Yorkshire staff top "sickies" survey

AS Britain continues to bask in sunshine employers could be forgiven for raising an eyebrow when a member of staff phones in sick.

However as a new study shows that the numbers of sick days is on the rise managers could feel fully justified with their suspicions

The latest CBI / AXA Absence Survey, published today, shows that absence from work cost the UK economy £13.2 bn last year as the average employee took almost seven (6.7) days off sick..

Regionally the North West and Yorkshire & Humberside lost the most days in 2007 (8.9 days each), followed by Wales (7.6), West Midlands (7.5), South East (7.4), South West (7.2), Scotland (6.8), Eastern (6.7), East Midlands (6.6) and Northern England (6.5).

The regions with the lowest levels were Southern England (5.6), Northern Ireland (5.7) and Greater London (5.9).

The gulf between absence rates in the public sector and the private sector grew to a record level, as average absence levels across the public sector stood at nine days –  is 55% higher than the 5.8 day average of the private sector.

The private sector improved its absence levels over 2007, while the public sector stood still.

Minor ailments, such as colds, were named as the most significant cause of short-term absence, while back pain came second.

Non-work-related stress, anxiety and depression was the most significant cause of long-term absence among non-manual staff.

In the survey the CBI argues that £1.4bn of taxpayers’ money could be saved if public sector organisations matched the private sector average.

The survey also revealed that of the 172 million days lost to absence in 2007, more than one in ten (12%) are thought to be non-genuine.

These 21 million “sickies” cost the economy £1.6bn and two-thirds (65%) of employers think that some staff are using them to extend weekends – with a third of employers (34%) suspecting sickies are used for special events like birthdays and major football games.

Long-term absence (20 days or more) also continued to be a serious concern for firms.

Although only 5% of absence spells became long-term, they accounted for a massive 40% of all time lost, costing £5.3bn.

Long-term absence accounted for half (50%) of all time lost in the public sector, but under a third (31%) in the private sector.

Susan Anderson, CBI director of HR Policy, said: “Everyone agrees that sick people need time off work. But employers face two serious and expensive challenges – dealing with bogus sick days, and helping those with long-term illness return to work when they are fit to do so.
“People who awarded themselves sickies to enjoy the recent sunny weather or to extend a weekend away are acting unfairly, leaving their colleagues to pick up their work, and costing taxpayers and employers over a billion pounds a year.”

The survey showed that, while a certain level of absence is both acceptable and inevitable, absence can be managed and reduced through a mixture of ‘carrot and stick’ policies, like offering medical insurance, health support or flexible working, whilst also having formal absence management processes, such as not paying sick pay for the first three days of absence.

Ms Anderson added: “A fresh, proactive approach to managing long-term absence could help stem the flow onto incapacity benefit – which currently costs £12.5bn a year for 2.5m people – and help employers to retain skilled employees, many of whom will find that work can improve their health and outlook.”