Home Depot Call Out Policy In 2023: Everything You Need To Know As An Employee - 33rd Square (2024)

Feeling under the weather and need to call out from your shift at Home Depot? As one of the largest home improvement retailers in the US, Home Depot‘s call-out policy impacts hundreds of thousands of employees.

This detailed guide will walk through everything you need to know about calling out sick at Home Depot, from accrued sick time to disciplinary occurrences. I‘ll provide tips to manage your sick days, data on how Home Depot compares to competitors, and advice for avoiding pitfalls as a new or long-time employee.

Let‘s start with the basics.

How Do I Actually Call Out Sick From Home Depot?

When you wake up feeling too ill to make it into work, the first step is contacting your store manager to let them know you won‘t be coming in. Here are a few best practices:

• Call the store directly – Don‘t just text or email. Speak to the manager on duty for that day.

• Give as much advance notice as possible – Try to call out at least 2 hours before your scheduled shift. This gives the manager time to call in other associates to cover your shift.

• Briefly explain the situation – Let them know you‘re sick and unable to work. You don‘t need to go into major details.

• Request to use sick time – Ask the manager to apply any accrued sick leave you may have available to cover the hours you‘ll be missing.

• Get confirmation – Before hanging up, verify the manager will be applying your sick time to your absence. Make a note of who you spoke with.

The more notice you can provide the better, as it prevents scrambling to cover shifts at the last minute. But even if you wake up feeling ill 30 minutes before your shift, it‘s still better to call out then show up sick or not show up at all.

Now let‘s look at how much sick time off Home Depot provides and how it accrues.

How Much Sick Time Do You Get Working At Home Depot?

One of the nicer parts of Home Depot‘s time-off policy is that they provide paid sick leave for both part-time and full-time employees. Here are the details on how sick time accrues:

For part-time employees:

• You accrue 2 hours of paid sick leave for each month worked, after your first 30 days of employment.

• The accrual rate may vary slightly by state based on local labor laws. For example, in California part-time workers earn 1 hour per 30 hours worked.

• You can accumulate up to 24 hours of paid sick leave. Once you hit the 24 hour maximum, additional accrued time is paid out.

For full-time employees:

• You earn 4 hours of paid sick leave per month worked, beginning after your date of hire.

• The maximum amount you can have banked is 48 hours.

• Any sick time accrued beyond 48 hours is paid out to you as a "Sick Time Bonus" on your pay check.

Here‘s a quick data table summarizing Home Depot‘s sick time accrual structure:

This paid sick leave can provide some welcome relief if you come down with a cold or need to miss work for a doctor‘s appointment. But what happens if you call out of work without having enough accrued sick time?

Consequences Of Calling Out Sick Without Enough Sick Time

While Home Depot provides paid time off for illness, the retailer also has an occurrence-based disciplinary policy in place for unexcused absences. Here is how it works:

• If you call out sick without having sufficient paid sick leave accrued to cover the absence, you will receive an "occurrence" on your record.

• After 3 occurrences, your manager will have a coaching session with you. This is meant to provide feedback and prevent further occurrences.

• If you accumulate 6 total occurrences, the next step is a formal counseling session along with a written warning notice.

• Once you reach 9 occurrences, you will receive a final warning that further issues may result in termination of your employment.

• If you call out sick after already having 9 occurrences on your record, you risk immediate termination.

While 3 occurrences are allowed before any discipline, it‘s risky to make a habit of calling out without sick time. Here‘s a look at how quickly multiple call outs can snowball into potential firing:

• Call out without sick time on Jan 1st: 1 occurrence
• Call out again on Jan 15th: 2 occurrences
• Call out again on Feb 1st: 3 occurrences (coaching session triggered)
• Call out again on Feb 15th: 4 occurrences
• Call out again on March 1st: 5 occurrences
• Call out again on March 10th: 6 occurrences (counseling session and written warning)
• Call out again on March 20th: 7 occurrences
• Call out again on April 1st: 8 occurrences
• Call out again on April 10th: 9 occurrences (final warning)
• Call out again on April 20th: Termination

As you can see, it‘s possible to progress from no discipline to termination within 4-5 months of repeated call outs without sick time. So while Home Depot allows some flexibility, don‘t take advantage of the policy.

How Does Home Depot‘s Sick Leave Policy Compare To Other Major Retailers?

How does Home Depot‘s call out approach stack up against other major chains? Here‘s an in-depth look at how paid sick leave and occurrence based discipline compares across 5 top retailers:

A few things stand out:

• Home Depot is the only major retailer to offer paid sick leave AND an occurrence-based discipline policy. This makes their policy among the least flexible.

• Target provides paid sick leave but does not issue disciplinary occurrences for call outs. Their policy is extremely flexible.

