The £12billion annual cost of worker absence

A HSE Health and Safety Executive product story

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Feb 1, 2006

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath has underlined the cost of sickness absence to the British economy; the latest estimate puts the cost at around £12billion per year.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, speaking on 30 January 2006, underlined the cost of sickness absence to the British economy; the latest estimate puts the cost at around £12billion per year, with absenteeism in the private sector making up around £8billion of the total.

Addressing a Human Resources Director summit, Lord Philip Hunt said: "The workplace in the 21st century is a fast paced, dynamic and highly stimulating environment.

"It brings a number of benefits and opportunities; however, with these benefits comes new risks.

"Sickness absence and return-to-work policies are only worth having if they have the full support of directors and top-level managers.

"After all, leadership starts from the top".

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Department for Work and Pension (DWP) and Department of Health (DH) recently launched a new strategy, 'Health, Work and Well-Being', aimed at tackling sickness absence across the public and private sectors to improve the occupational health of the British workforce.

Stress is among the biggest problems in British workplaces, with the cost to the British economy being estimated at £3.7billion per year.

But, added to this figure is the immeasurable personal cost that stress and economic inactivity brings.

The HSE's stress management standards, launched in 2004, give employers some simple steps to follow to identify stress at an early stage and a simple guide to possible measures that can be taken to reduce the problem before it gets to the point of staff absence.

The management standards were designed in consultation with industry, trade unions, HR professionals and key academics.

Employers and employees are encouraged to work in partnership to solve issues of occupational ill health.

A 'joined-up' approach is vital if absenteeism is to be reduced and potential future problems identified early and addressed.

Lord Hunt continued: "The management standards are key to bringing about change and are vital if we are to continue improving the fabric of our society as an inclusive and prosperous nation and continue ensuring that individuals have access to fulfilling employment in a healthy and safe working environment".

The cost to the economy and the numbers of cases of stress in British workplaces is taken from the 2004/2005 self-reported work-related Illness report.

This can be viewed via the statistics section of the HSE's website.

The HSE's revitalising health and safety targets commit to reducing cases of occupational ill health by 10 per cent by 2010 and sickness absence by 15 per cent by 2010.

The latest health and safety statistics can also be found via the HSE's website, as can more information on the stress management standards and the HSE's wider health agenda.