Absenteeism remains a significant cost to business through payment of Statutory Sick Pay and compromised productivity. Absence may be due to genuine illness, working patterns, stress or domestic responsibilities.

COST

• Absenteeism remains a significant cost to business, costing over £10 billion to UK business as a whole in 1999(CBI, 2000). Employers believe that minor illness represents the most common cause of absence but home/family responsibilities, workplace stress and personal problems are also significant(CBI, 2000). The average cost of absenteeism to employers is estimated at £478.00 per employee per year.

  MAINTAINING COMPETITIVENESS

• Each day lost through absence, a total of 7.8 working days per employee on average(CBI, 2000) represents lost production, disruption, reduced efficiency and the compromise of quality. It is also beneficial for employers to create an environment that maximises and motivates the attendance of their employees. A CIPD survey report of their members found that stress was the second most common reason for unscheduled absenteeism amongst non-manual workers.

  UK and EU LEGISLATION

• Employers have a duty of care to safeguard the health, safety and welfare of their employees under the Health & Safety at Work Act. There is also a growing body of case law where employees have sought and obtained compensation for damage to their physical or psychological health at work.

  CAUSES OF ABSENCE

  Health & lifestyle factors Genuine illness/poor health smoking excessive use of alcohol lack of exercise body weight	Workplace factors working patterns health & safety concerns travel times excessive hours
  Attitudinal & stress factors job satisfaction career satisfaction intention to leave organisational commitment stress absence ‘culture’	Domestic & kinship factors Gender no. of children under 16 lack of flexible working arrangements

(Bevan, S & Hayday S, 1998)

• New Ways to Work, 22-25 Northumberland Avenue, London WC2N 5AP, Tel: 020 7930 3355, E-mail: [email protected], WWW: http://www.new-ways.co.uk
• Opportunity Now, 44 Baker Street, London W1M 1DH, Tel: 020 7224 1600, E-mail: [email protected], WWW: http://www.opportunitynow.org.uk.
• Daycare Trust, Shoreditch Town Hall Annexes, 380 Old Street, London EC1V 9LT, Tel: 020 7739 2866, E-mail: [email protected], WWW: http://www.daycaretrust.org.uk

REFERENCES:

• Bevan S & Hayday S, Attendance Management: a review of good practice (IES Report 353). Brighton: Institute for Employment Studies, 1998
• Confederation of British Industry, Focus on Absence, 2000 absence and labour turnover survey. London: CBI 2000.

FURTHER READING:

• Goff S J, Mount M K, Jamison R L. Employer supported childcare work family conflict and absenteeism. A field study. Personnel Psychology 1990; 43(4): 794-809
  Research into resulting increases in recruitment and retention potential for firms that sponsor childcare programmes and work/family conflict for working parents.
• McCulloch B, Positive Attendance Management. Tunbridge Wells: PPP healthcare, 1999.
  Discusses attendance issues and their consequences and provides concepts for managing attendance in a positive way This includes creating a working environment in which employees will prosper and want to attend and becoming a more profitable company for all concerned.
• IPD Survey Report. Employee Absence: a survey of management policy and practice. London: Institute of Personnel and Development, 2000.
  Levels, costs and causes of absenteeism measured by a survey of IPD members. Also contains details of ways to monitor, benchmark and tackle absenteeism within organisations.