Firms must act to cut huge absenteeism costs

Absenteeism
is costing companies up to 16 per cent of their annual salary bill – yet half
of these costs could be avoided, a report finds.

A
year-long study by the Institute of Employment Studies, published tomorrow,
claims that employers can reduce the cost of absenteeism by half through
effective management of absence, early intervention when staff are off sick as
well as rehabilitation and return to work programmes.

"Organisations
that continue to ignore their absence costs are operating inefficiently,"
said Eugene McCormack, director of marketing at income protection providers
Unum, which commissioned the report Towards a Better Understanding of Your
Sickness Absence Costs.

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McCormack
added, "Taking steps to reduce these costs will help to manage them and
keep them to a minimum."

By Paul Nelson