Absence levels fall but costs rise

News | HSW
01.06.2006

Sickness absence levels fell sharply last year according to surveys from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and EEF - the manufacturing employers' organisation. But the CBI says the total cost of absence to the UK economy rose in 2005, to more than £13 billion.

Public sector absence rates are still 30% higher than in the private sector, and manufacturers still lose more time than service sector employers but are making much greater strides in cutting absence rates.

The latest annual CBI/AXA Insurance Absence Survey of more than 400 organisations estimates that the total number of days lost through absence across the UK economy fell by 4 million in 2005 to 164 million days; the lowest level since the survey began in 1987. The EEF survey, which covers over 600 manufacturing companies, reveals a full day's reduction in time lost per employee, from 8.1 days lost per employee in 2004 to 7.1 in 2005. Absence levels remain higher in manufacturing than in services, but the CBI's figures for manufacturing are even lower than the EEF's, reporting a fall from 7 days lost per employee in 2004 to 6.3 last year; services have stayed static at 6 days.

The CBI reports that the gap between absence rates of manual and non-manual workers has narrowed over the past 15 years. The gap has halved from five days in the early 1990s to around half that in the latest survey. Manual workers have closed the divide in the past 10 years, while absence for non-manual employees has stayed broadly unchanged.

Despite the overall downward trends, the CBI warns the total cost of absence, including covering salaries of absent staff, paying overtime and providing temporary cover, went from £495 per employee in 2004 to £531 in 2005.

Public sector absence rates continue at nearly a third higher than private sector levels. The CBI estimates that if the public sector matched private sector rates, it could save £1.1 billion - enough to pay for nearly 60 000 extra nurses a year. But based on the rate of public sector improvement - from 8.9 days in 2002 to 8.5 days in 2005 - it will take the public services 30 years to reach the current private sector average.

The EEF's figures show a clear link between investment in occupational health (OH) and lower absence rates. Where respondents provided OH support (either internal or external), 39% saw a reduction in short-term absence and 28% saw falls in long-term absence. Where there was no OH provision, only 22% and 19% saw reductions. EEF chief medical adviser, Professor Sayeed Khan, said that companies who "still put this issue in the 'too difficult' tray would do well to sit up and take note" of the benefits of tackling the problem.

The number of employers with rehabilitation services has risen sharply, with 84% of organisations in the CBI survey now offering rehabilitation - including flexible working, counselling, training and treatment - compared with 60% in 2004.

But EEF respondents say GPs and slow access to NHS services are barriers to improving rehabilitation. The EEF wants the government to improve awareness of sickness absence across the health service.