Absence management: 30p a day spent on staff health

British employers spend just £97 a year, or less than 30p a day, on the health and wellbeing of each employee.

A survey by private medical insurer PruHealth found that, in total, business spends £2.4bn on healthcare. But this is far outweighed by the estimated £12.2bn, or £495 per employee, cost of absenteeism suffered by the economy in 2004.

However, more than 75% of HR directors in the UK’s larger firms now recognise that employee health and wellness is strongly linked to productivity.