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Contract 101
Article 32 – Attendance Policy
Calling/Reporting in Sick
Flight Attendants get sick. It’s inevitable. Working long days, having short overnights and traveling through the sky with hundreds of passengers a day often results in exhaustion and illness. It’s important to know the ins and outs of reporting your illness when you cannot make it to work due to being sick or injured.
The Attendance Policy for Flight Attendants is based upon calendar quarters.
You may use either a Doctor’s note – OR – Personal Illness Note (PIN) once a quarter to excuse a reported personal illness/injury and not accrue attendance points. To “call out” sick, you must either utilize the Electronic Report Sick (ERS) feature or call Crew Scheduling as soon as you determine you are too ill to come to work. A sick call can be reported up to two (2) calendar days in advance for up to five (5) consecutive calendar days of absence following the call. (Art.32.1.a) A Lineholder’s sick call will be for their next scheduled pairing. Unless otherwise specified, sick calls on Reserve are for a single day. (Art.32.1.b)
Timeliness of Reporting (Article 32.2)
To assist Crew Scheduling in maintaining the successful operation of Southwest Airlines, there are timelines for reporting in sick. If you miss these contractual timelines, additional points will be accrued.
NOTE: Satellite Base assignments require sick report notification at least four (4) hours prior to the scheduled check-in of a pairing.
“If I can’t use the ERS and need to call Crew Scheduling to report in sick, what do I say?”
When you call Crew Scheduling all you need to tell them is that you are calling in sick and what assignment you are calling in for. They do not need to know the nature of your illness, only the duration of the sick call. Please remember that all calls to Crew Scheduling are recorded!
“This is John Flight employee #215215 and I am calling in sick for my trip tomorrow.”
“This is Sally Stew employee #251415 and I’m calling in for my entire Reserve block starting tomorrow.”
“I’m currently on a trip and got food poisoning! What do I need to do? Can I use the ERS to report in sick?”
As soon as you are aware that you are unable to work, call in sick to Crew Scheduling. Unfortunately, you will not be able to utilize the ERS. Crew Scheduling will pull the remainder of your pairing and arrange for must-ride travel. You can use an available quarterly Doctor’s note or PIN and not accrue points. If you do not have a Doctor’s note or PIN available, you will accrue 0.5 attendance points per day of absence.
NOTE: If you are too ill to get on a flight back to your domicile or home, let the Scheduler know. They will arrange for hotel accommodations and must-ride travel for you when you feel well enough to head home.
“You mentioned must-ride travel… can I just go back to my commuter city? Or do I need to go back to my domicile?”
When you speak to Crew Scheduling, let them know if you would like to the domicile of your assignment, your domicile, or your home (another Southwest airport) and they will arrange for must-ride travel on the first available flight. You will not be required to occupy the jumpseat (Art.16.4). Remember, if you are too sick to fly, let Crew Scheduling know and they will arrange for you to stay in the hotel until you feel well enough to leave. The must-ride travel after a sick call will be without pay because the sick TFP will be applied to your sick assignment.
Electronic Reporting Sick (ERS) is a new(er) system which allows for a Flight Attendant to report being too ill or injured to report to work as scheduled… without speaking to Crew Scheduling. If a Flight Attendant is unable to use ERS, Crew Scheduling can be called to assist with the sick call and assignment pull.
“What is a PIN and how do I use it?”
The Personal Illness Note (PIN) is a way to excuse a timely reported absence of up to seven (7) consecutive days (not including Black Out Dates) without having to see a Doctor and getting a Doctor’s note. You may use either one (1) PIN – OR – one (1) valid Doctor’s note per quarter and not accrue points.
Your PIN must be submitted via SWALife prior to or on the next scheduled trip or within seven (7) working days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays) after the last day of absence, WHICHEVER IS EARLIER. (Article 32.5.a)
SWALife > Life & Career > Employee Services Main > Workday > Leave, OJI, & Accommodations > “Create Case”
“What are the PIN Black Out dates? Does a Black Out date affect my ability to use a valid Doctor’s note, approved FMLA, or applicable State Leave?”
PIN Black Out dates are listed in Article 32.5.b.v. The specific dates are:
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New Year’s Day (January 1)
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Valentine’s Day (February 14)
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Easter Sunday
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Memorial Day
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Independence Day
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Labor Day
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Thanksgiving Day
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The Friday after Thanksgiving
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Christmas Day (December 25)
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New Year’s Eve (December 31)
PIN Black Out dates do not affect the use of a valid Doctor’s note, approved Intermittent FMLA, or applicable State Leaves.
