Sick Days Hit Highest Level In 10 Years

The BBC have recently reported on a survey carried out by the Chartered Institute of Professional Development which has found that UK workers are taking more sick days now than in the past decade.

The result of the survey has been apportioned to Covid, stress and the cost-of-living crisis. The CIPD has said that employers need to better manage the cause of workplace ill-health and intervene early. Dr Audrey Tang told BBC Radio 5 live there was “a mismatch of understanding from people right at the top” about what workers need.

So, what can employers do to minimise staff absences and maintain a happy and healthy work force? An employer cannot be expected to be in control of all external factors that lead to absences, however, there are things they can do within the workplace which will hopefully have a positive impact and reduce the number of staff absences.

Acas guidance provides that addressing sickness absence early will assist in reducing absence levels, improving morale and wellbeing, boost productivity and save an employer money.

Having a clear absence policy to help manage absence will make clear what is expected of both an employer and an employee, should the employee require time off work. Any policy should be flexible and take into account individual circumstances. A “one size fits all” approach is unlikely to be effective when managing sickness absence, particularly if an employee is likely to be considered disabled under the Equality Act. If an employee is displaying signs of an illness that could amount to a disability, the employer should carry out further investigation to determine any reasonable adjustments that might be needed. Failure to do so could leave an employer open to future litigation.

Managers should be provided with training. They should know how to be flexible and apply policies fairly and be aware of the sensitivity around handling personal information about an employee’s medical condition.

Acas also provides guidance on maintaining a good work-life balance. Employees should be encouraged to speak up if they are under too much pressure and managers should be trained to spot signs that an employee has a poor work-life balance. Where possible, an employer should offer flexible working and regular breaks should be encouraged.

Keeping in regular contact with employees and reviewing workloads will help managers to spot the early signs of an unhealthy work-life balance. Dealing with this early and assisting an employee in managing their workload and, in turn, their work-life-balance will serve to mitigate the risk of the employee suffering from stress, burnout or other illnesses in the future and, overall, hopefully mean that they do not require time off to recover.

A workplace culture that encourages employees to speak freely and demonstrates employees being able to trust that their employer will take any issues they have seriously, will only have a positive effect. It could also result in employees being able to remain in work, even if they do have a problem, if they know that they are going to be well supported.

Return to work meetings after an employee has been absent will help an employer to establish if there are any trends across the business and identify underlying causes of absence. This will help establish how to reduce absence by exploring if there is any action an employer needs to take. If employees are struggling with work-life balance, a breakdown of relationships at work, for example with counterparts or managers, or experiencing work-related stress, an employer should address the underlying causes.

As above, whilst it is not possible for an employer to be in control of all factors that lead to absenteeism, following the above Acas guidance will hopefully assist in reducing absences that can be attributed to work itself as much as possible.

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