UK businesses are being hindered by a lack of effective sickness absence management, despite over half of employers believing they're well equipped to deal with long-term absence, according to a new report...
Businesses are being hindered by a lack of effective sickness absence management, despite over half (53%) of employers believing they're well equipped to deal with long-term absence, according to a new report.
Of the 500 British employers surveyed for insurance provider Aviva's annual absence management report, 265 believe they're well set up to deal with long term absence but a similar proportion (45%) admit that it is a big issue for their business.
The report, conducted to uncover and offer solutions to key issues affecting employer and employees, looks at the immediate impact an absent employee can have on the workplace if adequate support isn't in place:
•40% of employers say someone else has to pick up the work
•27% say productivity falls
•Nearly a quarter (22%) believe it impacts the business financially
•21% say service standards suffer
Furthermore, the report shows that 17% of employers are seeing other members of staff go off sick when their colleagues are off long-term.
Steve Bridger, head of group risk at Aviva UK Health said: “Sickness absence not only has a knock on effect to other employees, but adds to the business concerns of employers as a whole."
In a bid to keep sickness absence levels down, over a third (37%) of employers say they encourage employees to have a good work-life balance, while one in five (22%) offer private medical insurance. 13% say they offer group income protection and financial protection.
There is some evidence that employers understand the benefit of early intervention in sickness management, with one in five (20%) providing staff training to help them spot the signs of stress. However, over a third of employers (34%) still rely on employees to tell them when they are unwell.
The report reveals that sickness absence is a significant worry for employees too. Half the employees taking part in the research state that their key concern, behind their recovery (61%) is making ends meet if they were absent from work.
52% of employees would like flexible working hours and 41% want as much time off as possible to help accommodate and assist with their recovery. A third of employees would like the flexibility to build their hours up and 35% want to know they have a regular income if they are off sick.
