Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

AbsenceSickness absenceRetention of staffStaff turnover

Absence rates continue to fall

by Charlotte Wolff 30 Jul 2014
by Charlotte Wolff 30 Jul 2014

Employers’ efforts to reduce absence are paying off, according to ongoing research by XpertHR.

XpertHR resources

Absence rates and costs: 2014 XpertHR survey

Labour turnover rates: 2014 XpertHR survey

Successive XpertHR surveys on absence rates show a gradual decline in the number of days taken as sick leave by employees. In 2007, the median was 7.4 days a year per employee but latest figures record a drop to 5.2 in 2013 – a reduction of more than two days.

The study of 256 UK organisations, carried out in May 2014, looked at sickness absence relating to 350,000 people and reveals significant variations according to industry. For instance, employees in private-sector jobs relating to information and communication took an average of 4.5 days’ sickness absence throughout 2013, compared with 7.3 days taken by employees working for charities.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Sickness absence costs employers £693 per head on average according to the survey. However, according to author Rachel Suff, the real cost for employers is greater than that, as most employers only include salaries of individuals on sick leave when calculating the outlay, ignoring other relevant factors such as overtime costs, reduced performance and time taken to manage the absence process.

Additional XpertHR research into staff turnover reveals that that an average of one in 12 employees resigned from their job during the 2013 calendar year, a slight increase on the previous 12 months.

Charlotte Wolff

As training editor for XpertHR, I focus largely on learning and development, basing most of my features on the results of regular, benchmarking surveys, which I help create. I also contribute articles to the XpertHR website on a broad range of other HR topics, most of which fall under two broad umbrellas: employment relations, and attendance and absence.

previous post
How to help people with cancer return to work
next post
Is the loss of funding for the NHS quality unit a blow to UK occupational health?

1 comment

CommonSense 30 Jul 2014 - 4:24 pm

What about the cost of presenteeism then?

Comments are closed.

You may also like

Charlie Mayfield: HR needs more proactive approach to...

29 May 2025

Number of Neet women rises but figures fall...

23 May 2025

Flexible working for teachers initiative extended

23 May 2025

Gen Z are in ‘work situationships’ with employers

19 May 2025

Union rep teacher awarded £370k for unfair dismissal

15 May 2025

Period pain and absence harm women’s pay and...

13 May 2025

Cancer carers feel pressure to return to work...

13 May 2025

Two-thirds of school leaders suffering mental ill health

6 May 2025

Top 10 HR questions April 2025: increases to...

2 May 2025

Employers struggling to manage rising levels of sickness...

7 Apr 2025

  • Preparing for a new era of workforce planning (webinar) WEBINAR | Employers now face...Read more
  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+