Friends Provident has launched an absence tracking system to help employers tackle the £16.8bn cost of absence.
The tool will enable employers to monitor absence trends and calculate how much employee absence is costing them.
It is free to all new and existing group income protection policyholders as part of the provider's employer assistance programme that was launched in June, and includes reporting tools which evaluate absence by department, reason and days of the week while also containing a cost of absence calculator.
Declan White, group risk marketing manager at Friends Provident, explains how the system is aiming to tackle the spiraling cost of absence to the UK economy, estimated by the CBI and Pfizer to total 180m sick days resulting in a total cost of £16.8bn to the UK economy in 2009.
"It's no secret that long term absenteeism is both a growing concern and cost to today's employers," he says.
"This new tracker tool will help them to understand top causes of absence within their business and the costs associated.
"It allows companies to share information with managers and employees to ensure a better all round understanding of absenteeism and will ultimately help foster a greater appreciation of how absenteeism impacts the commercial edge of the business," he adds.
