• Protecting confidential payroll data is key to preventing fraud and potential data breaches.
• Payroll security strategies involve implementing access control systems and training employees in security best practices.
• At EmPower HR, we provide payroll and other HR management solutions to make your business safer and more efficient. Contact us to get started!

Payroll processing involves dealing with a trove of sensitive employee information. To keep confidential data safe and prevent fraud and potential data breaches, companies need to have an efficient payroll security strategy in place.

Yes, we know this can be a complex topic, so we’ve put together a guide with everything you need to know about payroll security. Read on to learn why you need to protect your payroll data, the most common types of payroll fraud, and practical steps to strengthen your payroll systems.

Let’s dive in!

What Is Payroll Security?

Payroll security involves all the processes that a business implements to safeguard the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of payroll data.

When paying salaries and managing employee benefits, companies get access to all kinds of personal information from their employees. This involves names, social security numbers, salaries, addresses, and bank account details. What’s more, they also handle data regarding bonuses, taxes, hours worked, and holidays.

So, payroll security is about ensuring that all this sensitive information is safe to:

• Protect employees 
• Maintain compliance with regulations
• Prevent unauthorized access or fraud

Why Does a Payroll System Need Security?

Payroll systems deal with two critical assets: employees’ salaries and other highly sensitive information. So, it’s not hard to imagine why they need to be protected.

Payroll security breaches can have a very negative impact on your business, from serious financial losses to damaging your brand’s reputation.

In 2023, the global average cost of a data breach was $4.45M

— IBM

Here are some of the main reasons why your payroll system needs to have strong security measures in place:

• To keep sensitive information confidential. Unauthorized access to payroll information could lead to identity theft, financial fraud, or other malicious activities.
• To prevent fraud. Payroll systems deal with financial transactions. Security measures help you avoid fraudulent activities, such as creating fake employees, altering salary figures, or redirecting funds.
• To stay compliant. There are several laws and regulations that protect employee data as well as financial information. Non-compliance could have legal consequences for your business, such as penalties and costly fines.
• To maintain trust. Employees trust you to handle their personal and financial information with care. A breach of payroll security can undermine this trust and hurt your company.
• To protect your business against cyber threats. Ransomware, phishing attacks, malware… your business is exposed to all kinds of digital risks and your payroll system needs to be protected.

The Common Types of Payroll Fraud

Payroll fraud occurs when someone illicitly manipulates payroll processes to gain financial benefits. This can take various forms, here are some of the most common:

• Ghost employees: It happens when fictitious individuals who don’t work for the company are added to its payroll system. The fraudster may create false identities or use the details of former employees.
• Time theft: Employees may manipulate timesheets, such as adding more hours worked or submitting fraudulent overtime claims.
• Salary fraud: Employees or administrators may manipulate salary figures, either by increasing their own pay or altering the salaries of colleagues.
• Employer Fraud: Employers may engage in fraud by misclassifying employees as independent contractors, underreporting payroll figures, or misrepresenting the nature of a worker’s duties to lower insurance premiums.
• Tax fraud: This includes underreporting income, falsely claiming tax credits, or manipulating tax withholding information.
• Workers’ Compensation fraud: Submitting fictitious or exaggerated injury or illness claims to obtain compensation benefits, as well as claiming that an injury occurred at work when it didn’t.

Who Is Leaking Payroll Information?

While payroll fraud often happens internally, payroll information leaks can also involve external actors. According to Verizon’s 2023 Data Breach Investigations Report…

“74% of all breaches include the human element, with people being involved either via Error, Privilege Misuse, Use of stolen credentials or Social Engineering.”

Potential sources of leaks may include:

a – External Hackers

No matter the size of your business, this is the most frequent cause of payroll information leaks. Following Verizon’s report…

83% of breaches involve external actors and nearly all of them are financially driven

External hackers may gain unauthorized access to a company’s payroll systems or take advantage of vulnerabilities in the network to steal payroll information. Also, through social engineering, they can manipulate or trick employees into disclosing sensitive information, including payroll details.

b – Internal Employees

Employees might leak payroll information accidentally, by sending sensitive data to the wrong recipients, leaving documents in public areas, or misplacing physical records. They can also fall victim to phishing attacks.

Finally, disgruntled employees may intentionally leak payroll information as a form of sabotage.

c – Third-Party Service Providers

Leaks may occur if your business outsources its payroll processing to a third-party service provider and the provider’s security measures are inadequate.

