News Release

192 MILLION WORKING DAYS LOST TO ABSENCE - SAYS CBI SURVEY

The 16th of May saw the publication of the Confederation of British Industry's fifteenth annual absence survey "Pulling Together". The survey, published in association with PPP Healthcare, quotes some alarming statistics and gives the most up to date indication of the true cost of absences from the workplace.

Cost Per Head

Workplace absence averaged 7.8 days per employee in 2000, a total of 192 million days or 3.4% of total working time. The number of days lost is the equivalent of 861,000 people not working for an entire year, and is equal to the working population of Nottinghamshire plus Merseyside*. The survey further shows that the average cost of absence per employee is £434. Projected across the whole workforce the total cost of absence to British business is £10.7 BILLION.

Most Absence is Genuine

The survey also indicates that employers believe most absence is caused by genuine sickness. Long- term physical illness is considered to be more significant for manual employees, while stress and recurring illness are more common among non-manual staff. Short-term absence accounts for the great majority of absence cases (80%), but long-term absence has a greater overall impact on business. Whilst accounting for only 20% of all cases it results in over 40% of the total working time lost to absence each year.

Public Sector v. Private Sector

Public sector workers continue to be absent for more days than their counterparts in the private sector. An average of 10.2 days compared to 7.6. Small firms still have lower absence rates. Around 9 days were lost per employee among companies employing over 500 staff, compared to just 5.9 days for companies with less than 50.

*861,000 is also equal to the working population of Essex plus Warwickshire - Surrey plus Derbyshire - South Yorkshire plus Leicestershire - Surrey plus Norfolk or Hampshire plus Buckinghamshire.
Source: ONS Regional trends 2000 Edition.

More details and information on how to purchase a copy of the report can be found on the CBI web site at www.cbi.org.uk

When considering the above it is worth bearing in mind that the lion's share of sickness absence is due to manual handling related problems and consequent back pain and injuries.