used as SPF Absence
reduce the six-month SPF Absence entitlement.

All applicable accrued paid sick leave is required
to be used.

Accrued annual, personal, and holiday leave may
be used.

Anticipated annual, personal, and sick leave may
be used in accordance with anticipation policies.
All forms of paid leave, if required or if chosen to
be used, must be taken before using unpaid SPF
Absence.
How does SPF relate to
Absence Management?





SPF Absence policy must be administered
consistently.
SPF Absences must be recorded correctly and
timely.
Despite a supervisor’s need to maintain efficient
operations, no SPF Absence can be disapproved
by the supervisor for operational reasons or for
any other reason.
All decisions for approval and disapproval are
made by the SPF Coordinator.
Absences must be provisionally approved/
designated as SPF/FMLA Absence within two
business days.
Additional Responsibilities related
to SPF Absence
In addition to standard Absence Management
responsibilities, you have the additional
responsibilities with SPF Absences:





Comply with the FMLA law.
Advise employees of their rights to use SPF Absence when
absences are suspected to be qualifying.
Monitor SPF entitlements to ensure that no leave is granted
when an SPF entitlement has been depleted.
Determine if call-offs should be designated as SPF Absence.
Contact the SPF Coordinator for assistance and advice on
all confirmed or possible SPF Absences.
SPF Absence Do’s and Don’ts

DO ensure that paid absences related to a
serious health condition are coded as SPF
Absence when appropriate.
Note: Accrued sick leave is required to be used before any
other paid or unpaid absence.

DON’T ignore paid leave absences that may
qualify as SPF Absence.
Note: It is inappropriate to allow the use of paid leave and
not report it as SPF Absence if it qualifies as SPF Absence.

DON’T allow unpaid SPF Absence to be used
simply because paid sick leave is depleted.
Confidentiality

An employee should submit all medical
documentation related to their serious health
condition to either the Human Resource Office or
their supervisor.

Supervisors should not review medical
documentation, but should forward it directly to
the Human Resource Office in an envelope
marked “personal and confidential”.

Supervisors should maintain confidentiality of any
medical documentation or information the
employee shares.
Questions and More Information
Each agency has a designated SPF Coordinator
within the central Human Resource Office. This
person is available to assist with any questions you
may have about the SPF Absence policy.
You can also visit the website,
www.SPFsupervisors.state.pa.us, for additional
information and forms for SPF Absences:
Frequently Asked Questions
Notice to Employees
Request for SPF Absence Form
Serious Health Condition Certification Form
Future Training

Classroom training will
provide more specific
information on SPF
Absence and all other
materials included in the
presentation.

For questions, contact
your Human Resource
Office.
Knowledge Check
You will now be taken to a knowledge check
that will ask questions about the topics
covered in this training.
1. What does SPF stand for?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Sun Protection Factor
Sick, Parental, and Family Care
Sick Family, Prenatal, and Family
Screening Prevention Forum
Correct.
"SPF" stands for
Sick, Parental, and Family Care.
Incorrect.
"SPF" stands for
Sick, Parental, and Family Care.
2. When a supervisor notices triggers - such as an
employee nearing the depletion of their paid leave
or an employee who uses more unscheduled
absences than usual - the supervisor should:
1.
2.
3.
Discipline the employee
Notify or seek guidance from the Human
Resources Office
Talk to the employee's coworkers to find out if
anyone knows about the employee's situation
Correct.
Supervisors should notify or seek
guidance from their Human Resources
Office when they have questions or
need help managing their employees'
leave.
Incorrect.
Supervisors should notify or seek
guidance from their Human Resources
Office when they have questions or
need help managing their employees'
leave.
3. Which of the following are components of
effective Absence Management?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Applying the call-off policy consistently
Counseling employees about effective use of
leave when it is appropriate
Evaluating operational needs and approving or
disapproving requested leave as appropriate
All of the above
Correct.
All of these are components of
effective Absence Management.
Incorrect.
All of these are components of
effective Absence Management.
4. Which of the following individuals have roles in
Absence Management?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Employee
Supervisor
Time Advisor
SPF Coordinator
Labor Relations Coordinator
All of the Above
Correct.
All of these individuals have roles
in Absence Management.
Incorrect.
All of these individuals have roles
in Absence Management.
5. True or False: SPF Absences, in general, are
covered by the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
and are also designated as FMLA Leave under the
provisions of the FMLA.
1.
2.
True
False
Correct.
Incorrect.
6. How much Commonwealth service must an
employee have in order to be eligible for an SPF
Absence?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Three months
Nine months
One year
Three years
Correct.
An employee must have one year
of service and have worked 1250
hours in the twelve months
preceding the first absence.
Incorrect.
An employee must have one year
of service and have worked 1250
hours in the twelve months
preceding the first absence.
You have completed the Absence
Management for Supervisors course.
Thanks for being here!