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+

Economics, government & businessDepartment for Work and PensionsHR practiceSickness absence

DWP tops workers absence league

by Nic Paton 2 Jan 2005
by Nic Paton 2 Jan 2005

Absence rates at the Department for Work and Pensions, which is leading the Government’s anti-absence drive, are far higher than average for the public sector, according to the National Audit Office (NAO).

The damning report by the official watchdog found there was average sickness absence of 12.6 days per person in the DWP in 2003-04.
While good attendance management procedures were in place, more could be done to “ensure that these procedures are adopted by all of its staff, and that its managers improve the management of staff attendance”, it said.

In 2002 the DWP, which is the largest department in the Government, pledged to reduce sickness absence to an average of 10 working days lost per member of staff by this year, and to eight days by 2006.

The first target had, obviously, been missed, and the 2006 was “unlikely to be met”, said the NAO.

The DWP’s attendance management policy includes an eight-day trigger point for management action, compulsory return-to-work interviews, a long-term absence taskforce and better access to occupational health services.

But, said the NAO, it had been poorly launched and inconsistently implemented. OH services, while good, could be used more effectively. There was also a lack of timely and reliable data on absence.

It recommended that the DWP needed to reinforce its culture of attendance, improve communication on its attendance policies, better identify problems and improve support for managers.

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.

NAO head Sir John Bourne said: “The department needs to do more to ensure that the good attendance management procedures it has introduced are adopted by all staff and managers across the organisation.”

www.nao.org.uk


Nic Paton

Nic Paton is consultant editor at Personnel Today. One of the country's foremost workplace health journalists, Nic has written for Personnel Today and Occupational Health & Wellbeing since 2001, and edited the magazine from 2018.

previous post
On the line
next post
Rutherford & another v DTI

You may also like

MPs demand Home Office tightens visas to protect...

4 Jul 2025

Top 10 HR questions June 2025: Redundancy consultation

2 Jul 2025

Government publishes ‘roadmap’ for Employment Rights Bill

2 Jul 2025

Fall in entry-level jobs linked to rise of...

30 Jun 2025

Welfare cuts would ‘undermine workforce inclusion and business...

27 Jun 2025

Bank of England says NIC rise is dampening...

27 Jun 2025

Bioethanol plant closure could lead to 4,000 job...

26 Jun 2025

When will the Employment Rights Bill become law?

26 Jun 2025

With HR absence rising, is your people team...

24 Jun 2025

Skills receive £1.2bn boost in new industrial strategy

23 Jun 2025

  • Empowering working parents and productivity during the summer holidays SPONSORED | Businesses play a...Read more
  • AI is here. Your workforce should be ready. SPONSORED | From content creation...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+