Long-term Absenteeism Due to Illness Continues to be a Major Problem
Employers continue to be plagued by the ongoing issue of increasing number of workers going on a sick leave for a long period of time. This worrying fact emerged in a survey conducted by EEF, an industry body for the manufacturing sector, and Unum, a Fortune 500 company that provides insurance products for employers and individuals.
According to the study, titled as EEF/Unum 2009 Sickness Absence Survey, 36% of the companies complained that long-term absence has shot up with a steep surge over the figures reported in 2007. Although the total number of employee absenteeism has gone down, the number of those who abstain from work for than a month due to a long term ailment is on a high.
Among the causes of long term absenteeism, in 26% of the cases, employees reported suffering from stress, 25% from cancer, and 34% from chronic back ache. However, a staggering 60% of the total absentees cite medical screenings or surgical operations as the key reason for absence. The common factors that pose hindrance to their joining work sooner are a long wait for diagnosis of the disease and the overall medical procedure turning out to be a lengthy affair.
Professor Sayeed Khan, the Chief Medical Adviser of EEF emphasised the management’s role in tackling the situation proficiently to curb the issue. With employers supported through quick and effective medical attention at the National Health Services (NHS), long-term absence can be tackled considerably. He also stressed that there should be no differentiation made between primary and secondary care providers as far as training is concerned.
Employers need to keep themselves up to date with HR developments to avoid potential legal action from employers by taking an accredited HR course such as the CPP training courses, available from the experts at Workplace Law Training.
