Sickness risk factors come to light

Mental health problems, being aged 45 or over and living in a region with low labour demand are the three main risk factors specific to the onset of sickness and disability, according to findings from the Department of Work and Pensions.

The report, which examines employment retention after the onset of sickness and disability, shows 2.6% of employees are becoming sick or disabled quarter on quarter ' a figure equivalent to 608,000 individuals.

According to UnumProvident, the main risk factors highlighted by the report mirror trends currently being seen in income protection claims, with the exception of low labour demand, which group providers are not exposed to.

Eugene McCormack, market-ing director at UnumProvident, said: 'There is a similar trend when it comes to mental illness and people who are over 45. We do not segment data so that we have specific claims details of that age group, but we would argue older people are more likely to make claims for mental illness, so the two issues are wrapped up. Mental illness remains the number one claims area for income protection and a high percentage of those claimants fall into the age group highlighted by the report.'

The report also reveals that employee retention rates are highly sensitive to the definition of sickness or disability used.

According to the findings, 5% of employees who become disabled under the definition of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) leave employment almost immediately, compared to 23% of employees who become recipients of Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) or Incapacity Benefit (IB).

Only 13% of DDA disabled employees were found to leave employment after nine to 12 months, compared with nearly half of SSP and IB recipients.

Most factors that are associated with increased risk of leaving employment following sickness or disability were also found to be associated with an increased risk of leaving employment in general, such as lack of educational qualifications and part-time employment.