Member Article

Bosses believe 12% of absences are 'sickies'

UK bosses suspect that one in eight of all UK workplace absences are due to staff faking illness, research by the CBI suggests. Managers told the CBI they believed many employees faked illness to take a Monday or Friday off work. It said employers must clamp down on staff taking “sickies” which it said cost the economy about £1.6bn.

About 400 employers were surveyed. They said they believed that 12% of days off taken by workers were not genuine. The survey suggested there was a correlation between absences and major sporting events. Workers took an average of seven days off sick in 2006, and public sector workers had the highest average absence at nine days per worker.

Susan Anderson, CBI Director of Human Resources Policy, said: “Everybody gets sick and employers understand that most absence is genuine. It is in nobody’s interest if staff come to work when they are not well. “People with long-term illnesses need to time to recover. But firms that keep in touch with employees and offer the support and flexible working that helps them return to work earlier have had real success in reducing long-term absence levels.

“There is a culture of absenteeism in some workplace that must be addressed. “Some degree of short-term absence is inevitable, but there is a lot that employers can do to manage it. The best organisations use a carrot and stick approach to reward good attendees and tackle the worst offenders.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .