£1.4 Billion of British tax payers’ hard-earned money could be saved if the Public Sector reconciled its rates of Absenteeism with those of the Private Sector.

According to the annual Confederation of British Industry/Axa Absence Survey, Absenteeism cost the UK economy a staggering £13.2 Billion in 2007. This was calculated from the 172 million working days lost to abscence in 2007, an average of 6.7 days off sick per employee.

On closer inspection, the survey found that the absence rates of the Public Sector were 55% higher than the those in the Private Sector, losing 9 days per employee to absence while the Private sector lost 5.8 days. The gulf bewteen the sectors had reached record highs in the results for 2007 and the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) estimated that the Public sector could save £1.4 Billion of tax payers money if they could reduce their rates of absence to match those of the Private Sector.

Of the 172million working days lost, 12% were thought to be non-genuine. This equated to 21 Million “Sickies” at an estimated cost to the economy of £1.6 Billion. This prompted Susan Anderson, CBI’s Director of HR Policy to assert that “employers face two serious and expensive challenges - dealing with bogus sick days, and helping those with long-term illness return to work when they are fit to do so.”

“People who awarded themselves sickies to enjoy the recent sunny weather or to extend a weekend away are acting unfairly, leaving their colleagues to pick up their work, and costing taxpayers and employers over a billion pounds a year,” she concluded.

Continuing the theme of Anderson’s assertions, the survey also incorporated the indirect costs of absence to UK Industry. The average direct cost of absence in 2007 was £517 per employee, but when indirect costs such as reduced customer satisfaction and productivity were taken into account, absence cost an additional £263 per employee.

When adding the indirect cost to the direct cost of absence, Absenteeism cost the UK an enormous £19.9 billion in 2007.

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One of the indirect causes of absence identified by the survey was low morale in the workplace and a lack of motivation. According to the survey, 70% believed that “praise for a job well done” was the most important factor in raising staff morale.

Peoplevalue’s Excellence Awards technology can be specifically tailored to motivate staff, increasing morale and in turn the levels of absence. For more information, please click here