CIPD research indicates on average, employee absence costs businesses 8.4 working days per year for each member of staff.
From time to time staff will take time off due to sickness or personal issues. Although employers in the main are sympathetic about employee illness and absence, unexpected or protracted absence can place your business under strain, particularly if you have no policy in place for dealing with it.
An effective means of reducing absence is to perform return to work Interviews. These have proven to be an effective means of monitoring employee sickness and absence. The employer has more control if they manage their levels of absence. Accurate information recording enables employers to identify when or if trends appear. A return to work interview also helps to concentrate the minds of employees and the requirement to supply a reason for their absence is a proven and effective method of reducing unnecessary absence.
Long-term illness is an area that concerns many employers as the associated costs of hiring temporary staff to fill the absence can rapidly escalate and the business can suffer. Although managing long-term illness can appear difficult to manage there are established procedures ways and techniques to manage the situation. Equally repeated short-term illnesses are also a concern and similarly damaging due their unpredictability, lack of warning and consequently difficult to plan for.
In each instance working with you, People People HR can assist in the development and production of a policy and procedure documentation to enable your business to more efficiently manage absence and sickness and in line with current legislation.
