Sickness Absence and Attendance Management

There has been a great deal in the news recently about the cost of sickness absence to businesses in general – at Occupational Health Consultancy Ltd we are concerned with the cost to your organisation and your needs. We therefore offer many different approaches ranging from one off management referrals to a comprehensive attendance management system which can include taking the calls and monitoring the whole process and alerting you to the steps required. We also offer pro-active approaches such as on-line Stress Audits, Lifestyle and Wellbeing medicals as well as focused answers to your questions.

Information on Sickness Absence

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) 2007 annual survey report on Absence Management (Web link here) found the following:

Summary

The estimated cost of sickness absence per employee in 2007 was £600.00 per annum per employee. In the Public sector the sum rose to £732.00 per employee per annum.

The main reasons for sickness were:

Musculo-Skeletal (particularly back pain); Stress or mental health issues; Minor ailments; Family and home responsibilities.

The survey found that the most effective interventions were:

Short-Term absence:

• Return to Work Interviews by Line Managers
• Trigger mechanisms to identify patterns and  frequency
• Disciplinary procedures  

Long Term Absence (all of the above plus):

• Involvement of Occupational Health Services
• Provision of rehabilitation programmes
• Flexible working opportunities