But government ‘fit note’ failing to tackle long-term causes of absence
The number of working days lost to sickness absence has reached a record low of 2.1 per cent among manufacturing employers, which is equivalent to 4.9 days per employee, per year, EEF figures have shown.
But while big inroads have been made into short-term absence, almost two-fifths of companies report an increase in long term absence in the past two years.
The 2014 Sickness Absence survey, published by manufacturers’ organisation EEF and Jelf Benefits UK, suggests that mental ill health, musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and illnesses leading to surgery, were the greatest cause of long-term absence from work.
Just over half (54 per cent) of the organisations surveyed said stress and other mental health related disorders had had the greatest impact on their long-term sickness absence levels, an increase of six per cent over the past five years. While 52 per cent of the 335 respondents noted surgery, medical investigations and tests as major causes of long-term absence from work.
“Driving down absence rates, helping more employees return to work earlier and, encouraging their well-being is critical for our economy. But, despite employers increasing investment in managing sickness absence and, providing their employees with more health related benefits, the improvement in overall absence rates has more or less now plateaued,” said professor Sayeed Khan, chief medical adviser at EEF.
The survey revealed that manufacturers increasingly recognise the importance of managing the well-being of employees, with almost half (46 per cent) of employers paying for medical interventions, and 68 per cent offering occupational health services as a benefit for all staff.
However greater support is needed from the government and other stakeholders to help reduce the effect of long-term sickness absence.
“From now on the focus has to be on reducing long term absence which is only going to happen if we up our game. This must start by making the ‘fit note’ work so that it can make real inroads on delivering the objective of reducing unnecessary sickness absence,” Khan said.
According to the survey, 40 per cent of employees believe the fit note, introduced in 2010, is still failing to return employees to work earlier, with 45 per cent reporting poor quality of advice from GPs as the main cause of confusion.
Nine months into the roll-out of electronic fit notes, nearly a quarter of employers said none of the notes received were computer generated, and 33 per cent of companies didn’t receive any fit notes signed 'may be fit for work' in 2013.
EEF has made several recommendations to the government, including increased training for all 40,000 UK GPs in occupational health and the reform of tax incentives to encourage employers to pay for more treatment.
Forty-six per cent of businesses surveyed said they would be willing to fund interventions if they received tax relief from the government under the Health and Work Service, due to launch this Autumn.