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.
Former prison officer awarded £445k after unfair dismissal and failure to make reasonable adjustments for his epilepsy.
Police constable awarded £43,100 after she was found to have been victimised by her boss over her inability to work in cold weather.
British Airways crew member with 40 years’ service wins disability discrimination claim after stress and anxiety made her unable to fly.
The Accounts Commission showed the absence rate among non-teacher staff rose to an average of 13.9 days in 2023-24 compared with 10.8 in 2010-11.
Absences in the civil service could be up to more than eight days per worker per year, according to sickness data published by departments.
WorkWell programmes show the benefits of relationships with local employers, charities and services in helping people back into work.Â
Reforms to sick pay being introduced by the Employment Rights Bill could deliver benefits of more than £2bn to the UK economy, analysis from the TUC suggests.
GPs will be asked to stop sick notes that sign people off work and instead refer them to job coaches or the gym, under a new government pilot scheme.
June's top 10 features employers' questions about when and how to carry out redundancy consultation.
The government’s welfare bill has been altered as prime minister Keir Starmer sets out to gain the backing of more...
The exact schedule for the Employment Rights Bill is still uncertain, but there are a number of practical measures HR...
The rate of sickness absence continued to fall in 2024, with employees losing on average 4.4 days of work per year.Â
May 2025's top HR questions include one about a new criminal offence for an organisational failure to prevent fraud.
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.’
The figures reveal a decrease of 26,000 young men but an increase among young women of 19,000.
