Longterm absence clobbering business
Sixty-two percent of UK
companies claim to have been financially impacted by long-term sickness absence
in the past five years.
More than a half of UK businesses continue to pay full salaries for six
months or more whilst employees are absent due to illness or injury. Less than
a quarter (22 percent) of companies protect their employees and their business
by offering income protection cover.
Two million workers
currently in employment have had to take six months or more off work. A lack of
financial protection amongst UK workers is taking a financial toll on UK
businesses with almost two in three companies (62 percent) saying they have
suffered from the effects of long term sickness absence, according to new
research from Unum, one of the UK’s leading financial protection providers.
One
of the main reasons behind this concerning finding is that more than half (55
percent) of UK companies say they continue to pay employees’ full salaries for
six months or more if they are off work due to illness or injury. Many of
these employers are shouldering the burden, with only 22 percent protecting
their own business and all or some of
their employees by offering any form of financial protection, such as income
protection or critical illness, as part of their employee benefits package.
Companies both large and
small are affected by long-term sickness absence, with 69 percent of companies
with more than 500 employees saying they had seen a financial impact on their
business and 40 percent of companies with fewer than 500 employees. Long-term
sickness absence is also a reality for UK workers, as one-third (31 percent) of
employees claim that they have had to take one month or more off work as a
result of illness or injury; and over two million say that they have had to
take off half a year or more due to illness or injury.
Marco Forato, Unum’s Chief
Marketing Officer, said: “Employee long-term absence as a result of illness or
injury is a real financial burden for UK businesses. In the current
challenging business environment this issue is only likely to place greater
strain on employers and unfortunately our research shows that as companies are
not taking steps to protect themselves or their employees, it will continue to
be a financial drain on businesses for some time to come.”
a regional basis, Unum’s research reveals that companies based in Yorkshire and
Humberside are potentially the most exposed
to long-term sickness absence issues with 41 percent of workers having taken a
month or more off work as a result of illness or injury. Workers in Wales
and the East of England, meanwhile, have the lowest incidence of long-term
sickness absence with only a quarter (25 percent) of workers in each region having
to take a month or more.
Region of
UK Proportion of workers in the region who have taken a month
or more off work as a result of illness or injury
Scotland 32 percent
North East 34 percent
North West 36 percent
Yorks & Humberside 41 percent
West Midlands 30 percent
Wales 25 percent
East 25 percent
London 26 percent
South East 30 percent
South West 34 percent
East Midlands 26 percent
UK average 31 percent
(Source: Unum)
3 August 2010
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