Reduced absenteeism at work isn’t necessarily a sign of a healthy workforce

Guest Blog by Adrian Lewis, Director Activ Absence responds to the latest ONS figures on sickness absence

New figures published by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) this week have revealed that the number of sickness days have almost halved over the past two decades to reach a record low. Absence figures dropped from an average of 7.2 days in 1993 to 4.1 days in 2017 and have been steadily falling since 1999.

Responding to the figures, absence management specialist, Adrian Lewis, Director of Activ Absence says,

“At first glance these figures look very promising. Absence figures have been reducing for several years. However, other trends have emerged that are impacting workforces increasingly, including mental health issues and employers need to take note.”

Lewis highlights the rise in younger workers aged 25 to 34 who attribute their sickness absence to mental health conditions. For older workers between 50 and 64 years old musculoskeletal problems, such as back and joint pain, accounted for 20.8% of sickness absence.

Lewis also notes a rise in presenteeism, also highlighted in research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development in May,[i] which showed that the number of companies reporting a rise in employees going to work when ill had more than tripled since 2010.

Lewis continues,

“Employers shouldn’t take these new ONS sickness absence figures at face value. There are many reasons why people go into work sick, they may feel pressured by a high workload, be under financial pressure or be afraid of losing their jobs.

“Employers need to have the right systems in place to help them better understand their absence data and what it means for their organisation. Absence management software can provide companies with insight into sickness patterns and trends and help managers better understand what issues affect their people. Identifying the root causes and working with people to address any issues is key to tackling both presenteeism and absenteeism.”

[i] https://www.cipd.co.uk/about/media/press/020518-health-wellbeing-survey#

World Cup rail chaos should have been avoided says Activ Absence

Guest Blog by Adrian Lewis, Commercial Director, Activ Absence

 England might not have made it into the World Cup Final, but it didn’t deter train staff from taking time off to watch the match, resulting in hundreds of Sunday trains in the north-west, the west of England and South Wales being cancelled due to staff shortages, causing widespread passenger disruption.

GWR and Northern Rail said that fewer train crews than usual had agreed to work on Sunday due to the World Cup final, the warm weather and the start of the school holidays in some regions.

A spokesman for Northern said, “many staff have made themselves unavailable for work” today, who added that staff contracts mean they don’t have to work Sundays if they provide seven days’ notice.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and his Liverpool counterpart Steve Rotheram recently criticised Northern for causing "extreme chaos" on networks for "far too long".

Adrian Lewis, director at Activ Absence says,

“There will always be staff who phone in sick to watch a big match or enjoy the sunshine, but the chaos on the rail networks was caused by a lack of planning around holidays and the poor management and enforcement of absence policies.”

“The potential disruption of higher than usual absence levels during the World Cup should have been anticipated and the travel chaos on Sunday could have been avoided, with better planning.”

“Rail operators should have decided ahead of time how they would handle multiple requests for staff holidays during that weekend and ensure they didn’t authorise them all and leave themselves under staffed. They should have realised that temporary cover is particularly hard to find during summer weekends and sporting fixtures, so contingency plans should have been in place.”

“Were staff reminded about the company’s policies around sickness and the disruptive impact and damage to passengers and the company’s reputation ahead of time? Such communications would have helped to minimise absence rates.

Sporting absenteeism also seem to have regular offenders and we would recommend that those who did call in sick should complete a return to work self-certification form or have a return to work interview to demonstrate that sickies won’t brushed under the carpet.”

“Many companies still rely on spreadsheets and paper forms for managing staff holiday and sickness absence and these aren’t visible to everyone, so clashes can easily occur. Investing in absence management software would change this because it would hold holiday and absence information in a central system that can be accessed and seen by everyone which would prevent leave clashes.

“To avoid such chaos in future, rail operators might benefit from careful planning and communication around absence and put in place better systems to manage holidays and track absence.”

UK employees are failing to take holiday, how should employers respond?

Guest Blog from Adrian Lewis, Commercial Director, Activ Absence

According to a new survey from Glassdoor, one of the world’s largest recruitment sites, two in five UK employees polled (40 per cent) reported taking a maximum of just half of their annual leave entitlement during the last holiday year, with the average employee taking just 62 per cent of their allowance.

