The Costs of Long Term Absence

15 million working days were lost in the UK last year due to stress, anxiety and depression (ONS). If you employee more than 500 your cost for long term sick leave could be £620,000 per year.
 
Businesses across the UK are spending an estimated £3.1bn every year on employee's who are unable to work due to long-term illness or injury. This estimate increases to £6.5bn if the public sector is included. 300,000 people leave employment due to illness or injury every year and the average duration of long-term sick leave is 7 years.
 
Common causes of stress at work are
problems with line managers, poor                   
communication, and lack of training and soft skills.
  Employers pay a hefty price for the cost of the replacement, recruitment and training; not to mention the loss of productivity and the additional stress on team members.
 
As well as physical sickness related absence, stress and mental health problems are common causes of workplace absence – particularly in the long-term. Mental health problems can be very difficult to diagnose. They may be caused by stress, bullying or by depression brought on by a combination of factors affecting an employee at work and at home.
 
All of these factors impact on your ability to function as a business and maintain optimum operational functionality.  
 
Costs of long term absence:
 
  • Occupational Sick Pay (OSP) paid to the absent employee
  • the salaries of replacement staff
  • the recruitment and training costs associated with these replacement staff
  • a loss in productivity

Factors impacting on employees return from absence

  • loss of confidence
  • psychological health changes
  • feelings of guilt, and isolation from other team members
  • lack of knowledge about changes in the workplace
  • Wellbeing Solutions: Return from Absence
At Wellbeing Solutions we provide the answer to issues faced by employers as a result of long term absence. Through our the use of our Return from Absence service employers can quickly resolve ongoing absenteeism, either getting the employee back to work or, in the unlikely event of this failing, reaching a conclusion involving the termination of the employee's contract. Either way, our service enables you to break the cycle of long term absenteeism in your workplace. 

Share