7 Tips to Protect Payroll Data

Now that you are aware of the main risks and threats that your business is exposed to, it’s time to see how to keep your data safe!

Here are 7 tips to improve the security of your payroll data:

1 – Implement Access Controls

Limit access to payroll systems and data to authorized personnel only. By implementing role-based access controls, you can ensure that employees have the minimum level of access necessary for their job responsibilities.

Make sure to regularly review and update access permissions.

2 – Encrypt Sensitive Data

Use encryption to protect sensitive payroll data both in transit and at rest. This guarantees that, even if unauthorized individuals gain access to your payroll data, it remains unreadable without the proper decryption keys.

3 – Regularly Update Software and Security Patches

Keep payroll software, operating systems, and security applications up to date with the latest patches and updates. That way, you can decrease vulnerabilities that could be exploited by hackers.

4 – Conduct Regular Audits and Monitoring

Perform regular audits of your payroll data and processes to identify any unusual activities or discrepancies. You should also implement monitoring systems that can detect and alert people to suspicious behavior, providing an early warning of potential security issues.

5 – Train Employees on Security Best Practices

Provide security awareness training to your employees, emphasizing the importance of safeguarding payroll data. Train them to recognize phishing attempts, use strong passwords, and follow secure data handling practices.

6 – Secure Physical Access to Data

If your payroll data is stored in physical form, such as paper documents or hard drives, ensure that physical access is restricted. Implement secure storage facilities, use locked cabinets, and establish procedures for keeping sensitive documents safe.

7 – Establish a Disaster Recovery Plan

Develop and regularly test a disaster recovery plan to ensure that your payroll processes can continue in the event of data loss or system failures.

Finally, back up your payroll data regularly, and store backups in a secure offsite location.

EmPower HR: Payroll With a Personal Touch

Processing payroll involves great attention to detail and handling sensitive employee information. There are just too many tasks to do and little room for error. But what if you could take that weight off your shoulders?

Outsourcing payroll and other HR functions to a trusted partner gives you peace of mind and more time to focus on the strategic side of your business.

At EmPower HR we provide payroll administration services that actually feel like having an in-house payroll specialist. We ensure that all your employees are paid correctly and on time, while keeping your payroll data safe and fully compliant.

Why to Choose EmPower HR for Payroll Administration

We know that managing payroll requires responsible and trustworthy partners. Here are a few reasons to choose EmPower HR:

• Have a payroll specialist available for you, without the associated costs of hiring one on-site.
• Amazing customer service. We are proud of the connections we build with clients and specialize in solving problems.
• Get customized solutions adapted to your business’ specific payroll needs and your sector’s regulations and standards.

Payroll Security Conclusions

Regardless of the size of your business, you need to have payroll security processes in place to ensure your most sensitive data is protected.

By keeping your payroll system safe, you can minimize the risk of fraudulent activities and protect against hackers or other digital threats.

At EmPower HR, we provide a full suite of payroll and HR services to help businesses manage administrative tasks more efficiently, while staying up to date with compliance and security requirements.

Contact us to improve your payroll process with a team of specialists by your side!

Related Links

• PEO Services: A Guide to Grow Your Company
• 9 HR Best Practices for Small Businesses
• It’s Compliance Not Rocket Science | Our HR Compliance Checklist Makes It Easy

We’ve listed the top questions we get asked about contacting references without permission. Can employers contact references without permission? What are backdoor reference checks and are they illegal? Here are our top answers and compliance tips regarding checking references. 

If a Candidate Asks You Not to Contact Their Current Employer

It’s ultimately up to you, but we recommend that you respect the candidate’s wishes. When candidate’s ask you not to use references from their current employer, it’s (usually) for a valid reason. While it may be tempting to see this as a red flag, be open to see the situation from the candidate’s perspective. Some common reasons that candidates request a vow of secrecy include: 

• Keeping their job hunt on the down low. The candidate isn’t ready to inform their employer about their search for a new opportunity. It’s understandable that they don’t want to put their livelihood on the line, their current employer could fire them if they find they’re looking for work elsewhere. (Even though we don’t recommend terminating an employee for looking for another job.)
• Fear of repercussions in their current workplace. If word gets out about their job hunt, current employers or coworkers could retaliate and treat the employee differently if they decide to stay at their current company. 
• Inaccurate responses. A toxic boss might give an inaccurate statement about their ability to do the job based on personal conflict that isn’t accurate to the job’s responsibilities.

