More
than 600,000 people become sick or disabled every quarter, according to a new
report by the Department for Work and Pensions.
The
report, which examines employment retention after the onset of sickness and
disability, found:
The
percentage of employees becoming sick or disabled is 2.6 per cent a quarter,
using a definition of disability based on the Disability Discrimination Act
(‘DDA disability’). This is equivalent to about 608,000 people. Using a
definition based on receipt of Statutory Sick Pay or Incapacity Benefit
(‘SSP/IB receipt’), the percentage was 0.3 per cent, or 73,000.
Estimates
of retention rates depend on the definition of sickness or disability used.
Five per cent of those who become DDA disabled leave employment almost
immediately, compared to 23 per cent of those who become SSP/IB recipients.
After nine to 12 months have elapsed, 13 per cent of those who became DDA
disabled have left employment, compared to nearly half of SSP/IB recipients.
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