About a month ago I hired a new employee at work. She was great. Then she took a day off because she was feeling sick. Then the next day, then the next, and she ended up being out for nearly 2 weeks. I asked her to bring a doctors’ note when she came back to work, and she gave me a note from an oncologist. So I guess… cancer? I don’t know, and she isn’t required to tell me.
Since she came back to work, things have been much different. She snaps at me, she slurs her speech, she can’t remember anything, she isn’t steady on her feet… I’m getting complaints from other employees that she smells like alcohol, but I can’t smell it because she wears a lot of men’s cologne. I’ve had to write her up twice for leaving work and not returning for over 30 minutes. I spoke to HR and they basically said they don’t know what to do either.
I don’t want to fire her because I feel so bad, something may be very wrong with her. But I also can’t have my employees disappearing, slurring, etc. because I could be fired. I try to talk to her and she is just very defensive and confrontational. I almost fired her today, but I decided to think about it over the weekend first. Help?
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talk with your supervisor. lay it out and get the answer you are looking for.
Have you considered calling her into your office, telling her you know she’s had or having some health problems, but things at work have to improve quickly for you to keep her on, and ask her what can be done? You say you’ve tried to talk to her. Put it right on the table bluntly that if things continue this way, you’ll have to fire her and that if she refuses to talk about it and to improve, she leaves you no choice.
You say you hired her about a month ago. And she was off nearly 2 weeks. So she only actually worked for you around 2 weeks, and some of that has gone badly. So how long was she “great”?
I’m wondering what kind of HR you have, if they can’t figure this out.