This study serves as a timely reminder for companies to maintain visibility of their staff’s holiday requests and encourage them to use their annual leave entitlement.

Holidays are good for our health and not taking leave can take its toll. According to the Framingham Heart Study men who don’t take their holidays are 30% more likely to have a heart attack, while women are 50% more likely.

Managing staff holiday planning effectively can not only benefit employees’ health but also ensure that businesses have sufficient cover during peak holiday season.

The hot weather we’re currently experiencing could prompt more holiday requests as people decide they want to take advantage of the sun, leaving HR professionals in a panic about how to manage the volume of requests to ensure everyone is happy but business continues as usual in the office.

Adrian Lewis, Commercial Director at Activ Absence says,

“Employers want to encourage people to take their full holiday entitlement as they know it’s good for health and wellbeing, but they also need to ensure the workplace is fully staffed and avoid too many clashes.

“Unfortunately, too many are in the dark over how much holiday leave staff have left to take, especially if they are relying on spreadsheets, wall planners or paper forms to manage leave. This puts more pressure on HR professionals and makes it more likely errors will occur, resulting in employees booking leave at the same time.

“The solution is absence management software that enables HR teams to easily manage and stay on top of staff holiday planning. A centralised system where holiday leave can be requested and approved at the touch of a button allows for greater transparency, better resourcing and helps business plan more effectively.”

Adrian offers the following tips to help companies stay on top of staff leave:

• Managers across the business should reinforce the holiday policy and encourage people to take their full entitlement.

• Sending regular emails reminding staff to book their holidays as early as possible could prompt people into taking time off more regularly throughout the year.

• Have an efficient technology system in place for managing leave. Cloud-based absence management software allows managers to see in an instant who is off when, helping to avoid clashes. It also makes requesting and signing off holiday leave more efficient.

• Employers can use software to set up alerts such as automatically prompting staff to book leave if a set level has accrued, to prevent a build-up of annual leave. This useful tool can also prompt managers to speak to the individual concerned to find out why they aren’t taking time off.

• Absence management software can also flag up people who are taking a lot of time off sick. This allows managers to start a conversation and address what is going on.
For more information visit: www.activabsence.co.uk

Time to take a break…

Guest Blog by Adrian Lewis, Activ Absence

A survey commissioned by British Airways in January revealed that one-third of UK workers did not use up their annual leave in 2017, losing an average of four days each.

Today is National Workaholics Day which brings the attention to the research carried out – how are companies manging their staff holidays and encouraging them to use their annual leave entitlement.

The recent hot weather is also likely to prompt more holiday requests as people decide they want to take advantage of sun, leaving HRs in a panic on how to manage the volume of requests so everyone is happy and ensure its business as usual in the office.

Adrian says,

 “Companies want to encourage people to take their full holiday entitlement as they know it’s good for health and wellbeing, but also need to ensure the workplace is fully staffed and avoid too many clashes.

 “Unfortunately, lots of companies are in the dark over how much holiday leave someone has left to take, especially if they are relying on spreadsheets, wall planners or paper forms to manage leave. This adds more pressure and makes it more likely for errors to occur, resulting in employees booking leave at the same time.

 “The solution is absence management software that enables HRs to easily manage and stay on top of staff holiday planning. A centralised system where holiday leave can be requested and approved at the touch of a button allows for greater transparency, better resourcing and helps business plan more effectively."

Adrian adds;

“The technology also allows employers to set alerts such as automatically prompting staff to book leave if a set level is accrued, thus preventing a build-up of annual leave. HRs can nudge people to take their holiday leave throughout the year, helping to avoid last minute requests at this time of year,” 

To book a demonstration of Activ Absence click here.

England might be “coming home” in tonight’s match, but will employees be staying at home tomorrow?

Guest Blog by Adrian Lewis, Commercial Director, Activ Absence

The Three Lions will be taking part in their biggest World Cup game in over 10 years when they play Columbia tonight. But how will this effect offices Wednesday morning?

No doubt staff will be having a few drinks whilst watching the game, then a few more either to celebrate or commiserate!

An estimated 1.2 million England fans plan to call in sick following the knockout game*.

Adrian Lewis, director at Activ Absence says employers are likely to see an increase in hangovers, unauthorised sickness absence and presenteeism this summer, especially during the World Cup.

