[Business] Sick days at work hit highest level for 10 years

UK workers are taking more sick days than at any point in the last decade, research suggests.

Staff took on average 7.8 sick days in the past year, up from 5.8 before the pandemic, the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD) found.

The trade group said the rise was a "worry" and blamed stress, Covid and the cost-of-living crisis.

These conditions were having "profound impacts on many people's wellbeing", it added.

The research analysed rates of absence in more than 900 organisations, representing 6.5 million employees.

It was conducted by the CIPD, in partnership with Simplyhealth, a healthcare company that provides outpatient support.

The study found that minor illnesses were the main reason for short-term absences, followed by musculoskeletal injuries and mental ill health.

Meanwhile, more than a third of organisations also reported Covid-19 was still a significant cause of sick days.

Staff on long-term sick leave tended to blame mental health issues, musculoskeletal injuries or conditions such as cancer and stroke.

Richard from Newport was working as a delivery driver full time on a zero hours contract when he was diagnosed with cancer and prescribed with a course of radiotherapy.

However, the appointments clashed with his shifts and as he could not afford to miss work, he chose to skip the treatment instead.

"I really don't have a choice so I have to accept things the way they are," Richard told the BBC, adding that his mortgage had gone up from £300 to over £1,100 a month.

"If I could get sick pay, I'd likely be one of those...people taking sick days off," he said.

Changes in working culture since the pandemic coupled with the cost-of-living crisis have left some employees feeling disengaged and stressed, the CIPD said.

Working from home could also present an issue for staff that lived alone or had limited social contact.

Rachel Suff, senior employee wellbeing adviser at the CIPD, said that public sector sick days were almost double than that of the private sector.

"Absence has always been higher in bigger organisations - and that goes for private sector as well - and there are a lot of large organisations in the public sector," she told the BBC.

"Also, there are an awful lot of front-line roles [in the public sector]," she said, citing extra pressures on people working in organisations such as the NHS.

Most of the organisations surveyed said they offered sick pay, while around half had a strategy to improve staff wellbeing. However, the CIPD said rates of absence were still rising and employers needed to do more.

Dr Audrey Tang, a psychologist and broadcaster, told BBC Radio 5 Live there was "a mismatch of understanding from people right at the top" about what workers needed.

"Often, quick, short-term fixes such a lunchtime yoga or lunch time ice cream vans are not what people need," she said.

Ms Suff from the CIPD said employers needed to do more to manage the main risks to people's health at work. They also needed to intervene early to stop issues such as stress from escalating.

"It's important that organisations create an open, supportive culture where employees feel they can come forward," she added.

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