'Sickies' cost UK economy £1.6 billion but small firms suffer less than big organisations

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 also revealed that employees in smaller firms take significantly fewer sick days than their counterparts in large organisations. The average in firms with less than 50 workers is 4 days absence, but the figure is double that for organisations with more than 5,000 staff.

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 12. 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.

"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."

Unionised workplaces experience more employee absence

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.

Staff in smaller firms take fewer sick days than employees in big organisations

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 employeee, 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.

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."