Can Employers Contact References Without Permission?

Legally, yes, you can contact references without permission and backdoor reference checking isn’t illegal. The decision is up to you, but it’s highly recommended that you respect the candidate’s request not to contact certain references. The hiring process should make an effort to build the candidate’s trust with the company. If you contact previous employers against a candidate’s wishes, they may feel disrespected.

If you do decide to contact the current employer despite the candidate’s request, it’s best practice to let the candidate know beforehand and explain what questions you will be asking their employer (job performance, job title, etc.). The candidate may opt to let you go ahead with the reference check or they may decide to withdraw themselves from consideration instead of having you reach out. Either way, it’s best to let them know your intentions, especially if contacting their current employer could have negative repercussions for them.

Are ‘Backdoor’ Reference Checks Illegal?

It’s known as a “backdoor reference check” when a recruiter reaches out to a contact that was not provided by the candidate. There’s other names floating around for this such as informal checks, or quiet checks – they’re all the same thing. Through networking sites or contacts, recruiters can identify mutual connections that can answer questions about a potential candidate. 

Wondering if a backdoor reference check is illegal? The answer is no. Even though it’s legal to perform backdoor reference checks, it can cause problems. You may have to deal with:

• An uncredible source. When reaching out into the unknown, you never know what you’re going to receive. You may find yourself contacting an unreliable contact that didn’t work directly with your candidate or at a different time period or location.
• Biased information. Selecting a random ex-coworker or connection can end up being a best friend or an enemy, either way you’re probably going to receive a biased review. 
• Broken trust. Contacting references the candidate didn’t provide will confuse them and break any trust they have with you and your company during the process – especially if you contact their current employer without permission.

Reference Check Compliance Tips

Ask Compliant Questions

Be mindful of the information you can and cannot receive. It’s crucial to be respectful of company policy and know the restrictions on what information references can legally provide in your state. For example, you can only request information on “job performance” from an employer in Illinois. 

When reaching out to employers, their company policy may prevent them from sharing some job specifics such as salary and dates of employment. These company policies aim to prevent risk of liability for discrimination or defamation. 

Stay Organized

When speaking to a referral, it’s best to have a script. Asking each referral the same question gives your candidates a level playing field. Plus, without a standardized process, you could miss crucial details about your candidate. An organized approach will help you stay compliant and get the best information. 

Avoid Bias and Discrimination

Be sure to talk to multiple references to reach common themes. (Just like in baking, the key to reference checks is consistency!) If certain referrals seem far off from the others or unreliable, use your best judgment to determine the accuracy of their story. 

Interviewing references is similar to conducting a job interview, you can’t discuss personal information in reference checks. Even if you don’t realize you are being biased or discriminatory, even the best interviewers can slip up. To avoid that slippery slope, don’t ask personal questions unrelated to the job description. As a reminder, you cannot ask about:

• Age
• Marital status
• Ethnicity
• Sexuality
• Religion
• Disability

These, and others, fall under federal Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Laws that protect candidates from discrimination.

HR Can Keep You Compliant

Too often, HR leaders and business owners get bogged down in the nitty gritty details of HR. (Wait, what can I legally ask in a reference check again?) Business owners and HR leaders, consider outsourcing HR to help expand your talent search and streamline your recruitment process. Outsourcing HR gives you access to HR gurus who have mastered what you can and can’t ask references. So you don’t have to worry about asking the wrong questions and potential legal penalties. They can help you build an organized approach to the referral process, know what to ask and how to interpret the responses.

Here are 5 of the toughest HR compliance challenges companies of all sizes face, with examples of compliance rules and recommended best practices to help you stay ahead of the compliance curve.

5 Toughest HR Compliance Issues Every HR Leader Should Know

We know that HR responsibilities fall way beyond throwing job-anniversary parties. From hiring to payroll, HR leaders handle a variety of compliance issues related to employees. So we’ve given you a birds eye view of some of the toughest HR compliance rules that, like Ross and Rachel, are just complicated.

1. Identifying the compliance requirements that apply to your business

Being compliant requires learning which laws apply to your organization and understanding what they require you to do. That’s easier said than done. While there’s no shortage of compliance rules that apply to all employers – employment taxes, wage garnishments, termination pay, and unemployment insurance, just to name a few — there are plenty of small, nitty gritty details that determine whether some rules apply to your business. 

