Yes this is a difficult one! Often a similar situation arises if an employee has personal hygiene problems and it can be difficult and embarrassing to address. Generally the tried and tested approach would be:

1. Try to get a work colleague who the individual knows well to have a friendly word with them – usually along the line of “noticed you have a bad cough can I help any as it is becoming a bit disruptive in the office”

2. If that doesn’t work or no-one will volunteer to speak to them, then the individual’s immediate supervisor should arrange to meet them informally (and privately) to say much the same as above and look for ways to help them find a solution. Maybe further informal follow up would be required to ensure improvement is made and continues.

3. If that doesn’t produce the required improvement, then it is necessary to move to a more formal approach whereby the employee would receive a letter from the company outlining the problem and the effect this is having on her colleagues etc., she would be invited to a formal meeting with a senior manager, where the issue would be discussed and an action plan to try to sort it out developed. It would need to be made clear that if the situation did not improve this could impact on her future employment with the company.

4. If after a formal meeting and ongoing monitoring and support, the situation failed to improve, then a final capability hearing would be convened to further consider the situation. However if it was clear that nothing would be likely to change then termination would be the most likely outcome.

In my experience though, these situations normally get sorted out informally once the employee better understands the impact they are having on their colleagues.

You will find a couple of template sickness policies on our website here

I hope this is helpful and good luck with sorting it out!