Records show that staff Absenteeism is hitting companies hard.
In a latest study of the problem, seven out of ten employees say the situation is getting worse, and more than eight out of ten says it cost them money.
These findings come from a poll that was conducted by Peninsula, a UK based employment Law firm.
A total of 81per cent of employers polled complained that Staff Absenteeism financially damaged their business.
There has also been a significant increase in the number of employers noticing a growing trend of absenteeism within their business, with 79 per cent admitting the problem of absenteeism is increasing.
The survey polled 1,286 employers across a wide spectrum of industries within the UK.
The increase in the number of employers complaining about growing absenteeism is part of a year-on-year trend dating back at least as far as the year 2000.
In that year, 56 per cent of employers said absenteeism was growing. In succeeding years, the figures were 57 per cent, 60 per cent, 64 per cent and 65 per cent, before the leap to 79 per cent this year (2006).
In 2000, 58 per cent of employers said staff absenteeism had cost their business money that year.
In the years that followed, the percentages were 60, 66, 71, and finally 81 per cent.
Peninsula managing director Peter Done said,: “Absenteeism is a problem for all businesses . The employees form the basis of any operating system, and to loose employees through absence means that the business cannot operate as efficiently or effectively. The real issue gathered from this poll is why there has been such an increase of absenteeism over the last five years and more importantly, why has there been such a leap in the last 12 months?. Employers should look at their business and identify why they feel it has become so easy for employers to pull sickies. Has something changed in the work -place in the last 12 months? Have line managers and employers become less bothered about monitoring genuine sickness and fake illness? These are issues which all employers must look at in order to reduce this increasing problem of absenteeism in the workplace.”
Mr Done added “Employers obviously need to regain their role in the workplace and simply not allow absenteeism to develop within the company’s business culture. If left unattended to, a business may never regain its authority to stop the increase of Absenteeism. In order for employers to gain some control over employees absenteeism, they need to go back to basics and inform all their employees of a new monitoring system where all cases of absence will be thoroughly checked and certified. This should obviously not be a simple scare. Employees will need to check absences thoroughly and notice any trends with certain employees. If employees find that there have been cases of fake sicknesses away from work, disciplinary measures should follow accordingly. Mr Done advocates cracking down hard on shirkers but also urges a reasoned approach”.
He said “ Although it will pay to be strict on all employees when it comes to absence, employers should not loose sight of reason and should ensure that all cases are heard and judged fairly. There will be nothing more damaging than employers loosing the trust of their employees, so great care is required.”
Peninsula is the largest employment Law Firm in the UK, looking after the employment Law affairs of more than 15,000 UK businesses.
Mr Done is founder as well as being managing director.
