Sickies cost industry £11bn a year

BRITISH business is being hit by a £11bn-a-year bill for sick leave, a report has warned. That is the equivalent of £400 for each of the 28m workers.

The bill covers the salaries of staff off sick, including temporary cover and overtime payments.

Until last year the average number of days taken off due to illness had remained steady for six years. But last year it rose to more than seven days per worker each year, according to the report from the Work Foundation think-tank.

Those in the public sector are five times more likely than those in some parts of private industry to take time off sick and they are away for longer.

A recent survey showed that the average public sector worker took more than two weeks off last year. Police, firefighters and local government workers were among the worst.

Two out of five workers do not take any sick leave at all, however, and managers are less than half as likely to take time off as manual workers.

Many cite stress as the cause of their absence, raising fears that some are taking advantage of the stress management culture that has arisen in the last few years. Some experts, however, say the economic downturn and threat of redundancy have raised stress levels.

The Work Foundation warned that absenteeism was seriously harming the economy. Stephen Bevan, deputy director of research, said: 'Managers have ignored the issue for too long.'

Some companies have already introduced innovative ways to address the problem. VJS Foods in King's Lynn, Norfolk, launched a lottery in 2001 to stop workers being tempted to throw 'sickies'.

Staff who achieved a spotless attendance record were entered for a monthly draw with two £1,000 prizes. Those who turned up every day for six months shared a £50,000 bonus.