• Lowe‘s has no paid sick leave, but still tracks disciplinary occurrences like Home Depot.

• Costco is the most flexible – they offer paid leave and have no set disciplinary policy.

So why does Home Depot both provide sick pay AND occurrences? It comes down to balancing worker benefits with deterring excessive call outs that disrupt operations. But for employees, the dual policies can feel restrictive compared to Target and Costco.

Tips For Managing Sick Time & Avoiding Occurrences

If you want to make sure you don‘t end up on the fast track to termination, here are some tips for responsibly managing sick time:

• Track your balance – Log into Workday regularly to see your available sick time. Don‘t let it catch you off guard.

• Use sick leave only when truly ill – Don‘t fake illness or use up sick days unnecessarily. Make sure to save them for when you really need them.

• Look for shift swaps – If you know you‘ll be out for an extended illness, see if a colleague can cover to avoid absences.

• Communicate about extended needs – If you require multiple days off for a health issue, talk to your manager about possible Leave of Absence.

• Review state laws – Some states have additional protections like Colorado‘s Sick Leave Law which gives employees additional leave for specific needs.

• Get doctor notes – If you require recurring absences for chronic conditions, providing documentation can prevent occurrences.

• Be honest about illness – Don‘t hide sickness and infect others. Calling out 1 day is better than getting written up for poor performance while ill.

Knowing these best practices can help new hires quickly get up to speed on keeping attendance strong.

Impacts of Calling Out Without Sick Time

Beyond disciplinary occurrences, not having enough sick leave can impact you and the company in other ways including:

• Loss of wages from missed shifts

• Impacts to benefits if hours drop below eligibility thresholds

• Poor performance on shifts worked while sick

• Inability to provide proper doctor care without paid time off

• Burden on other employees to cover call-outs

• Lower store productivity and sales goals from unplanned absences

• Added stress of managing occurrences and job uncertainty

Be sure to weigh these consequences before calling out without accrued sick time.

Alternatives To Manage Extended Time Off Needs

If you need more than a day here and there for medical reasons, Home Depot does offer some extended leave options:

FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act)

• Provides up to 12 weeks of job-protected absence for medical needs or family care.

• Available after 1 year of employment and 1,250+ hours worked.

ADA Accommodation

• Provides reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities.

• Accommodations may include leave flexibility or shift changes.

Personal Leaves of Absence

• Allows longer term time off with manager approval for issues like family matters, medical treatment, etc.

Discuss these options with HR if you require more flexibility than sick days provide.

Implications For Part-Time vs. Full-Time Employees

It‘s also worth noting some key differences in how Home Depot‘s policy affects part-time compared to full-time staff:

• Lower accrual rate – Part-timers earn just 2 hours per month, vs. 4 hours for full-time.

• Lower max balance – The 24 hour max for part-timers provides less of a buffer compared to 48 hours max for full-time.

• Fewer average weekly hours – With fewer shifts per week, each call out is a larger portion of hours missed.

• Reduced benefits eligibility – Falling below average hours because of call outs can put part-timers at risk of losing benefits.

• Increased hardship from lost wages – Missing shifts can be especially difficult for part-timers relying on every hour of income.

Part-time workers have less leeway in Home Depot‘s policy, so need to be extra diligent in tracking and budgeting sick time.

What To Do If You‘ve Been Terminated For Too Many Occurrences

Unfortunately, some employees do end up getting fired after too many call outs without sick pay. If this happens to you, here are a few options:

• Appeal to HR – Explain your circ*mstances and need for absences. Provide any documentation. Ask for a second chance.

• Consult an employment lawyer – If you feel you were wrongfully terminated, consider having an attorney review the situation. They can advise you on whether legal action is viable based on state law.

• File for unemployment – You can apply for unemployment benefits from your state while job hunting if you were terminated through no fault of your own.

• Learn from it – Reflect on what led to the occurrences so you can improve attendance in a future role.

With some planning and restraint, hopefully you can avoid termination entirely while working at Home Depot.

Key Takeaways On Calling Out Sick From Home Depot

Calling out from work when you‘re ill can feel stressful, but it‘s a reality we all deal with. Here are some final tips to keep in mind regarding Home Depot‘s policy:

• Provide as much notice as possible when calling out to help management plan.

• Understand accrual rates and max balances for sick time based on part-time vs. full-time status.

• Be selective in using your limited sick days for true illness. Don‘t take advantage of the system.

• Be proactive about swapping shifts or requesting extended leaves if you foresee multiple absences.

• Avoid call outs without sick pay to prevent climbing the disciplinary occurrence ladder.

• Know your rights and alternatives if you require long term or frequent accommodations.

While not the most flexible policy in retail, you can successfully navigate calling out at Home Depot by being informed. Now you have all the details needed to make smart decisions about sick leave!