“I have a Reserve block that overlaps a PIN Black Out date. Can I submit my PIN to excuse the days of absence which aren’t considered ‘blacked out’?”
No. If your Reserve block or trip overlaps a Black Out Date, you can not use a PIN to excuse the sick call.
Example: I have a Reserve block on February 12-14 and need to call in sick. I could not submit my PIN to excuse the absence because my Reserve block includes the 14th.
Example 2: I have a pairing on February 11-13 that is scheduled to be completed at 0015 CT… and need to call in sick. Even though the assignment technically finishes on the calendar day of the 14th, I can use my PIN to excuse the absence.
“I’m really sick. I used my quarterly PIN for my trip this week… but I’m still not well enough to work. What can I do?”
If your trip falls within the seven (7) consecutive days, you may submit another PIN form on SWALife with the new dates of reported illness.
If your next trip does not fall within the week, you may extend your PIN with a Doctor’s note for up to an additional 14 days. This is considered a single continuous occurrence of illness. (Art.32.3.j)
“I’m on my way to the Doctor’s Office. When do I need to submit my note and what does it need to include?”
You must submit your Doctor’s note to Attendance & Leave or turn it into an Inflight Supervisor prior to or on your next scheduled trip – OR – within seven (7) working days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and Holidays), WHICHEVER IS SOONER.
A Doctor’s statement must contain the following information, or it will be deemed unacceptable:
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Date(s) of illness/injury.
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Date(s) of treatment.
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Connection to any illness which would be considered a Continuous Occurrence.
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Date Employee can return to work.
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Healthcare provider signature.
“Can I use a Doctor’s note procured from a telemedicine or virtual Doctor’s visit to excuse my absence?”
Yes. The Pink Contract (2024) allows for the use of telemedicine and virtual Doctor’s visits in order to be treated and get an excusal from missed work. Keep in mind that the note must still be valid… meaning it must have an approved healthcare provider’s signature.
“I used a telemedicine service (like Teledoc) and they don’t provide a signature! They use a watermark instead. Is that ok???”
Yes. As long as the watermark can be verified as used by the healthcare provider or medical service, the note should be accepted. If you have any questions about a situation such as this, please don’t hesitate to contact Inflight Attendance & Leave. If you experience problems with a Doctor’s statement being accepted because of the watermark, contact the Union Office immediately for assistance. (214) 640-4300
“I commute to MDW from MCI and I’m supposed to begin a Junior AM Reserve block tomorrow. I’m not feeling very well tonight but may be better in the morning… can I just keep an eye on the line-up?”
NO!!! Your contact hours begin at 0300 CT. If you are not within 2 hours driving distance of Base during your liable for contact time, you could be in violation of Class I Section 17 of our Work and Conduct Rules. A Class 1.17 violation may result in discipline up to and including termination.
When you are too ill to report to work as scheduled, you are expected to report that illness via the ERS or Crew Scheduling immediately. While on Reserve, you may call in for a whole block or a single day.
Before you find yourself in trouble, report your illness to Crew Scheduling. Don’t run the risk of falling asleep or forgetting to call in… it’s not worth losing your job over.
“I called in for a single day of Reserve because of a migraine. I am feeling much better (thank goodness!) and would like to commute into HOU to complete my last two days of Senior PM Reserve (SPR). Is there anything special I need to do?“
If you only called in sick for the first day of your SPR block, you will not need to notify Crew Scheduling that you can work tomorrow. You will be good to contact at your normal hours (1000 Local Time) and will need to be within 2 hours driving distance of base during your liable for contact hours. Because you may not non-rev while out on a sick call, it’s a good idea to notify an Inflight Supervisor that you will be commuting in to fulfill your assignment. Make note of the date/time of the call and who you spoke to just in case there are any issues.
“I am on DAL Senior AM Reserve and self-assigned a 3-day trip before going to bed. It’s 0001 Local Time and I feel AWFUL. Will I get additional points if I call in now?”
Because your contact hours have not started, you will only receive the points for your sick call (0.5 points per day).
“What if I had self-acknowledged a pairing that Crew Scheduling placed on my screen early? Would I get a SLA?”
No. Because your contact hours don’t begin until 0300 Local Time and you have called in sick prior to the start of your contactable time, you would not accrue the penalty 0.5 attendance point.