Some HR compliance rules, like great modern art, are open to interpretation. Laws like the Family and Medical Leave Act and whether or not you are legally required to pay an intern are somewhat subjective and require some serious compliance expertise to master. (Did you know that your employees need to meet 3 qualifications before they’re eligible for FMLA leave?) 

The little complexities and ever-changing nature of compliance makes it difficult for even the best human resources professionals to know what rules actually apply to their business. One of the ways to sort through the madness is to pay attention to your business size. For example, some compliance laws only apply to businesses of 50+ employees. 

We’ve laid out the laundry list of compliance requirements for your business, whether it has 1 employee or over 100. Check out or checklist to help you determine what compliance laws apply to your business.

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2. Employee benefits regulations

Most companies offer their employees a laundry list of benefits – PTO, health insurance, tuition reimbursement, disability insurance and retirement savings – just to name a few. It can be confusing for compliance newbies to determine what benefits are good perks, and what ones are federally required. 

Employee benefits fall into two categories: those required by law (social security and medicare) and those an employer chooses to offer voluntarily (vacation time.)  Businesses are bound by federal law to offer certain employee benefits — and it takes some research to know which benefits a company has to provide its full-time workers. Federal mandatory employee benefits include:

• Social Security and Medicare
• Unemployment insurance
• Workers’ compensation insurance
• Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) protections

But what makes employee benefits compliance truly complex are the mix of federal and state laws that employers must adhere to. The following are just a few examples of the most complex mandatory benefit requirements.

Unemployment Insurance

Take unemployment insurance for example. Employers are required to contribute to unemployment insurance through payroll taxes at both the state and the federal level, to assist workers who lose their jobs. While this is a federally required benefit, since unemployment insurance is administered by individual states, the cost of this insurance and amount required for each employer varies from state to state. 

Disability Insurance

While disability insurance is not a mandatory federal benefit, it is one of the legally required benefits for employers in California, Hawaii, Rhode Island, New Jersey and New York.

Health Insurance

Under the Affordable Care Act, applicable large employers (ALEs) risk a potential assessment if they do not offer adequate and affordable coverage to their full-time employees and their dependents and at least one full-time employee receives a premium tax credit. (ALEs are companies with an average of 50 or more full-time employees, including full-time equivalents, during the prior calendar year.) The coverage should also meet minimum essential coverage requirements and minimum value.

3. Complying with wage laws

If everyone needs payroll, why is it so complicated? Payroll may appear simple, but it’s really a complex administrative function. For one, even a small error can ruin the whole process, and leave you with some pretty mad employees. (Don’t mess with payroll, people.) 

Here’s just a few reasons why payroll is complicated:

• Ever-changing payroll laws. It’s hard to hit a target that’s always moving. Your payroll team needs to be aware of any changes that are happening at the federal and state level. While making changes to payroll policies, it’s best to get the new policies validated by experienced officials or external payroll firms.
• Taxes. Between income tax, Social Security taxes, unemployment taxes and more – there’s just too many tax rules to stay on top of. Many companies are moving towards payroll management systems to automate their payroll calculations. Did we mention that you also need to have a list of voluntary deductions for each employee and reimbursements need to be accounted for? 
• Employee attendance calculations. Managing employee time off and attendance is another line item that goes into calculating payroll, and that can be hard to calculate manually. To streamline your operations, you can implement HR software with payroll, attendance, and time off features.

Here’s an HR pro tip: have you tried outsourcing your HR or using a PEO? Rely on the companies you partner with for employment-related compliance services to help with payroll. There are plenty of benefits to using a PEO and outsourcing your payroll function. If you’re thinking about outsourcing HR, get started with us and we’ll work with you to help manage HR.

4. Anti-discriminatory hiring processes

The recruiting landscape has officially shifted to the digital space. The shift to remote work in the past few years has created an influx in remote hiring and virtual interviews. But some challenges never change. HR leaders still need to be experts on recruiting compliance and help lead company execs to avoid being bested by changing regulations. 

It’s easy to fall into a verbal tripwire, especially in a Zoom meeting. Seemingly innocent questions — are you married? What church do you go to? — are seen as discriminatory and can land you in hot water with federal law. As with the job announcement itself, it is best to have interviewers steer clear of any questions or discussions that touch on the areas of race, religion, sexual orientation or any of the other topics covered by anti-discrimination law.

For HR professionals, the real challenge is making sure that everyone – from the executive team to newly-minted managers – know what they can and cannot do. Our advice? Try using compliance-approved interview scripts and distribute them to any interviewers that aren’t as HR savvy as you.

