A new report from the Centre for Economics and Business Research estimated the cost of long-term sickness absence at £770,000 per year for an average UK business of more than 500 employees.
At a macro level, the absence of six months or more equates to an estimated £4.17bn bill to private sector businesses in the UK.
According to the research, businesses can take measures to protect themselves from these costs by actively using early intervention services.
“Ensuring your employees are healthy and happy isn’t just the right thing to do – it also has a direct impact on the bottom line. To avoid the significant costs of long-term sickness absence, businesses need a comprehensive benefits package in place. An effective way to mitigate these costs is through investing in a GIP plan which comes with early intervention services, helping employers step in with support for employees at the first signs of a health problem, before it becomes something more serious,” says Peter O’ Donnell, chief executive officer of benefits provider, Unum.
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