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Workplace absence costing the economy £17bn

The UK economy lost 190 million working days to absence last year, at a cost of £17bn to the UK economy, according to new research.

The latest CBI/Pfizer Absence and Workplace Health Survey revealed that each employee took an average of 6.5 days off.

This came despite the introduction of the new “fit note” in 2010.

The rate of absence last year was marginally higher than in 2009, when employees averaged 6.4 sick days, the lowest rate since the survey began in 1987.

Katja Hall, CBI chief policy director, said: “There’s been no let up in the cost of absence to the UK economy, which runs into billions of pounds a year.

“Although many organisations have been successful in bringing down levels of absence, the gap between the best and worst has widened.

The survey is the first since the launch of the fit note – the new medical certificate focussed on what people can do rather than what they can’t, designed to aid returns to work and reduce absence costs.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .