Employment Law Specialist's Sickie Advice

16 August 2004
By Ian Findlay, Industrial Reporter (Dundee Courier)

The type of controversial scheme announced recently by Royal Mail in which employees can be in the running for a new car if do not have any "sickies" over a certain period time may not be effective in the longer term, a Dundee-based employment law specialist has warned.

Noele Wilson, of Tayside law firm Thorntons Law LLP, told The Courier that research was unclear over whether or not longer-term effectiveness could be achieved and such schemes also ignored two key factors - the majority of absences are due to genuine sickness and there were issues which may give rise to absences e.g. poor morale and family pressures.

One of the most effective ways of addressing absences is to ensure that return to work interviews take place when an employee returns to work even, if they are only off for a day.

"This sends a clear message to all employees that the employer is serious about the issue but also allows a discussion of the reasons for the absence, whether the employee is fit to be back at work and whether there are any other issues affecting the employee," commented Ms Wilson.
"But for it to be effective it has to have the support of management."

A CBI study carried out earlier this year showed that absences in 2003 cost the UK economy £11.6 billion - equating to 176 million days lost due to absent employees. It was estimated that 25 million of those days were not due to genuine sickness.

"Most employers are not in a position to give away a car, but it is important that absences are properly managed," said Ms Wilson.

"Absences are not only a cost to the business but place additional pressures on staff who have to cover for them leading to increased hours, workload and stress."

The most troubling type of absence was the persistent short term one - one or two days off at a time.

Tayside employers could address these issues by having an absence management policy, which is applied regardless of how long an employee is off.

"This will involve the employee reporting in to the employer and on their return to work submitting a self certificate or a medical certificate.

"Long term absences require to be handled differently, often with medical advice being sought and enquiry into whether an employee may have a disability.

"You don't have to give away a car to improve absence rates - effective people management is a far more effective, and cost effective way."

• Employees in Scotland have the lowest number of days absent per year, compared with the rest of the UK - 5.6 days, compared to the average of 7.2 days per employee across the UK.

Noele Wilson - Associate, Litigation

Dundee Courier