5. Correctly classifying workers

It’s no secret that classifying workers can be confusing and time-consuming. Federal and state laws do not define the terms full-time, part-time, or temporary employees, so it’s up to the employer to define these terms. For example, A full-time employee generally is defined as one who works a “normal work week,” which is generally 40 hours a week. But some companies define the work week as 37.5 hours or even 35 hours depending on the work day and meal schedule. HR leaders should be sure that full-time and part-time classifications are defined as part of a company-wide employment classification policy so that they are consistent throughout the organization. 

The main reason why correctly classifying workers is so tough is because members of the same team can be classified in many different ways. You could have several different classifications on your workforce including:

• Full-time employees
• Part-time employees
• Temporary and seasonal employees
• Independent contractors
• Statutory employees and non-employees
• Interns
• Volunteers

Clearly, classifying employees isn’t something you can generalize. Solidifying the definitions of employment classifications is critical because it defines your employees’ eligibility for benefits, overtime pay and their tax status.

Here are just a few examples of complex classifications: 

1099 Vs. W2 Employees

 A 1099 worker is an independent contractor, which means they’re technically not an employee. 1099 contractors may work part-time or full-time hours, which can make it easy to confuse them with your other W2 full-time employees. But it’s an important distinction to make because, as a result of the short-term nature of their employment, 1099 contracted employees generally do not receive any benefits and have to pay their own income taxes. 

HR leaders need to be sure that they don’t misclassify 1099 contractors vs. W2 employees. Besides DOL litigation costs, there are potential federal civil penalties of $2,074 per violation (generally one penalty per misclassified employee), state penalties (which will vary), and in some cases the potential for jail time.

Exempt Vs. Non Exempt

Although full-time, part-time and temporary employee classification are up to the employer to define, exempt and nonexempt classifications are governed by FLSA law, which includes minimum wage and rules for overtime pay. Whether an employee is exempt or non-exempt determines whether they are eligible for overtime pay. 

Nonexempt employees are typically hourly (with some exceptions.) Exempt employees are typically executives, managers, professionals, administrative staff, and/or outside sales whose job descriptions meet criteria for non-exempt status as defined by the U.S Department of Labor.It’s a tough compliance issue that can trip up even the best of HR leaders. But it’s important to get right because the penalties of misclassifying employees can be big. Wal-Mart misclassified 4,500 employees back in 2011, which ended up costing them $4.8 million in back wages. Ouch.

If you recently learned that your employee has one foot out the door, you may be wondering what your next step should be. (Back away from the big red button!) Before firing them, you need to check your options. 

Read our guide on whether you can terminate an employee for looking for another job. Plus, see our top alternatives to termination.

Can You Terminate an Employee for Looking for Another Job?

While it isn’t expressly prohibited by law, we wouldn’t recommend it. You might be surprised by how many of your employees are looking for other opportunities—either actively or passively—while still doing good work for your organization. 

A recent report by Joblist found that almost 75% of currently employed workers would consider leaving their company for a better role somewhere else. If you start terminating everyone who is keeping an eye out for the next opportunity, you may find yourself with a significantly smaller workforce. But don’t let that scare you! There are plenty of great ways to retain your top talent.

Legal Repercussions of Terminating an Employee Who is Looking for Another Job

Legally, you’re able to terminate an at-will employee in practically every state, except Montana (where termination after 6 months must be “for cause.”) Keep in mind certain types of employer-employee relationship don’t follow the at-will standard. A contract employee, for example, would not be at-will.

“At-will” employment refers to a rule that the employment relationship may be terminated by the employer or the employee at any time, with or without cause, without notice, for any reason (allowed by law) or no reason at all.

If you were to simply terminate an employee for looking for another job without any disciplinary actions or attempts to remedy the problem, the employee could claim they were terminated for an illegal reason. If you truly have to terminate the employee, use our our involuntary termination checklist to make sure you stay compliant.

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Our advice? Instead of terminating this employee, you should consider talking with them to determine why they are looking for work elsewhere and what might motivate them to stay. See our recommendations below on what to do if your employee is looking for a new job.

The Best Alternatives to Termination When An Employee is Actively Looking for Another Job

Make an Attempt to Retain the Employee

Your employee may be fishing for a counteroffer. If they deserve a raise or a promotion, research compensation in your industry and consider making the offer. (In this situation, communication is key!) Find out what matters most to your employee and whether you can convince them to stay. In this competitive market, flexible schedules and remote work options are the perks many professionals value the most.

