New survey on sickness absence highlights the north-south divide

July 2007

A new report from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) shows that sickness absence rates are at their highest in the north east of England, with businesses losing on average, 11.3 days per employee each year due to sickness absence, compared to just 7.8 days in London and the south east.

The CIPD annual Absence Management survey also finds employers based in Wales report the biggest annual regional reduction in the level of employee absence, where the rate dropped to 8.7 days compared to 9.7 days for the previous year.

The average level of employee absence in the UK has increased for the first time in two years - now 3.7% of working time lost compared to 3.5% in 2006 and now costs businesses on average, a staggering £659 per employee per year.

Ben Willmott, CIPD Employee Relations Adviser comments: "High absence costs businesses on average £659 per employee per year but still many employers are failing to tackle this through effective people management. Managing absence is a challenge for many employers. In order to combat it effectively businesses need to ensure that they have a clear policy in place that supports their objectives and culture.

"In order to avoid an increase, a balance has to be struck between providing support and providing a robust absence management process. Employers need to monitor and measure both long and short term absence effectively so that they can take action early and provide support by individuals condition deteriorates to the point they go on long term sick leave."

Regional Breakdown

• Only three quarters of employers record their annual employee absence rate.
  
  
• On average, employers believe that about 16% of absence is not genuine.
  
  
• Absence levels in the public sector has increased to 4.5% from 4.3% for the previous 12 months, with the health sector recording the biggest annual increase in the level of employee absence to 5.5% from 4.6% for the previous year.
  
  
• The only decrease in average absence levels across the public services was recorded by the local government organisations, which saw the headline rate of employee absence fall significantly to 3.7% from 4.8%.

Stress

• 40% of organisations report that stress related absence increased in the previous 12 months. Just 9% of respondents identified a decrease in stress-related absence.
  
  
• Workload (34%) has been identified as the number one cause of work-related stress followed by management style (16%) and organisational change (14.3%). Long hours are cited as the seventh most significant cause of work-related stress.

Cost of absence

• The cost of absence is highest in the public sector at £732 per employee per year compared to £680 last year.

Workforce Size

• Organisations employing 1-99 employees have an average absence rate of 3% (6.8 days per employee) compared to 4.4% (10 days per employee) for organisations of 2000 or more workers.

Causes of absence

• Minor illness is the number one cause of short-term absence for both manual and non-manual employees.
  
  
• Back pain is the leading cause of long-term absence for manual workers, while stress is the main cause of long-term absence for non manual employees.

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