Absence increased in 2006 as workers took an average of seven days off sick, losing 175 million working days and costing the economy £13.4bn, according to the latest CBI / AXA survey.
The research revealed that long-term absence of 20 days or more accounts for 43 per cent of all working time lost, costing £5.8bn. In the public sector just over half of absence (52%) is long-term, while in the private sector this was over a third (38%).
The survey showed that companies who offer rehabilitation programmes and flexible working can help employees back to work and lose less time to absence.
Short-term absences are a key concern. The great majority of absences are genuine, but employers believe around 12% are suspect and involve staff "pulling a sickie". That means 21 million days were lost in 2006 at a cost to the economy £1.6bn.
Asked to cite the reasons behind fake illness claims, seventy per cent of employers felt staff are inclined to create unauthorised long weekends by taking Mondays or Fridays off sick, while 68% said there is a link between sickies and holidays, and 39% said absence is linked to special events, such as major sporting tournaments.
Looking at all absences, the 2006 research shows an increase on 2005, when the average employee took 6.6 days off sick, and the total number of days lost was 164 million. In 2006 absence cost £537 per employee and accounted for 3.3 per cent of working time.
The best performing organisations lost only 2.7 days per employee, while the worst lost twelve. The public sector had the highest average absence at nine days per employee, up half a day from 2005, while the private sector lost 6.3 days. Despite the Government's efforts, public sector absence was 44 per cent higher than in the private sector.
Susan Anderson, CBI Director of Human Resources Policy, said:
"We've all just enjoyed the four day Easter weekend, but some people think they have a right to use 'sickies' to take long weekends or extend holidays as they please. Unauthorised absence puts colleagues under unfair pressure, and loses employers and taxpayers well over a billion pounds.
"Everybody gets sick and employers understand that most absence is genuine. It is in nobody's interest if staff come to work when they are not well.
"People with long-term illnesses need to time to recover. But firms that keep in touch with employees and offer the support and flexible working that helps them return to work earlier have had real success in reducing long-term absence levels.
"But there is a culture of absenteeism in some workplace that must be addressed. The gap between organisations with the highest and lowest absences is over nine days, and clearly some are managing absence better than others. In particular, if the public sector could match average private sector absence levels, then the taxpayer would save £1.1bn a year - enough to build seven new general hospitals.
"Some degree of short-term absence is inevitable, but there is a lot that employers can do to manage it. The best organisations use a carrot and stick approach to reward good attendees and tackle the worst offenders."
Ahead of the CBI-AXA Absence Management Conference in London tomorrow, the survey also shows organisations that recognised trade unions experienced more absence - eight days compared to 5.6 days in non-unionised workplaces. This correlation was found regardless of size or sector, except in firms with less than 50 employees.
The absence level gap between manual and non-manual workers continued to narrow, to averages of eight days and 6.2 days respectively, and is entirely due to progress in reducing absence among manual workers.
The most important factor that influences absence is organisational size. In 2006 employers with fewer than 50 staff had just four days of absence per employee, but this doubled to eight days in organisations with over 5,000 employees. It may be that staff in smaller firms have a greater appreciation of the effect of absence on fellow employees. Also, senior management in smaller firms are more likely to take direct responsibility of absence management.
Absence levels vary widely across the UK. The North West lost the most days in 2006 (8.8 days per employee), followed by Southern England (8.4), the West Midlands (8.4), Wales (8.1), North East England (7.7), the East Midlands (7.6), Yorkshire & Humberside (7.3), South West England (7.1), Eastern England (6.9) and Northern Ireland (6.6). The regions with the lowest levels were South East England (6.2), Scotland (6.0) and Greater London (5.8). No lasting links are usually found across the surveys between absence and regions.
Colds, flu and other minor illness were identified by 99 per cent of respondents as one of the top five main causes of short-term sickness. Back pain was second most highly ranked.
Non-work related mental ill health - including stress, anxiety and depression - was marked as the most significant cause of long-term absence among non-manual staff, identified by 72 per cent of respondents. Among manual staff it was the second strongest factor (63%), but back pain was cited as the most significant (69%).
Time lost attending medical appointments was a main cause of absence for nearly half (49%) of non-manual staff and 40% of non-manual staff, suggesting that much time could be saved if employees were able to get treatment outside working hours.
The vast majority of employers (89%) offer rehabilitation policies, but improved working with GPs was seen by 39% of respondents as the most helpful factor in improving or offering rehabilitation services.
Dudley Lusted, AXA Head of Corporate Healthcare Development, said:
"Employers should not be spending billions of pounds a year paying people not to work.
"The way the health service is organised is unhelpful, with employees having to fit in with doctors’ hours for their medical appointments.
"NHS waits for treatment are also a concern and it is striking that absence levels are around a day and a half lower for employers who provide healthcare cover compared with those who do not, at 6.29 versus 7.74 days per employee respectively.
"Many employers have found that strong line management can reduce absence. Organisations, particularly larger ones, need to equip and support line managers better so they can manage sickness absence effectively and not make feeble excuses just because their employees have got themselves a sick note."
The survey revealed that labour turnover fell slightly from 15 per cent in 2005 to 14.7 per cent in 2006. Turnover was highest in medium-size organisations and in the banking, finance & insurance, and retail sectors. Perceptions of job security continued to fall, especially in the public sector.
The annual absence and labour turnover survey has been conducted since 1987. This year's survey was conducted between January 2007 and February 2007. Respondents were asked to report on absence and labour turnover for 2006. 399 replies were received. Organisations responding employ a total of 1.1 million employees, equivalent to 4.4 per cent of the UK workforce.
If you are a journalist and wish to obtain a copy of the report, please contact the CBI Press Office on 020 7395 8090 or email paul.platt@cbi.org.uk. Non media should contact Robert Don by emailing robert.don@cbi.org.uk
The CBI-AXA Absence Management Conference 2007 is being held at Centre Point, London, on Wednesday April 11. Media wishing to attend the CBI-AXA Conference should email paul.platt@cbi.org.uk or call 020 7395 8090.
The CBI is the UK's leading business organisation, speaking for some 240,000 businesses that together employ around a third of the private sector workforce. No other UK organisation represents as many major employers, small and medium-size firms or companies in the manufacturing or service sectors.
AXA is a world leader in financial protection. Its UK healthcare arm, AXA PPP healthcare, is one of Britain's leading medical insurers and today helps employers to develop and introduce strategies to manage workplace health and wellbeing through health audits, health screening and workplace health surveillance, medical and dental cover (in conjunction with its sister company, Denplan), and occupational health, attendance management and employee support services. For more information please visit www.axappphealthcare.co.uk. Contact: press
office 01892 505 230.