An absence of absence?

Call me sad, but I was looking to compare a client's sickness absence rate with the latest data.  Below is the ONS data for 2016 published in March 2017.

There were a couple of things which struck me first that absence is pretty low at only 1.9% for 2016 this is the first time it has been below 2% for a long time, I recall this being much higher.  It was interesting to see how it dropped during the recession period.

The self-employed remain the category which have the lowest overall sickness absence so interesting in terms of the gig economy.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/labourproductivity/articles/sicknessabsenceinthelabourmarket/2016#how-many-days-are-lost-to-sickness-absence

How does your organisation compare to the data, are there any interesting trends which you can spot?

I thought my client was doing well at between 2-3% but clearly we have some work to do!

Would be great to hear your thoughts.

Sarah

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Replies

  • Hi Sarah,

    We have really good absence figures overall as a  business but  we've seen a massive change in the pattern over the last 12 months. 

    Historically we've had so many people that have had no absence at all due to sickness or very little, our company (UK 170 employees) average last year was just over 2 days  however it is on course to increase this year if it continues at the rate it is going.

    What's the reason for this, I ask myself? Well it seems that the majority of people bumping these figures up are our new starters! The ones in probation period who you'd expect to be 'busting a gut' not to have time off work.

    I'm addressing this by ensuring we are clearer in inductions and we always to return to work interviews. However I am going to be ensuring that the line managers have the company data - average days off for the UK, per office and per team. Hopefully they can then feel a little more incentivised to help tackle the issue before our figures do rise, especially if they see their team is one of the higher numbers.

    As we've not previously had issues at all, we are now going to have to put a tighter process in place, especially during probation - they don't even get paid during the 6 month probation for sickness absence. I guess some of this comes down to being a growing business but I am hopeful we can stop this before it spreads further.

    Whilst I don't do much recruitment myself anymore, it always used to tickle me when in interviews we may ask what their  holiday package was with a previous employer and some would answer 25 days holiday and 10 days sickness. That always set alarm bells going with me because I had never asked about sickness and it seemed this was viewed as 'extra holiday'

    Anyway it is concerning for me when sickness levels are supposedly at their lowest and our company's seem to be rising.

    Thanks

    Clare

    • Hi Clare

      Thanks for taking the time to share your insights that is really interesting in terms of the reason where the increase in absence is from. 

      Maybe as you say this could be picked up during the selection process as it also sounds like a case of a poor attitude? Yes of course some absence can be expected but during the probationary period is unusual.  In addition that line managers performance manage during the probationary period as you say.

      I have also heard the 28 days plus 10 days sick entitlement which always makes me chuckle in equal measure, when I remind the employee that using sick pay entitlement is not compulsory!

      All the best

      Sarah

  • The self-employed remain the category which have the lowest overall sickness absence so interesting in terms of the gig economy.

    Most probably down to being sick = don't get paid. I can imagine the self-employed category would also show a much lower number of holidays taken.

    Why do you think sickness dropped in recession - because people were working harder to get us our of recession or because people valued their jobs more?

    • Yes I suspect so Mike being self-employed, I once had a minor surgical operation and said to the Consultant "How long is the recovery time off work", he said "About 4 weeks". I said "How long if you are self-employed?" He smiled, and said "About one week".  I was back at work within one week. 

      I think sickness probably dropped during the recession as many companies use absence data (excluding disabilty and pregnancy related) absence as part of their selection criteria I suspect.

      What does everyone else think?

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