Sickness Absence Levels At Highest In Over A Decade
Recent research from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has found that sickness absence levels have reached their highest level in 11 years.
The new survey from the ONS found that the sickness absence rate increased from 1.8% in 2020 to 2.2% in 2021, with 149.3 million working days lost, at an average of 4.6 days per worker. This is the highest rate since 2010, when the rate also reached 2.2%
The sickness absence rate in terms of working hours lost amongst women (2.6%) was higher than amongst men, was higher amongst older workers compared with younger workers, and Covid-19 related sickness absences increased from 14% of the total in 2020, to 24% in 2021.
Those working in the caring, leisure and other service occupations had the highest levels of sickness absence levels (3.8%), whilst managers and senior officials had the lowest level (1.1%). Moreover, those working part-time had a higher rate of sickness absence (3.1%) than those working full-time (2%).
Meanwhile, sickness absence amongst public sector workers (3%) was considerably higher than amongst private sector workers (1.9%). Furthermore, in separate research, the TaxPayers' Alliance found that "the value of working time lost to sickness absence for 456,410 civil service employees was £348.5 million in the financial year 2019-20, [and that] if public sector employees were absent at the same rate as private sector employees, the government could regain up to £54,855,844 of working time per year."
The TaxPayers' Alliance added: "The department with the highest amount of working time lost to sickness absence was the Department for Work and Pensions at £61.9 million. The Department also had the third-highest yearly loss of value to sickness absence per employee at £791.17 in 2019-20."
In a separate development, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) announced on the 10th June 2022, that those who can certify sick notes has been expanded with effect from the 1st July 2022 to include pharmacists, physiotherapists, nurses, and occupational therapists. The reason given for the change is to reduce the amount of time GP's spend on the task. A survey published back in April 2022 found that 58.4% of GP's now work 3 days a week.
The DWP state in relation to the changes as regards sick notes that they "will support and empower better conversations about work and health between employers and staff by making it easier to get this advice certified by the most relevant healthcare professional."
The Senior HR Practice Editor at XpertHR, Noelle Murphy, points out that: "High absence rates can have a huge impact on the functioning of a business. It can leave companies under-staffed, often piling on the pressure on those employees who are present which in and of itself is very unhealthy and unsustainable. We also know that proactively managing sickness absence can drive down rates of absenteeism."
Pays Increases And The Cost Of Living Crisis
A survey of 5100 respondents conducted by Forbes Advisor has found that just 4% of employers have offered their employees a pay increase of their own volition, with the intention of assisting their employees in coping with the cost of living crisis. Moreover, of the 25% of employees who themselves asked for a pay rise, just 26% of them actually got one.
As we highlighted in a recent article, the announcement of the new rate for the real living wage is to be brought forward from November 2022 to September 2022 in response to the cost of living crisis, with the new rate taking effect as soon as the annoucement of the new rate is made.
In a statement, the Director of the Living Wage Foundation, Katherine Chapman, said: “The Real Living Wage is the UK’s only wage rate independently calculated to meet the cost of living and, for workers struggling to keep their heads above water as prices surge, it’s more important than ever before. That’s why, with the rate of inflation fast approaching double figures, we are bringing forward the annual announcement of the 2022-23 Living Wage rates to late September.“
