Overview

Sickness-related absence is higher up the agenda for more of us than ever. A huge 82% of organisations are now recording our employee absence rate compared to just 70% last year.

So why this sudden interest in absence? Like so often, the economy is to blame. With tough conditions set to get tougher in the light of Budget cuts, absence is likely to remain high profile for a good while yet. And with the average cost of absence standing at £700 per employee, there's good reasons why.