Adrian commented;

“The key is to plan and ensure you have the right systems in place to manage absence. While both planned and unplanned absence can be an issue for companies to stay on top off, sporty summers can also be a great opportunity for a bit of fun.

“Encouraging employees to enjoy tournaments together, get involved in sport or just become a bit healthier can be a great way to improve staff engagement and motivation.”

Research from news.williamhill.com/world-cup-2018/william-hill-looks-at-the-habits-of-england-fans/

Tackling staff absence in schools, academies and colleges

A total of 2.16 million days were lost due to teacher sickness absence in 2015/16 according to the latest statistics from the Department of Education[i].

Other figures from the Liberal Democrats[ii] this year revealed that one in 83 teachers is now on long-term leave of one month or more for stress and mental health issues in 2016/17 – up 5% on the previous year.

Adrian Lewis, director at Activ Absence says that sickness absence not only costs schools money, it can also impact staff morale and recruitment and retention, which can affect the pupils’ education.

Lewis says,

“Tackling absence is essential given schools operate on tight budgets and are workplaces where absences will be immediately noticed. If a teacher is frequently off sick it will either add to supply teaching costs or the workload of other teachers and affect teaching standards.

“To address this situation, a growing number of educational establishments including primaries, academies and colleges are looking to drive efficiencies and reduce absenteeism levels by investing in absence management software to better manage their sickness absence.

“A good absence management system will let teachers log on to alert school managers they are sick, making it easier to plan the day and sort out cover in time for lessons. It can help reduce key skills shortages as well as support the return to work process.

“Having a system where you can see clearly who is off and when, whether this is for meetings, sick leave or holiday leave all in one place that is simple and easy to use, with zero training needed can be hugely beneficial.

“This software can also help uncover the root causes of sickness absence and pick up trends such as someone often off ill on a Monday which could indicate stress, a growing problem in British schools” 

A NASUWT union survey[iii] last year highlighted that one in ten teachers are taking anti-depressants to cope with work stresses – with heavy workloads and staff shortages being blamed. Having staff off sick is only adding to this problem.

“By gaining insight into absence trends managers can spot patterns of sickness which can bring mental health issues, such as stress and anxiety, to light more quickly. This enables managers to offer support and help teachers who may be struggling,”

adds Mr Lewis.

Schools like the John Port Spencer Academy in Derbyshire are already getting the benefits of using this technology. Jeannette Topham, HR Officer says;

“We started using Activ Absence in October 2017. We were looking for a system that streamlined requests for planned absence and one that also helped us to manage the sickness absence process. Staff have adapted to the new system really well and the online forms and email prompts are really useful for keeping everyone informed about what they need to do.  

“The system keeps the School Leadership Team informed about staffing and the cover supervisor knows what requests are being made in advance to help anticipate any cover needs.”

Louise Varner, HR Administrator at Bootham School in York finds the system simple to use, highly intuitive with information easily accessed and clearly displayed. She says;

“Reports can be customised to deliver management information as and when required and scheduled to run automatically.

“I have set up various alerts within the system which trigger e-mails to me, the HR manager and line manager if certain criterion is met. We use this information to inform positive interventions, as line managers are able to discuss any issues with their staff as soon as a pattern of absence emerges. This has had a positive impact in reducing absence and reflects the supportive ethos of the school.

“The online return to work form gives a coherent structure for line managers to follow when conducting interviews with staff and prompts them to fully explore any adjustments that may be needed to facilitate a phased return. The system also sends a reminder if the return to work has not been completed which is invaluable in ensuring that records are up to date and that we, as an organisation, are looking after the wellbeing of our staff.”

Mr Lewis concludes;

“For schools, academies, colleges and universities thinking ahead to the new academic year and planning IT budgets now, investing in technology could be a game changer for reducing and managing staff absence effectively. Absence management software can bring efficiencies and savings, as well as help schools look after the wellbeing of staff their staff.”

[i] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/620825/SFR25_2017_MainText.pdf

[ii] https://www.libdems.org.uk/3750-teachers-england-on-long-term-stress-leave

[iii] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/teachers-antidepressants-stress-workload-suicidal-one-in-ten-nasuwt-a7684466.html