Leave without notice serious issue: Hazelman
Leave without notice in any organisation is becoming a serious concern in Fiji. This was highlighted by the Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation chief executive officer Nesbitt Hazelman while presenting at the 2018 Fiji Australia Business Forum, Partners and Solutions for Business at the Fiji Marriott Resort Momi Bay on Friday. Mr Hazelman said: “Leave without notice is a big issue in this country, people just decide not to come to work and not tell anyone about it especially when there is a sick leave bonus at the end of the year when you don’t take your sick leave.
“There were over 19 key employers within the manufacturing sector employing just over 5000 workers.
“We found absenteeism sitting at four per cent, this was just over a month so 260 people were absent in a month.
“We had 540 people strolling in late for work, that represents about 10 per cent, then you have seven per cent of production in a month is lost through sick leave, annual leave, bereavement leave and leave without notice.
“Staff turnover, about 11 per cent of 594 in a year, those terminated about two per cent, 10 per cent leave without notice.”
He said it was core that tertiary institutions in the country including the higher level education, teach certain skills to their students.
“These are some of the skills that I would like to see inculcated in our tertiary and higher education to get people ready for work when they come to an employer, leadership learning skills, academic competence, strong work value that talks about productivity itself and work values,” he said. He added Fiji was a well-educated nation, where 90 per cent of the population had achieved some of form of formal education. “Every Fijian needs to understand the meaning of productivity and not only how it benefits them and their families but benefits the nation at large,” he said.