"DON'T BURY YOUR HEAD IN THE SAND" ADVICE
work, the AIRMIC conference heard today.
There are still too many employers who prefer not to think about the problem, Corpore chief executive Nick Patterson told a workshop. Yet there is overwhelming evidence to support the business case for proactive absence management, including rehabilitation for staff who are too unwell to come to work.
“There’s a huge gap between the best employers and the rest when it comes to looking after sick and injured staff,” he said. “Too many firms just bury their heads in the sand, perhaps thinking the subject is too complicated, too much of a distraction.
“Yet the benefits in terms of reduced absence and improved staff morale and loyalty are well-documented and overwhelming.”
Operations director Emma Tyler said that senior management buy-in was essential to the implementation of any rehabilitation strategy. “Successful firms are the ones where absence management is embedded into the culture,” she said. “It starts with employing the right people in the first place, then creating the right work environment – one where the risk of accidents is minimised, and line managers respond positively as soon as there’s an incident.”
Mr Patterson and Ms Tyler spent much of the time discussing the growing problem of stress. The message here was that managers who communicate effectively with their staff, and have the HR policies to support them, are going to be more effective at preventing stress-related absence.
Mr Patterson expressed concern at the approach of those doctors who regularly prescribed drugs to alleviate stress: “Medication usually means that the employee has to take at least a week off work, and it’s often not the answer.”
In addition to providing timely and appropriate treatment to those staff who are off work for genuine reasons, they also underlined the importance of taking a firm line with persistent absentees. This is an area where rehabilitation can actually prevent people from going off in the first place.
“Staff are most unlikely to fake illness or injury if they know that they face the prospect of some kind of medical assessment,” said Mr Patterson.
Mr Patterson and Ms Tyler illustrated the point with several case histories involving employers who had dramatically reduced both absence frequency and duration as a result of introducing rehabilitation schemes.
For instance, one of their clients has reported that in 2004 and 2005 there were 122 reportable injuries over a three day absence – a reduction of nearly 40 percent. Employer Liability claims reached a low in 2005 with a total of 22 – a reduction of nearly 80 percent. In the last twelve months alone (to March 2006), the average number of days lost per incident has reduced from 24 to 9 – a reduction of over 60 percent.
For further information, contact Mark Baylis on 07775 693994.