Some one that is never at work

[powerstroked]

There is this person on my shift that is never at work! When the Sgt says "There is this training that is coming down the line who wants to go?" Guess who's hand shoots up first. And when they arnt at training they are playing the well i have family coming into town, I am sick, the kids are sick, and I think my dog will get ran over during the shift so i need to stay home and cry about it cards. I really don't see how this person can have anytime left on the books but they do. They have missed so much work they are clueless at calls. Know the feeling you get on that first call when you have been off for 2 weeks? They must not know what its like to NOT have that feeling.

I am looking for some ideas to handle this on the shift level any input?

[Iowa #1603]

This type of situation is one of my biggest frustrations as a supervisor.


I view it as a lack of work ethic. Unfortunately between union contracts & FMLA laws it ususally works out that there is virtually nothing that can be done at the supervisory level. Some of the people don't even respond to negative peer pressure.

By the way-----------------------they don't care about having that feeling.

[Long Gun]

Good god, Iowa 1603, I couldn't agree more. Baby bonding for the males has hit a new low (or is that high)? FMLA sucks. And association (union) agreements too. You are right on that as a supervisor, you often can do nothing about it. Some of these guys care more about knowing their "rights" than how to be a professional peace officer. And again... their peers don't stand a chance if the supervisor doesn't. We have a deputy who has at times over the years bragged that some years he has spent more days off work than on.

[patroldog]

I was a supervisor for 25 years (construction industry, city related, protected by Civil Service) and disciplining workers for FTA is frustrating to say the least. I have learned to return the favor to the no ethics worker by handing out ALL of the CR#P work to them, don't like it, QUIT, save us all a headache...........Stay Safe

[Chiller]

The ones we have like this are usually rewarded for that type of behavior. The ones that actually do work are penalized and ignored..


explain that one

[stormz5192]

We will just issue a Code Red or a sack of nickles beating.

[37delta]

Family medical leave and some guy taking training days off all the time are 2 different things. My dept actually gives us a set # of family sick days every year. Those are in addititon to our sick days we build during the year. We also get annual days that build during the year. Anyway, we do have those guys who seem like they are out on training a lot more than they are on patrol. I think that is a shame because it leaves the rest of the squad humping calls while they are sucking up all the training. We use to have a pretty clear cut order that you could only be on 1 special unit or squad. We developed a seach and recuse a while back and also a honor guard. Our swat guys use to do it, but now we actually have a set unit who train every month. With the new units, anyone is able to be on multiple teams. It sucks because they have to take time off each month to train on the different teams. I think the issue could be fixed from the bosses, but both those teams are kind of pet projects of them, so the rest of us are stuck doing the dirty work.

[RoadKingTrooper]

The ones we have like this are usually rewarded for that type of behavior. The ones that actually do work are penalized and ignored..


explain that one

Had a guy like that when I worked, never available for regular shift work because of training, safety programs ect.

He retired as a Major!

[slamdunc]

The ones we have like this are usually rewarded for that type of behavior. The ones that actually do work are penalized and ignored..


explain that one

Can't explain it, but I can define it:
Screw Up--Move Up! Happens everywhere.

[katseiye]

There is this person on my shift that is never at work! When the Sgt says "There is this training that is coming down the line who wants to go?" Guess who's hand shoots up first. And when they arnt at training they are playing the well i have family coming into town, I am sick, the kids are sick, and I think my dog will get ran over during the shift so i need to stay home and cry about it cards. I really don't see how this person can have anytime left on the books but they do. They have missed so much work they are clueless at calls. Know the feeling you get on that first call when you have been off for 2 weeks? They must not know what its like to NOT have that feeling.

I am looking for some ideas to handle this on the shift level any input?

Seems to me the Sgt may be part of the problem here. Did any one else want the training or is it assigned based on who's hand goes up first ?

Mayhaps he really doesn't want the liability of a clueless guy on shift and gives him every opportunity not to have to deal with him till a shift change rolls around and now someone else has to deal with it.

One of our biggest gripes are the fair hair crew that get their requests approved while those who remain vocal about lopsided treatment are consistently denied.

Consider a diplomatic shift meeting with the Sgt and voice your concerns.

[BPD_126]

We're having a huge problem with people calling in sick on either their mondays or fridays to extend their weekend. My grandma died on Feb. 28th, my wedding day, and her funeral was on the next thursday. I took thurs/friday off as a family sick day. I then had 1 1/2 week vacation to honeymoon (cruise). I've taken 1 sick day the last 2 1/2 years. My Cpt. walked by and complained to a Sgt., "Oh how convenient he's taking off both days before his honeymoon...." Sgt. replies, "Yeah, his grandma died." Cpt. didn't even feel bad for making the comment, just went, "Geez" and walked off.

Look in the schedule book and you can consistently see people taking "S" days on their mondays and fridays but I'M the problem?!?!? Figure that one out.

[SgtCHP]

Not a new problem. It happens in every agency. Personally, I used to overlook their requests for specialized training, extra duty, etc. When they were left out of the loop, most came around. Evaluations were always fun when they were dinged for excessive use of sick leave. I used to maintain a list of averages for my troops and would use that as a yardstick for evaluations.

I recall one troop who called in sick every other week on a regular basis. When shown the pattern he was establishing, he changed and became aware that others were taking notice. He requested a transfer and was gone within six months.

It is one of the greatest difficulties for supervision and administration to cope with and it is a hardship on the troops that have to double up on beat assignments or workshifts to cover the missing. There are no firm answers to deal with the selfish without violating their employee rights.

[FJDave]

Not a new problem. It happens in every agency. Personally, I used to overlook their requests for specialized training, extra duty, etc. When they were left out of the loop, most came around. Evaluations were always fun when they were dinged for excessive use of sick leave. I used to maintain a list of averages for my troops and would use that as a yardstick for evaluations.

I recall one troop who called in sick every other week on a regular basis. When shown the pattern he was establishing, he changed and became aware that others were taking notice. He requested a transfer and was gone within six months.

It is one of the greatest difficulties for supervision and administration to cope with and it is a hardship on the troops that have to double up on beat assignments or workshifts to cover the missing. There are no firm answers to deal with the selfish without violating their employee rights.

This is the way I deal with it. Look for patterns (calling in on a day in conjunction with RDOs, every Sunday, etc), deny day off or training requests with good cause, and the big one is mentioning it in the yearly eval. The eval is a permanent part of their record, so they don't want that in there.

[creolecop]

I am looking for some ideas to handle this on the shift level any input?

Powerstroked, I feel your pain. Your right to be frustrated after seeing it over and over. I gather from your post though that your not a supervisor. If you see it and it's that obvious than the people that it matters to see it also. I would recommend just going to work and working like he's not even on the PD. If he's gone all the time you guys can't miss him when he doesn't show up. I wouldn't make a big deal about it because it doesn't really concern you. I know you guys have to pick up his slack when he's not there but other than maybe mentioning it one time to get it off your chest to the SGT I would drive on and just write him off as a terd and continue to do my job.

[Chiller]

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