... driving down the cost of absence

Why manage absence?

Government statistics show that around 40 million working days are lost every year due to occupational ill health and injury. Although long-term absence accounted for just 6% of all absence cases in 2004, it was responsible for 34% of total time lost through absence.

The average cost of absence in 2007 has risen to £659 per year per employee (CIPD).

A job can itself be an important step in the road to recovery, and being out of work long term is likely to make a person's health worse. The Chartered Institute for Personnel Development (CIPD) 2007 concludes that:

Rehabilitation programmes underpinned by good case management rate consistently higher for the effectiveness of managing absence.

Employers who adhere to good proactive absence management practices could see reduced premiums, as reduced levels of absence would reflect favourably when negotiating income protection and other insurance premiums.

A Trades Union Congress (TUC) survey of safety representatives found that only 13% to 23% of workplaces had access to rehabilitation in 1998, and only 1 in 7 workers in the UK have the benefit of comprehensive occupational health support. (Health & Safety Executive (HSE), 2002)

© 2007 Absence Management Solutions Ltd.