Nearly one million workers – one in every 25 employees – takes at least a month off sick each year according to research by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The research indicates that employees who take long periods off work are contributing to a bill for employers of £9 billion a year for sick pay and other costs. Further the DWP estimates that sickness among working age people costs the economy around £100 billion each year.
Workers in the north east and those in the public sector are among the groups most likely to take long periods of sick leave, while those in London are least likely. Those working for small companies are also less likely to take long periods off than those with big employers.
The government secretary in charge of the DWP, Iain Duncan Smith, is attempting to reduce long term sickness by taking action to stop or reduce the 300,000 employees who move out of work and onto benefits every year because of a wide range of health problems. One of those actions which has had a positive impact has been the introduction of tests to determine whether sickness claimants are fit enough to work. These tests have contributed to 250,000 people coming off incapacity benefits since 2010. Another planned action is the establishment of a new health and work service where GPs or employers will be able to refer any worker who has been off sick, or is expected to be absent, for four weeks. The new service will assess how sick they are and draw up a plan to return them to health as soon as possible.
But employers have a massive part to play too. It is important for employers to measure sickness absence effectively – 4.8% of scheduled hours or 7 days per person per year are measures that permit comparison with national data, but may do nothing to help understand what is happening in the company. Measurement has to be about identifying those who take advantage (the regular Monday – Friday absentees, the ‘duvet day’ employees, the regular absentee etc) and dealing with them properly. Equally important is to be supportive to those who have genuine reasons for being absent and seek to support their wellbeing and assist their planned return to work. Also employers may wish to review their absence payment arrangements where absence becomes a really serious issue. Most workers take little time off and don’t want to be let down by non-genuine absentees or by management who turn a blind eye. So employers play your part and your productivity should go up.
Dr Hugh Billot, Deputy Chairman
HR GO Group of Recruitment Companies
HR GO Recruitment offers solutions to all your staffing needs, temporary and permanent, please call 0845 130 7000
Comments are closed.