Sickness absence in the work place can be a huge problem for business and a headache for managers and supervisors who have to deal with the form filling, monitoring, return to work interviews etc. In fact sickness absence in the UK currently stands at around 8.4 days* per employee!
The cost of this absence is a real concern for many organisations, having a direct impact on the bottom line, not to mention the indirect costs, including: SSP, loss of morale and the cost of administering/managing absence.
Absence levels can be minimised through effective absence management. We would recommend organisations ensure they have a comprehensive policy in place, and this coupled with active management, including return to work interviews will have a very significant effect.
Recent research shows that the single most effective way of dealing with sickness absence is by undertaking a return to work interview. If they know you know, then they will think more carefully about taking a sickie!
* 2007 CIPD survey
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