Longterm absence clobbering business
Sixty-two percent of UK companies claim to have been financially impacted by long-term sickness absence in the past five years.
More than a half of UK businesses continue to pay full salaries for six months or more whilst employees are absent due to illness or injury. Less than a quarter (22 percent) of companies protect their employees and their business by offering income protection cover.
Two million workers currently in employment have had to take six months or more off work. A lack of financial protection amongst UK workers is taking a financial toll on UK businesses with almost two in three companies (62 percent) saying they have suffered from the effects of long term sickness absence, according to new research from Unum, one of the UK's leading financial protection providers.
One of the main reasons behind this concerning finding is that more than half (55 percent) of UK companies say they continue to pay employees' full salaries for six months or more if they are off work due to illness or injury. Many of these employers are shouldering the burden, with only 22 percent protecting their own business and all or some of their employees by offering any form of financial protection, such as income protection or critical illness, as part of their employee benefits package.
Companies both large and small are affected by long-term sickness absence, with 69 percent of companies with more than 500 employees saying they had seen a financial impact on their business and 40 percent of companies with fewer than 500 employees. Long-term sickness absence is also a reality for UK workers, as one-third (31 percent) of employees claim that they have had to take one month or more off work as a result of illness or injury; and over two million say that they have had to take off half a year or more due to illness or injury.
Marco Forato, Unum's Chief Marketing Officer, said: "Employee long-term absence as a result of illness or injury is a real financial burden for UK businesses. In the current challenging business environment this issue is only likely to place greater strain on employers and unfortunately our research shows that as companies are not taking steps to protect themselves or their employees, it will continue to be a financial drain on businesses for some time to come."
Region of
UK Proportion of workers in the region who have taken a month
or more off work as a result of illness or injury
Scotland 32 percent
North East 34 percent
North West 36 percent
Yorks & Humberside 41 percent
West Midlands 30 percent
Wales 25 percent
East 25 percent
London 26 percent
South East 30 percent
South West 34 percent
East Midlands 26 percent
UK average 31 percent
(Source: Unum)
3 August 2010
Human Resources news brought to you by theHRDIRECTOR ; the only independent strategic HR publication.
Created on: 03-Aug-10 10:03
© theHRDirector.com