Turn the Situation Into a Positive

Instead of terminating the employee, ask why they are looking for a new job. Use this opportunity to assess how you can improve your business and company culture. This information can help you to better engage your workforce and increase retention! Here are few of the most common reasons employees look for a new job:

• Culture challenges like lack of work-life balance. – Does your company culture need to be revamped? 
• Compensation concerns like insufficient salary or inadequate benefits package.
• Career roadblocks like unclear growth plans or company instability.

Remember that your other employees are closely watching how you handle the situation. If you simply fire the employee looking at a new opportunity, it could affect the level of trust with your other employees. Plus, there’s always a risk that an involuntarily terminated employee could turn the situation into an avoidable lawsuit. That’s why you need a HR hero – someone who can rescue your business from a wrongful termination case before it happens.

While planning for this is not something we look forward to, businesses need to be prepared for the ‘what if’ circumstances.

So what are the factors to consider when dealing with an employee’s illness or a leave of absence? It’s important to note the most pressing matters to sort out as soon as an employee reports sick. This will help you stay out of trouble by ensuring you comply with the state’s regulations on reporting the employee, while also ensuring that your business processes are not adversely affected. Trust us, this is not Ferris Bueller’s Day Off; this is the real deal.

Here are some guidelines to follow:

Establish Your Sick Policy

You need to have a set policy in place for the case of falling ill, and everyone in the company must be well versed with it. And this is not just for doing sake. Expectations and requirements regarding attendance and gathering more information on illness will assist supervisors in organizing the workload of the employee who is out of office due to being ill. This will also keep you in the loop of what’s going on with the sick employee, regardless of how long it’ll take for them to recover from their medical leave of absence. Just don’t overwhelm them with the constant communication, or you risk stressing them out more, potentially causing them to be out longer.

Allocate Accordingly And Plan

There is no need for the dramatics and rushing into redistributing work if an employee is down with the flu and absent for a short time. They just need to be checked on. On the other hand, don’t be surprised if the employee is absent for an extended period if the illness is pretty severe. If this is the case, start with a plan. Redistributing the work with colleagues and other employees on the employee’s team is a great start. Asking yourself and even the team what tasks the ill employee worked on and who is the next person who can take over, given their capacity, of course, will help get things back on track. If done correctly, this will ensure work continuity.

In addition, this will be the groundwork for a good succession plan if you don’t already have one. This will come in handy during any absences, and you will be able to see who is skilled enough to step in and who has the most time to take on a few extra tasks. However, with all things, we must balance. We don’t want to overwork and overwhelm the other team members, so ensuring you are there for support and help will be essential while the team gets through this time.

Make Helpful Resources Available

Unfortunately, employees cannot just up and leave for an extended period, only to show up again when they’re ready. The employee’s absence will have to be recorded and registered. From apps to tools, many resources are there to simplify this necessary activity of registering and recording absences. This is key to note as there is a possibility of a waiting period before going on short-term disability (if required). If there are no more sick days to cover this gap period, vacation or unpaid days may need to be used.

Further to this, we need to ensure that they have all the key contact information and resources about the company’s health care benefits. This ensures that depending on their diagnoses, they have the care and external resources at hand to get better as quickly as possible. Finding time for your HR Manager or Outsourcing Partner to speak with them and walk them through any essential points of the plan or process will make the process smoother and allow the employee to feel supported while on their medical leave of absence.

Have A Contingency Plan

Beyond finding short-term help amongst the team, looking for who can take on the role or responsibilities on a longer-term basis may need to be considered. Starting this does not need to be a daunting task. Unfortunately, with long-term illness, it comes with a lot of uncertainty about when the employee will report back to work. The following essential step is to find out who is trained and skilled enough to take over the functions of the ill employee.

The last resort is having a solid pipeline of great candidates available if the employee in question cannot return. An effective way of doing this is by tracking the performance and potential of individual employees. Asking yourself important questions on who has been taking the initiative, who is good at thinking on their feet, and versatile skills will help you identify those potential employees. This would prepare you well for the worst-case scenario.

Don’t let a medical leave of absence and illnesses within your team catch you off guard. Being prepared ahead of time is important to ensure business continuity and the right priorities are managed. Work closely with your HR Manager or Outsourcing Partner to ensure you have an updated illness policy and that it is shared and understood within your business.