The Real Cost of Sick Days
UK Staff Take Almost Double the Sick Days of US Workers
The survey results showed that staff in the UK take off 9.1 days on average every year for sick days. This is almost double the time that US workers take off, at 4.9 days a year for sickness absence. It is also four times as much sick leave as staff in the Asia Pacific region, who take 2.2 days. It is also higher than in the rest of Western Europe, where the average is 7.3 days.
In fact, sick day absence equates to around 90pc of UK business's bill for absence overall, which includes figures for industrial absence, compassionate leave and other reasons.
The Overall Cost for Sick Days Has Risen Too
The trend may be improving very slightly, with unscheduled absences in the UK dropping to 9.8 in 2013, compared to 10.1 days two years ago. However, the figures attributed to sickness have risen to 9.1 days this year, from 8.7 in 2011. At the same time, the overall cost of those sick days has risen too, accounting for 28.8 billion of the country's overall 31.1 billion bill for workplace absence.
Finance Drain for UK's Business
The PwC lead for HR consulting, Jon Andrews, said that absence still led to a big resource and finance drain for the UK's businesses, particularly at a time when companies should be striving for growth. Businesses need to find ways to improve staff morale, motivation and health to improve the figures potentially by increasing workplace flexibility to cut back on the sickness cycle.
He pointed to forward-thinking businesses that were investing in their health and wellbeing provision for staff to tackle the issue at its roots, before its effects began to hit the bottom line. This is particularly important for SMEs and start-ups, where absence costs can be particularly challenging.
Workforce Demographics Playing a Part
Another challenge is the change in workforce demographics, with the overall staff profile ageing as more people are forced to work for much longer before they are able to retire. This means that businesses that fail to take steps to address the issue now are likely to see escalating sickness levels.
In terms of different industries, the sector with the lowest sickness record was the technology sector with an average of 3.4 days a year, which three times lower than the 11.1 recorded for public-sector workers.
Written by Rachael Clarke of Circle Square - Financial Recruitment
To contact one of our specialist financial recruitment consultants call 0207 492 0700 or email: jobs@circlesquare.co.uk.
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