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Sickness absence

Managing sickness absence is a key issue for employers. Employee absence is a significant cost to the majority of businesses in the UK.

In addition to the direct costs of employee absence (paying sick pay and paying someone else to perform the absent employee’s work), high levels of absence can demotivate those employees who have to take on the absent employee’s work, cause all-round disruption to productivity and adversely affect an employer’s continuity of service to its clients.


    • Collective redundancy
    • Shared parental leave
    • Latest News

    Top 10 HR questions June 2025: Redundancy consultation

    by Brightmine 2 Jul 2025
    by Brightmine 2 Jul 2025

    June's top 10 features employers' questions about when and how to carry out redundancy consultation.

    • Reasonable adjustments
    • Disability
    • Disability

    Welfare cuts would ‘undermine workforce inclusion and business resilience’

    by Adam McCulloch 27 Jun 2025
    by Adam McCulloch 27 Jun 2025

    The government’s welfare bill has been altered as prime minister Keir Starmer sets out to gain the backing of more...

    • Collective bargaining
    • Employee relations
    • Employment law

    Seven ways to prepare now for the Employment Rights Bill

    by Jo Faragher 20 Jun 2025
    by Jo Faragher 20 Jun 2025

    The exact schedule for the Employment Rights Bill is still uncertain, but there are a number of practical measures HR...

    • Coronavirus
    • Latest News
    • Mental health

    Sickness absence falls to almost pre-pandemic rate

    by Jo Faragher 4 Jun 2025
    by Jo Faragher 4 Jun 2025

    The rate of sickness absence continued to fall in 2024, with employees losing on average 4.4 days of work per year. 

    • IR35
    • Bank holidays
    • Criminal records

    Top 10 HR questions May 2025: Failure to prevent fraud

    by Brightmine 2 Jun 2025
    by Brightmine 2 Jun 2025

    May 2025's top HR questions include one about a new criminal offence for an organisational failure to prevent fraud.

    • Latest News
    • Sickness absence
    • The HR profession

    Charlie Mayfield: HR needs more proactive approach to sick leave

    by Adam McCulloch 29 May 2025
    by Adam McCulloch 29 May 2025

    Mayfield: ‘There is a lot of fear. People who are fearful of disclosing their condition … and also fear on the side of the line manager, of saying the wrong thing.’

    • Latest News
    • Labour market
    • Sickness absence

    Number of Neet women rises but figures fall overall

    by Adam McCulloch 23 May 2025
    by Adam McCulloch 23 May 2025

    The figures reveal a decrease of 26,000 young men but an increase among young women of 19,000.

    • Local authorities
    • Disability discrimination
    • Latest News

    Union rep teacher awarded £370k for unfair dismissal

    by Rob Moss 15 May 2025
    by Rob Moss 15 May 2025

    Teacher and union rep awarded £370,000 after head teacher unfairly dismissed her in ‘revenge’ for her opposing lesson observations plan.

    • Latest News
    • Sickness absence management
    • Reproductive health

    Period pain and absence harm women’s pay and progression

    by Nic Paton 13 May 2025
    by Nic Paton 13 May 2025

    Four in 10 women feel that the impact of period pain and menstrual symptoms has knocked their pay and progression...

    • Stress
    • Mental health conditions
    • Latest News

    Two-thirds of school leaders suffering mental ill health

    by Nic Paton 6 May 2025
    by Nic Paton 6 May 2025

    Nearly two-thirds (65%) of school leaders and head teachers say their mental health has been harmed in the previous 12...

    • Absence
    • Fit for Work
    • Latest News

    Employers struggling to manage rising levels of sickness absence – poll

    by Nic Paton 7 Apr 2025
    by Nic Paton 7 Apr 2025

    Rising levels of sickness are taking a toll on many workplaces, research has suggested, with employers reporting increased absence affecting...

    • Cancer
    • Carers
    • Latest News

    Employers failing to tell cancer carers of their rights

    by Nic Paton 31 Mar 2025
    by Nic Paton 31 Mar 2025

    More than half of employers fail to tell employees of their rights once they become a cancer carer, a survey...

    • National living wage
    • Construction
    • Apprenticeships

    HR and businesses respond to Spring Statement

    by Jo Faragher 26 Mar 2025
    by Jo Faragher 26 Mar 2025

    Today’s Spring statement did much to add cost and regulation to employers, and not enough to support growth and skills, observers say.

    • Latest News
    • Employment tribunals
    • Sickness absence

    Postman working second job while sick was unfairly dismissed

    by Rob Moss 25 Mar 2025
    by Rob Moss 25 Mar 2025

    Postman awarded £3,000 after tribunal finds he was unfairly dismissed for working as taxi driver while on sick leave from Royal Mail.

    • Latest News
    • Job creation and losses
    • Labour market

    UK is only advanced economy where economic inactivity is increasing

    by Adam McCulloch 20 Mar 2025
    by Adam McCulloch 20 Mar 2025

    The UK is an international outlier when it comes to economic inactivity, a new government-commissioned report has found. 

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Personnel Today
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