Managing sickness absence is a key issue for employers. Employee absence is a significant cost to the majority of businesses in the UK.
In addition to the direct costs of employee absence (paying sick pay and paying someone else to perform the absent employee’s work), high levels of absence can demotivate those employees who have to take on the absent employee’s work, cause all-round disruption to productivity and adversely affect an employer’s continuity of service to its clients.
The rate of sickness absence continued to fall in 2024, with employees losing on average 4.4 days of work per year.Â
May 2025's top HR questions include one about a new criminal offence for an organisational failure to prevent fraud.
Mayfield: ‘There is a lot of fear. People who are fearful of disclosing their condition … and also fear on the side of the line manager, of saying the wrong thing.’
The figures reveal a decrease of 26,000 young men but an increase among young women of 19,000.
Teacher and union rep awarded £370,000 after head teacher unfairly dismissed her in ‘revenge’ for her opposing lesson observations plan.
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Today’s Spring statement did much to add cost and regulation to employers, and not enough to support growth and skills, observers say.
Postman awarded £3,000 after tribunal finds he was unfairly dismissed for working as taxi driver while on sick leave from Royal Mail.
The UK is an international outlier when it comes to economic inactivity, a new government-commissioned report has found.Â
Rob Moss explores the Pathways to Work green paper and examines the possible implications for employers.
The government has defended its decision not to increase the rate of statutory sick pay (SSP) in its response to a consultation on proposed sick pay reforms in the Employment Rights Bill.
Most frequently asked questions during February include queries about Ramadan and dismissals on the grounds of ill health.
