Sickies or genuine illness?
The latest research from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reports 131 million days sacrificed to sickness absences in the UK in 2013; and according to recent PricewaterhouseCoopers research, absenteeism costs UK business more than £23bn a year.
Minor illnesses and neck, back and joint pain account for the majority of absences, but sickies take their toll too. PwC‘s research also revealed that one in three UK workers have played ‘hooky’ during their career to nurse hangovers, attend interviews, or simply take time out from a less-than-riveting role.
In order to maintain productivity, businesses need to minimise the effect of sickness absence and also address the issue of underperformance due to ‘presenteeism’.
It can be challenging for businesses to strike the right balance, but creating a motivational, stimulating and supportive culture can ensure employees who are ill take the time they need (without taking advantage) and return to productive work as quickly as possible.
Strategies to minimise the effects of employee ‘downtime’ will vary with industries and size of companies but Mattioli Woods are able to assist your business through access to a wide spectrum of ‘tools’, from employee assistance programmes to GP access programmes; occupational health facilities to private medical insurance; and health cash plans to absentee management and control systems.
This article was provided by Mattioli Woods.
