Risk clinic: How to deal with staff absenteeism

During a recent visit to a small company, my client was complaining about the length and frequency of her staff absence. Having no experience in this before, where would my start point be in introducing an absence management and return to work policy

Jamie Kelly

Barnett Waddingham

Having identified the level of absenteeism, the client is already at an advantage.

There are a great number of employers who do not know how to quantify absence, or who do not realise when absence is at a level whereby the cost is significant.

As well as financial costs, there could be an increase in administration and reductions to productivity and staff morale.

Introducing an absence management policy is a great way to fully understand the level of absence and identify any trends that may be forming.

A strategy can then be created to reduce absence, provide support to employees with health problems and cut costs to the employer.

Providers will have experts on hand to give advice on the services they provide, such as a telephone line for employees to call and register their absence.

When calling in sick, employees will receive impartial advice.

The call is then logged and potential long-term health problems may be identified.

A return to work programme will also form part of an absence management policy. ­Management must ensure employees are fit and able to return to work without feeling pressured.

As soon as an employer understands if there is a primary cause of absenteeism in their organisation, it should be straightforward for them to correct or limit any problems.

The starting point for a company would be to speak with a benefits adviser who specialises in absence management, as well as talk through the concerns and any trends that may have been identified.

Then, a provider can be sourced who will be best suited to the organisation.

Declan White

Friends Life

An absence management and return to work policy designed in conjunction with employees is essential for an employer to remain productive, especially in today’s challenging times.

Key to a successful implementation is developing procedures in consultation with employees to ensure good employee relations.

This in turn will hopefully lead to greater buy-in from staff and a willingness to get back to work more quickly.

A successful policy should make it clear when time off is acceptable and how absent employees should notify an employer.

It should also outline the possible requirement to attend a return to work interview and disciplinary procedures for those not following the policy.

To ensure successful implementation, line managers should be trained in managing absence and systems set up to record absence against specified targets.

Flexible working arrangements and work-life balance policies help minimise the causes of absence.

Phased return and reduced hours ensure employees return to work in a sustainable way.

The employer should also be aware of employee assistance programmes (EAP) and health screening, which contribute to the prevention of absence.

Cash plans and private medical insurance can provide treatment and support for staff.

Group income protection can cover absence and help staff back to the workplace through early intervention and rehabilitation services.

A smaller employer should also think about short-term recruitment needs to replace ill or injured staff at short notice to minimise further the disruption caused by staff absence.

Colin Boxall

ADVO Group

The starting point is always to try and understand how and why. What is the true level of absence and how is it measured? Is this a health or motivational issue? If motivational, then a widely different approach to health is needed. If health, do the illnesses have a common thread?

What existing benefits are in place, and if so, what is working and what is not? And what should the client’s own staff “health service” look like?

It is widely accepted that health insurance policies can help with sickness and absence, but unless communicated to staff they can be ineffective.

If multiple health insurance policies are in place, are they working with or against each other? For example, stress cases can often show as “aches and pains”, leading to claims on PMI when an earlier call to an EAP could head off the problem.

A simple starting point is to make sure absence is recorded accurately and line managers conduct back-to-work interviews.

Trigger points for common occurrence conditions such as musculoskeletal, and potentially expensive and long-lasting conditions such as stress, need early intervention and action.

Cash plans, which increasingly include EAPs, are very effective in tackling these conditions.

By getting involved early, staff return quicker. So if policies are in place, they must be used effectively.

Income replacement is effectively two policies: one does all that is possible to prevent a claim and return the employee to work, and the other pays salary if this is not possible.

Remember, health insurance policies are an employer benefit and not just for staff.