Redundancy fears and poor economy lead to drop in sickness absence

Posted 04/07/2010

Fears about redundancy could be leading to fewer British employees taking days off work, according to a new survey.

Research carried out by manufacturers’ organisations EEF and Unum showed that staff sickness absence dropped to its lowest level in three years during 2009.

The average employee took 5.6 days off work due to illness last year, compared to 6.8 days in 2007, while 41 per cent of firms saw a drop in short-term absence.

Furthermore, 44 per cent of the employees questioned did not take a single day off sick in 2009.

Sayeed Khan, EEF spokesperson, said the trend could be due to the recession and the current UK economy.

“Another possibility is that the recession, with its accompanying redundancies, has made employees more aware of the time they are taking off,” he added.

This follows recent news from the charity Mind, which reported that work pressures caused by the recession are having a negative impact on the mental health of UK employees.